skill-doctor

name	skill-doctor
effort	low
description	Environment diagnostics — check providers, auth, config, hooks, scheduler, and more
trigger	AUTOMATICALLY ACTIVATE when user asks about: - "doctor" or "run doctor" or "diagnostics" - "check my setup" or "is everything working" - "health check" or "environment check" - "what's wrong with my setup" or "why isn't octopus working" - "check providers" or "check auth" or "check hooks" DO NOT activate for: - Initial setup (use /octo:setup) - Project status or workflow progress (use /octo:status) - Debugging application code (use /octo:debug)

Environment Doctor

Overview

Run environment diagnostics across 11 check categories. Identifies misconfigured providers, stale state, broken hooks, and other issues that prevent Claude Octopus from working correctly.

Core principle: Detect problems before they surface in workflows.

---

When to Use

Use this skill when:

• Something isn't working and you're not sure why
• After installing or updating the plugin
• Before a demo or important workflow run
• Checking if providers are properly authenticated
• Verifying scheduler, hooks, or skills are correctly configured

Do NOT use for:

• First-time setup (use /octo:setup — it guides configuration)
• Project workflow status (use /octo:status)
• Debugging application code (use /octo:debug)

---

The Process

Step 1: Resolve Plugin Root and Run Full Diagnostics

Use this resolver before running Octopus scripts. Do not assume ~/.claude-octopus/plugin exists; Windows Git Bash installs may not support the stable symlink. Run this as a single Bash call.

OCTO_PLUGIN_ROOT="${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT:-}"
if [[ -z "$OCTO_PLUGIN_ROOT" || ! -x "$OCTO_PLUGIN_ROOT/scripts/orchestrate.sh" ]]; then
  OCTO_PLUGIN_ROOT="${HOME}/.claude-octopus/plugin"
fi
if [[ ! -x "$OCTO_PLUGIN_ROOT/scripts/orchestrate.sh" ]] && command -v octopus >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  OCTO_BIN="$(command -v octopus)"
  OCTO_PLUGIN_ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$OCTO_BIN")/.." && pwd)"
fi
if [[ ! -x "$OCTO_PLUGIN_ROOT/scripts/orchestrate.sh" ]]; then
  OCTO_PLUGIN_ROOT="$(
    find "${HOME}/.claude/plugins" -type f -path "*/scripts/orchestrate.sh" -print 2>/dev/null \
      | sed 's#/scripts/orchestrate.sh$##' \
      | grep -E '(nyldn-plugins|claude-octopus|/octo(/[0-9]|$))' \
      | sort \
      | tail -1
  )"
fi
if [[ -z "$OCTO_PLUGIN_ROOT" || ! -x "$OCTO_PLUGIN_ROOT/scripts/orchestrate.sh" ]]; then
  echo "Claude Octopus plugin root not found. Reinstall the octo plugin, then retry /octo:doctor."
  exit 1
fi
mkdir -p "${HOME}/.claude-octopus"
ln -sfn "$OCTO_PLUGIN_ROOT" "${HOME}/.claude-octopus/plugin" 2>/dev/null || true
export OCTO_PLUGIN_ROOT
bash "$OCTO_PLUGIN_ROOT/scripts/orchestrate.sh" doctor

This runs all 11 check categories and displays a formatted report.

Step 2: Filter by Category (Optional)

If the user asks about a specific area, filter:

bash "${HOME}/.claude-octopus/plugin/scripts/orchestrate.sh" doctor providers
bash "${HOME}/.claude-octopus/plugin/scripts/orchestrate.sh" doctor auth
bash "${HOME}/.claude-octopus/plugin/scripts/orchestrate.sh" doctor config
bash "${HOME}/.claude-octopus/plugin/scripts/orchestrate.sh" doctor state
bash "${HOME}/.claude-octopus/plugin/scripts/orchestrate.sh" doctor smoke
bash "${HOME}/.claude-octopus/plugin/scripts/orchestrate.sh" doctor hooks
bash "${HOME}/.claude-octopus/plugin/scripts/orchestrate.sh" doctor scheduler
bash "${HOME}/.claude-octopus/plugin/scripts/orchestrate.sh" doctor skills
bash "${HOME}/.claude-octopus/plugin/scripts/orchestrate.sh" doctor conflicts
bash "${HOME}/.claude-octopus/plugin/scripts/orchestrate.sh" doctor agents
bash "${HOME}/.claude-octopus/plugin/scripts/orchestrate.sh" doctor recurrence

Step 3: Check & Install Dependencies

Run the dependency checker to find missing CLIs, statusline config, and recommended plugins:

bash "${HOME}/.claude-octopus/plugin/scripts/install-deps.sh" check

If the check reports missing deps, offer to install them:

bash "${HOME}/.claude-octopus/plugin/scripts/install-deps.sh" install

This auto-installs: Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, jq, and the statusline resolver. For plugins (claude-mem, document-skills), it prints /plugin install commands the user must run manually.

Step 4: Verbose or JSON Output

# Detailed output for troubleshooting
bash "${HOME}/.claude-octopus/plugin/scripts/orchestrate.sh" doctor --verbose

# Machine-readable output
bash "${HOME}/.claude-octopus/plugin/scripts/orchestrate.sh" doctor --json

# Combine: specific category + verbose
bash "${HOME}/.claude-octopus/plugin/scripts/orchestrate.sh" doctor auth --verbose

Step 5: Interactive Remediation (MANDATORY for fixable issues)

After running diagnostics, if ANY fixable issues are found, you MUST use AskUserQuestion to offer fixes. Do NOT just print instructions — offer to execute them.

