diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index 45c547cd070ace1178a294aab91e496b4bcf9127..62d9791d7cbc87e706e614edd5271eee7e56b0ef 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -2,13 +2,14 @@
 # yaml-language-server: $format.enable=false
 
 stages:
+  - linters
+  - checkout
   - environment
   - compilers
   - concretize
   - install
   - release
   - deploy
-  - linters
 
 workflow:
   rules:
@@ -105,7 +106,7 @@ variables:
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 # ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 spack:checkout:
-  stage: .pre
+  stage: checkout
   variables:
     APPTAINER_EXEC_OPTIONS: >-
       --cleanenv