diff --git a/ansible/roles/gitea-actions/defaults/main.yml b/ansible/roles/gitea-actions/defaults/main.yml
index 47684fe..d182741 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/gitea-actions/defaults/main.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/gitea-actions/defaults/main.yml
@@ -28,6 +28,12 @@ gitea_ci_image: localhost/gitea-ci:latest
 # ESP-IDF firmware image tag tracks the upstream espressif/idf release we build from.
 esp_idf_version: v5.4.1
 gitea_ci_espidf_image: "localhost/gitea-ci-espidf:{{ esp_idf_version }}"
+# PlatformIO image for Arduino-framework ESP32 builds (esp32-web-interface).
+# Tag tracks the pre-baked espressif32 platform version; both pins match the
+# hardware-validated local build.
+platformio_core_version: "6.1.19"
+pio_espressif32_version: "7.0.1"
+gitea_ci_platformio_image: "localhost/gitea-ci-platformio:{{ pio_espressif32_version }}"
 
 # Default labels for every runner — map runs-on values to the local CI image.
 # Firmware jobs opt into the ESP-IDF image per-job via `container:` in their workflow.
diff --git a/ansible/roles/gitea-actions/tasks/images.yml b/ansible/roles/gitea-actions/tasks/images.yml
index dcd10e5..e33b5e4 100644
--- a/ansible/roles/gitea-actions/tasks/images.yml
+++ b/ansible/roles/gitea-actions/tasks/images.yml
@@ -41,6 +41,16 @@
     XDG_RUNTIME_DIR: "/run/user/{{ gitea_runner_uid }}"
   tags: gitea-actions
 
+- name: stage PlatformIO CI Containerfile
+  become: true
+  become_user: "{{ gitea_runner_user }}"
+  ansible.builtin.template:
+    src: Containerfile.platformio.j2
+    dest: "{{ gitea_runner_home }}/ci-images/Containerfile.platformio"
+    mode: "0644"
+  register: platformio_containerfile
+  tags: gitea-actions
+
 - name: build ESP-IDF CI image ({{ gitea_ci_espidf_image }})
   become: true
   become_user: "{{ gitea_runner_user }}"
@@ -53,3 +63,16 @@
   environment:
     XDG_RUNTIME_DIR: "/run/user/{{ gitea_runner_uid }}"
   tags: gitea-actions
+
+- name: build PlatformIO CI image ({{ gitea_ci_platformio_image }})
+  become: true
+  become_user: "{{ gitea_runner_user }}"
+  containers.podman.podman_image:
+    name: "{{ gitea_ci_platformio_image }}"
+    path: "{{ gitea_runner_home }}/ci-images"
+    build:
+      file: "{{ gitea_runner_home }}/ci-images/Containerfile.platformio"
+    force: "{{ platformio_containerfile is changed }}"
+  environment:
+    XDG_RUNTIME_DIR: "/run/user/{{ gitea_runner_uid }}"
+  tags: gitea-actions
diff --git a/ansible/roles/gitea-actions/templates/Containerfile.platformio.j2 b/ansible/roles/gitea-actions/templates/Containerfile.platformio.j2
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..acbd763
--- /dev/null
+++ b/ansible/roles/gitea-actions/templates/Containerfile.platformio.j2
@@ -0,0 +1,29 @@
+# PlatformIO firmware job image (managed by ansible: roles/gitea-actions).
+# For Arduino-framework ESP32 projects (e.g. Skudak/esp32-web-interface) that
+# build with PlatformIO rather than raw ESP-IDF. Node is required by
+# actions/checkout and other JS actions.
+# The espressif32 platform, xtensa toolchain and Arduino framework are
+# pre-baked into PLATFORMIO_CORE_DIR via a throwaway seed project so ephemeral
+# job containers download nothing at build time. Versions are pinned to what
+# was validated on hardware — bump pio_espressif32_version /
+# platformio_core_version in defaults/main.yml to upgrade (the image tag
+# tracks the platform version).
+FROM python:3.12-slim-bookworm
+
+ENV PLATFORMIO_CORE_DIR=/opt/platformio
+
+RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
+        git curl ca-certificates unzip \
+    && curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | bash - \
+    && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends nodejs \
+    && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*
+
+RUN pip install --no-cache-dir platformio=={{ platformio_core_version }}
+
+# Seed project mirroring the real projects' platformio.ini so `pio pkg install`
+# pulls the platform + toolchain + framework packages into the core dir.
+RUN mkdir -p /tmp/seed/src \
+    && printf '[env:seed]\nplatform = espressif32@{{ pio_espressif32_version }}\nframework = arduino\nboard = esp32dev\nboard_build.filesystem = spiffs\n' > /tmp/seed/platformio.ini \
+    && pio pkg install -d /tmp/seed \
+    && rm -rf /tmp/seed \
+    && chmod -R a+rX ${PLATFORMIO_CORE_DIR}