OrchestKit Health Diagnostics Skill

OrchestKit Health Diagnostics

Argument Resolution

FLAGS = "$ARGUMENTS"         # Full argument string, e.g., "--verbose" or "--json"
FLAG = "$ARGUMENTS[0]"       # First token: -v, --verbose, --json, --category=X
# $ARGUMENTS[0], $ARGUMENTS[1] for indexed access (CC 2.1.59)

STEP 0: Choose Scope (AskUserQuestion — M118 #1464)

A full doctor run takes ~20s. Most invocations only need one slice. Ask the user up-front so voice-flow shortcuts ("just the MCPs") map cleanly:

# Skip the prompt when an explicit scope arg or env override is present:
#   /ork:doctor cc      → skip, use cc-only
#   /ork:doctor mcp     → skip, use mcp-only
#   /ork:doctor plugin  → skip, use plugin-only
#   ORK_DOCTOR_SCOPE=all (or any of the above) → skip, use the env value
#
# Otherwise, ask:
AskUserQuestion(questions=[{
  "question": "What should doctor check?",
  "header": "Scope",
  "options": [
    {"label": "Everything (default)", "description": "Full system health — ~20s; runs all 15 categories"},
    {"label": "CC version & features only", "description": "Categories 10 + 13 + 14; ~3s — for 'is my CC up to date?'"},
    {"label": "MCP servers only", "description": "Category 12 (incl. pinning sub-check); ~5s — for 'are MCPs working?'"},
    {"label": "Plugin health only", "description": "Categories 0-3 + 5 (skills, agents, hooks, build); ~8s — for 'after npm run build'"}
  ]
}])

Skip the prompt entirely when the scope is unambiguous from the invocation. The fast scopes (3-8s) are 3-7× faster than the full run — voice users say "just the MCPs" and get a 5s answer.

Overview

The /ork:doctor command performs comprehensive health checks on your OrchestKit installation. It auto-detects installed plugins and validates 15 categories:

Installed Plugins - Detects ork plugin
Skills Validation - Frontmatter, references, token budget (dynamic count)
Agents Validation - Frontmatter, tool refs, skill refs (dynamic count)
Hook Health - Registration, bundles, async patterns
Permission Rules - Detects unreachable rules
Schema Compliance - Validates JSON files against schemas
Coordination System - Checks lock health and registry integrity
Context Budget - Monitors token usage against budget
Memory System - Graph memory health
Claude Code Version & Channel - Validates CC >= 2.1.183 (supported floor), detects release channel (stable/beta/alpha), recommends 2.1.154+ for Opus 4.8 / xhigh effort, /ultrareview, stream-json plugin_errors
External Dependencies - Checks optional tool availability (agent-browser)
MCP Status - Active vs disabled vs misconfigured, API key presence for paid MCPs. CC 2.1.110: detects duplicate definitions across config scopes. Sub-check warns when HIGH-tier servers resolve to @latest in .mcp.json (closes #1462)
Plugin Validate - Runs claude plugin validate for official CC frontmatter + hooks.json validation (CC >= 2.1.77)
Effort/Model Compatibility - Warns when xhigh effort is requested without Opus 4.8 (silent fallback otherwise)

When to Use

After installing or updating OrchestKit
When hooks aren't firing as expected
Before deploying to a team environment
When debugging coordination issues
After running npm run build

Quick Start

/ork:doctor           # Standard health check
/ork:doctor -v        # Verbose output
/ork:doctor --json    # Machine-readable for CI

CLI Options

| Flag | Description | |------|-------------| | -v, --verbose | Detailed output per check | | --json | JSON output for CI integration | | --category=X | Run only specific category |

Health Check Categories

Detailed check procedures: Load Read("${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/rules/diagnostic-checks.md") for bash commands and validation logic per category.

MCP-specific checks: Load Read("${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/rules/mcp-status-checks.md") for credential validation and misconfiguration detection.

Output examples: Load Read("${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/health-check-outputs.md") for sample output per category.

Categories 0-3: Core Validation

| Category | What It Checks | Reference | |----------|---------------|-----------| | 0. Installed Plugins | Auto-detects ork plugin, counts skills/agents | load ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/rules/diagnostic-checks.md | | 1. Skills | Frontmatter, context field, token budget, links, activation-channel reachability (no orphaned user-invocable skills) | load ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/skills-validation.md | | 2. Agents | Frontmatter, model, skill refs, tool refs | load ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/agents-validation.md | | 3. Hooks | hooks.json schema, bundles, async patterns | load ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/hook-validation.md |

Activation-channel orphans (repo / pre-release): a user-invocable skill should be reachable by more than a human typing it — via a chain (another skill references /ork:<skill>), a subagent grant (skills: in src/agents/*.md), or a background trigger. A skill with none is an "island" that silently rots. In a repo checkout, run npm run test:manifests:channels (gated in CI via test:manifests). Fix an island by wiring any one channel, or add it to STANDALONE_ALLOWLIST with a justification.

