diff --git a/ansible.cfg b/ansible.cfg
index 26c553f..77a42b1 100644
--- a/ansible.cfg
+++ b/ansible.cfg
@@ -15,3 +15,6 @@ control_path_dir = ~/.ansible/cp
 # SSH connection timeout increased for jump host connections
 # Enable connection sharing (ControlMaster) to speed up multiple tasks.
 ssh_args = -o ControlMaster=auto -o ControlPersist=60s -o ConnectTimeout=60 -o ConnectionAttempts=3
+# Use SCP instead of SFTP for file transfers.
+# This avoids warnings on hosts where the SFTP subsystem is not enabled.
+scp_if_ssh = True
diff --git a/ansible/playbook-stress-install-deps.yml b/ansible/playbook-stress-install-deps.yml
index ca14455..2e24239 100644
--- a/ansible/playbook-stress-install-deps.yml
+++ b/ansible/playbook-stress-install-deps.yml
@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@
 
         - name: Ensure universe repository is enabled
           ansible.builtin.apt_repository:
-            repo: "deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu {{ ansible_lsb.codename }} universe"            
+            repo: "deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu {{ ansible_lsb.codename }} universe"
             state: present
             update_cache: yes
 
@@ -38,5 +38,6 @@
           - aiothrift
           - PySocks
         state: present
-        extra_args: --break-system-packages
       become: yes
+      environment:
+        PIP_BREAK_SYSTEM_PACKAGES: "1"