diff --git a/.gitlab-ci.yml b/.gitlab-ci.yml
index c4730ddc308fd46bccc4272f7e9b846780895538..eb3e0984cebf6f6ab4f60a58d6bf4d53867150b4 100644
--- a/.gitlab-ci.yml
+++ b/.gitlab-ci.yml
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@ build:
           export VERSIONS_TAG="${R_VERSION}--${SHINY_SERVER_VERSION}"
         fi
       fi
+    - apk add gettext
     - envsubst < ./Dockerfile.$LANGUAGE > Dockerfile
     # pull the latest build
     - docker pull "$CI_REGISTRY_IMAGE/${LANGUAGE}:latest" || true