diff --git a/data/ci/bootstrap-github.sh.template b/data/ci/bootstrap-github.sh.template
index 249a981e..61869fbb 100644
--- a/data/ci/bootstrap-github.sh.template
+++ b/data/ci/bootstrap-github.sh.template
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ set -o pipefail
 
 # Configuration
 BOOTSTRAP_PHP_VERSION="{{PHP_VERSION}}"
-COMPONENTS_PHAR_URL="{{COMPONENTS_PHAR_URL}}"
+COMPONENTS_PHAR_URL="${COMPONENTS_PHAR_URL:-{{COMPONENTS_PHAR_URL}}}"
 COMPONENT_NAME="{{COMPONENT_NAME}}"
 WORK_DIR="{{WORK_DIR}}"
 
@@ -98,19 +98,18 @@ if ! curl -sS -L -o "$COMPONENTS_PHAR" "$COMPONENTS_PHAR_URL"; then
 fi
 
 # Validate it's a valid phar
-if ! php "$COMPONENTS_PHAR" --version &> /dev/null; then
+if ! php "$COMPONENTS_PHAR" help &> /dev/null; then
     log_error "Downloaded phar is not valid or not executable"
     exit 1
 fi
 
 log_info "horde-components.phar downloaded successfully"
-php "$COMPONENTS_PHAR" --version
 
 # Stage 4: Handoff to PHP (horde-components ci setup)
 log_info "Bootstrap complete. Handing off to horde-components ci setup"
 
 php "$COMPONENTS_PHAR" ci setup \
-    --mode=github \
+    --ci-mode=github \
     --work-dir="$WORK_DIR" \
     --component="$COMPONENT_NAME"
 
diff --git a/src/Ci/Setup/SudoHelper.php b/src/Ci/Setup/SudoHelper.php
index b8591065..cb3ca813 100644
--- a/src/Ci/Setup/SudoHelper.php
+++ b/src/Ci/Setup/SudoHelper.php
@@ -35,6 +35,24 @@ class SudoHelper
      */
     private const HELPER_SCRIPT = '/usr/local/bin/horde-ci-sudo-helper';
 
+    /**
+     * Cached result of isRoot() check.
+     */
+    private static ?bool $isRoot = null;
+
+    /**
+     * Check if running as root user.
+     *
+     * @return bool
+     */
+    public static function isRoot(): bool
+    {
+        if (self::$isRoot === null) {
+            self::$isRoot = posix_geteuid() === 0;
+        }
+        return self::$isRoot;
+    }
+
     /**
      * Check if sudo helper is available.
      *
@@ -52,6 +70,11 @@ public static function isAvailable(): bool
      */
     public static function canRunPasswordless(): bool
     {
+        // Root doesn't need sudo
+        if (self::isRoot()) {
+            return true;
+        }
+
         if (!self::isAvailable()) {
             return false;
         }
@@ -72,7 +95,8 @@ public static function addPpa(): bool
             throw new Exception('Sudo helper not found: ' . self::HELPER_SCRIPT);
         }
 
-        $command = 'sudo ' . escapeshellarg(self::HELPER_SCRIPT) . ' add-ppa 2>&1';
+        $sudo = self::isRoot() ? '' : 'sudo ';
+        $command = $sudo . escapeshellarg(self::HELPER_SCRIPT) . ' add-ppa 2>&1';
         $output = [];
         $exitCode = 0;
         exec($command, $output, $exitCode);
@@ -93,8 +117,10 @@ public static function installPhp(string $version): bool
             throw new Exception('Sudo helper not found: ' . self::HELPER_SCRIPT);
         }
 
+        $sudo = self::isRoot() ? '' : 'sudo ';
         $command = sprintf(
-            'sudo %s install-php %s 2>&1',
+            '%s%s install-php %s 2>&1',
+            $sudo,
             escapeshellarg(self::HELPER_SCRIPT),
             escapeshellarg($version)
         );
@@ -120,8 +146,10 @@ public static function installExtension(string $phpVersion, string $extension):
             throw new Exception('Sudo helper not found: ' . self::HELPER_SCRIPT);
         }
 
+        $sudo = self::isRoot() ? '' : 'sudo ';
         $command = sprintf(
-            'sudo %s install-extension %s %s 2>&1',
+            '%s%s install-extension %s %s 2>&1',
+            $sudo,
             escapeshellarg(self::HELPER_SCRIPT),
             escapeshellarg($phpVersion),
             escapeshellarg($extension)
@@ -147,8 +175,10 @@ public static function isPhpInstalled(string $version): bool
             return file_exists("/usr/bin/php{$version}");
         }
 
+        $sudo = self::isRoot() ? '' : 'sudo ';
         $command = sprintf(
-            'sudo %s check-php %s 2>&1',
+            '%s%s check-php %s 2>&1',
+            $sudo,
             escapeshellarg(self::HELPER_SCRIPT),
             escapeshellarg($version)
         );