Categories 4-5: System Health

| Category | What It Checks | Reference | |----------|---------------|-----------| | 4. Memory | .claude/memory/ graph integrity + queue depth; auto-memory MEMORY.md index budget (≤24.4 KB; warns + recommends /ork:dream on re-bloat) | load ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/memory-health.md | | 5. Build | plugins/ sync with src/, manifest counts, orphans | load ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/rules/diagnostic-checks.md |

Categories 6-9: Infrastructure

| Category | What It Checks | |----------|---------------| | 6. Permission Rules | Unreachable rules detection | | 7. Schema Compliance | JSON files against schemas | | 8. Coordination | Multi-worktree lock health, stale locks, sparse paths config | | 9. Context Budget | Token usage against budget |

Categories 10-15: Environment

| Category | What It Checks | Reference | |----------|---------------|-----------| | 10. CC Version & Channel | Runtime version against minimum required, release channel (stable/beta/alpha) | load ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/version-compatibility.md | | 11. External Deps | Optional tools (agent-browser, portless) | load ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/rules/diagnostic-checks.md | | 12. MCP Status | Enabled/disabled state, credential checks, HIGH-tier @latest pinning warn | load ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/rules/mcp-status-checks.md + ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/mcp-pinning-check.md | | 13. Plugin Validate | Official CC frontmatter + hooks.json validation (CC >= 2.1.77) | load ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/rules/diagnostic-checks.md | | 14. Effort/Model | Detects xhigh effort configured without Opus 4.8 — see below | inline | | 15. Sandbox Posture | CC Bash-sandbox on/off + /sandbox nudge (opt-in, Bash-only; info-level) | load ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/sandbox-posture.md |

Category 14: Effort/Model Compatibility (CC 2.1.111+)

CC 2.1.111 added xhigh effort (Opus 4.8; since CC 2.1.154 it defaults to high and takes xhigh for the hardest tasks). Using it with a model that doesn't support it silently falls back to high — producing no error but losing the extra deepening pass documented in the affected skills.

Detection:

If the active model does NOT support xhigh (i.e. not Opus 4.8), check whether /effort is set to xhigh:
- Read .claude/settings.json → effort field
- Read $ORCHESTKIT_EFFORT env var (populated by the effort-detector hook)
Check for any skill invocation under .claude/chain/*.json that explicitly set effort: xhigh with a non-Opus-4.8 model in scope

Warning format:

WARNING: xhigh effort requires Opus 4.8.
  Current model: <model-id>
  Configured effort: xhigh
  Impact: Skills fall back to high — xhigh's extra deepening pass is lost silently.
  Fix: Either switch to Opus 4.8 (`claude --model opus-4-8`) or lower effort to `high`.

Exit code: Non-zero in --json mode; soft warning in interactive mode.

Report Format

Load Read("${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/report-format.md") for ASCII report templates, JSON CI output schema, and exit codes.

Interpreting Results & Troubleshooting

Load Read("${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/remediation-guide.md") for the full results interpretation table and troubleshooting steps for common failures (skills validation, build sync, memory).

Bisect with --safe-mode (CC 2.1.169+): when doctor findings don't explain a misbehaving session, restart with claude --safe-mode (or CLAUDE_CODE_SAFE_MODE=1) — it disables ALL customizations (CLAUDE.md, plugins incl. ork, skills, hooks, MCP). If the problem disappears, it's a customization; re-enable halves to isolate. If it persists, it's CC itself — file upstream.

After you fix an issue

CC 2.1.69+: Run /reload-plugins to activate plugin changes in the current session without restarting.

CC 2.1.116+: /reload-plugins and background plugin auto-update now auto-install missing plugin dependencies from marketplaces you've already added. If ork:doctor flagged a plugin-load failure due to a missing dep, /reload-plugins resolves it in place — no manual plugin install step needed.

CC 2.1.152+: For non-plugin skills in a skill directory (~/.claude/skills/ or .claude/skills/), run /reload-skills to re-scan without restarting — the skill analogue of /reload-plugins.

Chain: Deeper Audit

After a clean health report, audit the observability pipeline itself:
/ork:telemetry-inspect
doctor validates structure (manifests, hooks, skills, agents); /ork:telemetry-inspect validates the data plane — every telemetry writer's row count, schema lock, growth trend, and orphaned analytics files that structural checks don't cover.

Related Skills

ork:configure - Configure plugin settings
ork:telemetry-inspect - Audit the telemetry/analytics pipeline after a clean structural check
ork:quality-gates - CI/CD integration
security-scanning - Comprehensive audits

References

Load on demand with Read("${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/<file>") or Read("${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/rules/<file>"): | File | Content | |------|---------| | rules/diagnostic-checks.md | Bash commands and validation logic per category | | rules/mcp-status-checks.md | Credential validation and misconfiguration detection | | references/remediation-guide.md | Results interpretation and troubleshooting steps | | references/health-check-outputs.md | Sample output per category | | references/skills-validation.md | Skills frontmatter and structure checks | | references/agents-validation.md | Agents frontmatter and tool ref checks | | references/hook-validation.md | Hook registration and bundle checks | | references/memory-health.md | Memory system integrity checks | | references/permission-rules.md | Permission rule detection | | references/schema-validation.md | JSON schema compliance | | references/report-format.md | ASCII report templates and JSON CI output | | references/version-compatibility.md | CC version and channel validation | | references/mcp-pinning-check.md | HIGH-tier MCP @latest warning logic + tier source-of-truth |

Agent Skills: OrchestKit Health Diagnostics

Install this agent skill to your local

Skill Files