diff --git a/pipeline/frontend/yaml/linter/schema/schema.json b/pipeline/frontend/yaml/linter/schema/schema.json
index da3eca4b3ec..37a99bdfc0c 100644
--- a/pipeline/frontend/yaml/linter/schema/schema.json
+++ b/pipeline/frontend/yaml/linter/schema/schema.json
@@ -346,9 +346,18 @@
         },
         "depends_on": {
           "description": "Execute a step after another step has finished.",
-          "type": "array",
-          "items": { "type": "string" },
-          "minLength": 1
+          "oneOf": [
+            {
+              "type": "array",
+              "minLength": 1,
+              "items": {
+                "type": "string"
+              }
+            },
+            {
+              "type": "string"
+            }
+          ]
         },
         "detach": {
           "description": "Detach a step to run in background until pipeline finishes. Read more: https://woodpecker-ci.org/docs/usage/services#detachment",