diff --git a/.github/workflows/ci.yml b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
index 0227b14..940f4e3 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/ci.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/ci.yml
@@ -13,31 +13,7 @@ on:
       - "**.py"
 
 jobs:
-  check_python_changes:
-    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
-    outputs:
-      run_tests: ${{ steps.check_files.outputs.run_tests }}
-
-    steps:
-      - name: Checkout code
-        uses: actions/checkout@v3
-
-      - name: Check if Python files changed
-        id: check_files
-        run: |
-          git fetch origin ${{ github.event.before }}
-          if git diff --name-only ${{ github.event.before }} ${{ github.sha }} | grep -q '\.py$'; then
-            echo "Python files changed"
-            echo "run_tests=true" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-            echo "::set-output name=run_tests::true"
-          else
-            echo "No Python files changed, skipping tests"
-            echo "run_tests=false" >> $GITHUB_ENV
-            echo "::set-output name=run_tests::false"
-
   test:
-    needs: check_python_changes
-    if: needs.check_python_changes.outputs.run_tests == 'true'
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
 
     strategy:
@@ -58,6 +34,14 @@ jobs:
           python -m pip install --upgrade pip
           pip install -r server/src/requirements.txt
 
+      - name: Configure AWS Credentials for Tests
+        run: |
+          echo "Setting AWS region and mock credentials..."
+          export AWS_REGION=us-east-1
+          export AWS_ACCESS_KEY_ID=fake_access_key
+          export AWS_SECRET_ACCESS_KEY=fake_secret_key
+          export AWS_DEFAULT_REGION=us-east-1
+
       - name: Run tests with coverage
         run: |
           export PYTHONPATH=$(pwd)/server/src
@@ -80,14 +64,15 @@ jobs:
       - name: Show coverage summary
         run: cat coverage.xml
 
+
   deploy:
-    needs: test
-    if: success() || needs.check_python_changes.outputs.run_tests == 'false'  # Deploy if tests pass OR no Python changes
+    needs: test  # Ensures deployment happens only if tests pass
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    if: github.ref == 'refs/heads/main'  # Deploy only from main branch
 
     strategy:
       matrix:
-        function_name: [fetch_permanent_data, return_luas_data, return_station_data, fetch_transient_data, return_permanent_data, return_transient_data]
+        function_name: [fetch_permanent_data, return_luas_data, return_station_data, fetch_transient_data  __pycache__  return_permanent_data  return_transient_data]
 
     steps:
       - name: Checkout repository
@@ -98,6 +83,7 @@ jobs:
         with:
           python-version: '3.13'
 
+      # ✅ Check if AWS CLI is installed and update it instead of reinstalling
       - name: Check AWS CLI version
         run: aws --version || echo "AWS CLI not found"