Env Check

Codifies the environment friction surfaced across 4+ recent sessions so we stop re-discovering it. Read-only — never installs, never restarts. Run anomalies past the user before continuing whatever work is queued.

When to use

• A non-ASCII print() just crashed with UnicodeEncodeError
• A pip install succeeded but the import still fails
• A daemon call returned an unexpected error
• Beginning of a session that will touch pronounce/voice/non-ASCII work
• User says "env-check"

Probes (in order)

1. Python version + 3.13 dep gaps

python --version

If 3.13.x, flag the known wheel gaps before they bite:

python -c "import g2p_en" 2>&1 | head -1
python -c "import phonemizer" 2>&1 | head -1
where espeak-ng 2>&1 | head -1

Known: g2p_en has no Python 3.13 wheel as of recent sessions; espeak-ng needs a separate Windows install. Apps depending on these (apps/pronounce, apps/public/standard/voice-assistant listen path) gate imports behind try/except. Surface gaps; do NOT install.

2. Encoding — actively write a non-ASCII char

Reading sys.stdout.encoding is the indirect test. The direct test is to write a non-ASCII char and see if the subprocess crashes:

python -c "import sys; print('encoding:', sys.stdout.encoding); print('é α 中 ✓')"

Expected with the .claude/settings.json env.PYTHONIOENCODING=utf-8 hook active: encoding: utf-8 followed by the four chars rendering cleanly. If you see UnicodeEncodeError or cp1252 in the first line, the hook isn't taking effect — flag it and tell the user to write non-ASCII via open(path, "w", encoding="utf-8") rather than print() until the hook is fixed.

3. Daemons

curl -s -o /dev/null -w "main :9000 = %{http_code}\n" http://localhost:9000/api/health
curl -s -o /dev/null -w "dogfood :9001 = %{http_code}\n" http://localhost:9001/api/health

Anything other than 200 → report, don't act (.claude/rules/daemon-handling.md). Connection refused on :9001 is fine if dogfood-demo is disabled in emptyos.toml.

4. Sandbox pool (only if test-fix work is queued)

curl -s http://localhost:9000/sandbox/api/status

Look for at least one idle member. If pool_full or every member is dead, surface so the user can restart the main daemon (which re-seeds the pool).

Report shape

Two or three lines is fine — skip rows that aren't relevant to the current task. Surface anomalies before starting work, not after.

Env check:
  python: 3.13.x · stdout=utf-8 · non-ASCII print ok
  pronounce stack: g2p_en MISSING (3.13 wheel gap) · espeak-ng ok
  :9000: 200 · :9001: refused (dogfood off)
  sandbox: 2 idle / 0 leased

If any row is anomalous, lead with it and ask the user how to proceed:

Env check anomaly:
  stdout=cp1252 — PYTHONIOENCODING hook not active
  Any non-ASCII print() from a Bash tool will crash.
  Proceed with file-only I/O, or stop and fix the hook?

What this skill is NOT

• Not a fixer. It surfaces; the user (or a separate skill) acts.
• Not a daemon manager — never restart anything.
• Not a replacement for /preflight — preflight is broader (git + daemon + env); env-check is the deep-dive when the env is the suspected cause.