diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 33c30a75a..0bd17e52e 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -9,6 +9,21 @@ variables:
   CMAKE_BUILD_PARALLEL_LEVEL: "4"
   DOCKER_DRIVER: overlay2
   DOCKER_TLS_CERTDIR: ""
+  # Define CMAKE_FLAGS here to avoid issues in the script section
+  CMAKE_FLAGS: >
+    -GNinja
+    -DCITRON_ENABLE_LTO=ON
+    -DCITRON_USE_BUNDLED_VCPKG=ON
+    -DCITRON_TESTS=OFF
+    -DCITRON_USE_LLVM_DEMANGLE=OFF
+    -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr
+    -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS="-march=core2 -mtune=core2 -Wno-error"
+    -DCMAKE_C_FLAGS="-march=core2 -mtune=core2"
+    -DUSE_DISCORD_PRESENCE=OFF
+    -DBUNDLE_SPEEX=ON
+    -DCMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR=x86_64
+    -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
+    -DCMAKE_POLICY_VERSION_MINIMUM=3.5
 
 # Cache configuration for faster builds
 cache:
@@ -51,7 +66,7 @@ build-linux:
   script:
     - git submodule update --init --recursive
     - mkdir -p build && cd build
-    - cmake .. -GNinja -DCITRON_ENABLE_LTO=ON -DCITRON_USE_BUNDLED_VCPKG=ON -DCITRON_TESTS=OFF -DCITRON_USE_LLVM_DEMANGLE=OFF -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS="-march=core2 -mtune=core2 -Wno-error" -DCMAKE_C_FLAGS="-march=core2 -mtune=core2" -DUSE_DISCORD_PRESENCE=OFF -DBUNDLE_SPEEX=ON -DCMAKE_SYSTEM_PROCESSOR=x86_64 -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DCMAKE_POLICY_VERSION_MINIMUM=3.5
+     - cmake .. $CMAKE_FLAGS
     - ninja
     - cd ..
     - echo "Build completed, checking for executables..."