RTK not installed:

AskUserQuestion({
  questions: [{
    question: "RTK saves 60-90% on bash output tokens. Install it now?",
    header: "Install RTK",
    multiSelect: false,
    options: [
      {label: "Install via brew (Recommended)", description: "brew install rtk — fast, macOS"},
      {label: "Install via cargo", description: "cargo install rtk-token-killer"},
      {label: "Skip", description: "Continue without RTK"}
    ]
  }]
})

If user chooses install, run it, then offer hook setup.

RTK installed but hook not configured on macOS/Linux:

On Windows Git Bash, do not offer rtk init -g. RTK uses CLAUDE.md injection mode there, so report the hook check as skipped.

AskUserQuestion({
  questions: [{
    question: "RTK is installed but the Claude Code hook isn't active. Configure it?",
    header: "RTK Hook",
    multiSelect: false,
    options: [
      {label: "Run rtk init -g (Recommended)", description: "Auto-installs Claude Code bash hook on macOS/Linux"},
      {label: "Skip", description: "I'll configure it later"}
    ]
  }]
})

Missing providers (Codex/Gemini not installed):

AskUserQuestion({
  questions: [{
    question: "Some providers are missing. Install them?",
    header: "Providers",
    multiSelect: true,
    options: [
      {label: "Codex CLI", description: "npm install -g @openai/codex"},
      {label: "Gemini CLI", description: "brew install gemini-cli (macOS)"},
      {label: "Skip all", description: "Continue with available providers"}
    ]
  }]
})

Auth expired: Offer to run the login command for the expired provider.

Multiple fixable issues: Batch them into a single AskUserQuestion with multiSelect where appropriate, rather than asking one at a time.

---

Check Categories

Category	What it checks
providers	Claude Code version, Codex CLI installed, Gemini CLI installed, Perplexity API key, Ollama local LLM (server + models), circuit breaker status, provider fallback history
auth	Authentication status for each provider
config	Plugin version, install scope, feature flags
state	Project state.json, stale results, workspace writable
smoke	Smoke test cache, model configuration
hooks	hooks.json validity, hook scripts
scheduler	Scheduler daemon, jobs, budget gates, kill switches
skills	Skill files loaded and valid
conflicts	Conflicting plugins detection
agents	Agent definitions, worktree isolation, CLI registration, version compatibility
recurrence	Failure pattern detection — flags repeated quality gate failures, source hotspots, 48h trends
deps	Software dependencies — Node.js, jq, Codex/Gemini CLIs, RTK token compression (gain stats + hook status), statusline resolver, recommended plugins

---

Interpreting Results

Healthy Output

All checks pass — no action needed.

Common Issues and Fixes

Issue	Fix
Codex CLI not found	npm install -g @openai/codex or install via codex login
Gemini CLI not found	Install Gemini CLI from Google
Perplexity not configured	export PERPLEXITY_API_KEY="pplx-..." (optional)
Auth expired	Re-run codex login or gemini login
Circuit breaker OPEN	Provider had 3+ consecutive transient failures — wait for cooldown or check provider status
Stale state	Delete .octo/state.json and re-initialize
Invalid hooks.json	Check hooks.json syntax — must be valid JSON
RTK not installed	Offer to install: brew install rtk && rtk init -g (saves 60-90% tokens). Use AskUserQuestion to offer brew vs cargo install.
RTK installed but hook not configured	On macOS/Linux, offer rtk init -g; on Windows Git Bash, report skipped because RTK uses CLAUDE.md injection mode
RTK gain stats unavailable	Run some bash commands first, then check rtk gain to see token savings
Conflicting plugins	Uninstall conflicting plugins or adjust scope

---

Integration with Other Skills

Scenario	Route
Doctor finds missing provider	Suggest /octo:setup to configure
Doctor finds stale project state	Suggest /octo:status to review
Doctor finds hook errors	Guide user to fix hooks.json
All checks pass, user still has issues	Suggest /octo:debug for deeper investigation

---

Hook Profile

Claude Octopus hooks can run in different profiles to balance cost and coverage.

Current profile: $OCTO_HOOK_PROFILE (default: standard)

Available profiles:

• minimal — Only session lifecycle and cost tracking hooks (lowest overhead)
• standard — All hooks except expensive review/security gates (default)
• strict — All hooks enabled including quality and security gates

Override: Set OCTO_PROFILE=budget|balanced|quality or OCTO_DISABLED_HOOKS=hook1,hook2 to fine-tune. Legacy OCTO_HOOK_PROFILE still works (minimal→budget, standard→balanced, strict→quality).

---

Intensity Profile

The doctor reports the active intensity profile — a single knob controlling hook gating, model selection, phase skipping, and context verbosity.

What the Doctor Checks

• Current profile: OCTO_PROFILE value (budget/balanced/quality, default: balanced)
• Profile source: env var, legacy OCTO_HOOK_PROFILE, or auto-selected from intent
• Hook gating: which hooks are enabled/disabled at this profile level
• Model hints: which model (sonnet/opus) is recommended for each phase
• Context verbosity: compressed/standard/full

Profile Summary

Dimension	budget	balanced	quality
Hooks	essential only	standard (no quality gates)	all hooks
Models	Sonnet everywhere	Sonnet + Opus for synthesis	Opus for most phases
Phases	Skip discover if context given	Skip re-discovery	All phases run
Context	Compressed	Standard	Full inlining

---

Project Tier Hint

Also report OCTO_TIER when set. This is a recommendation hint, not a hard policy.

Tier	Doctor guidance
prototype	Prefer faster checks and warn before high-cost provider fanout
mvp	Use balanced defaults and consensus on risky changes
production	Recommend full verification, security review, and stricter release gates

If unset, show OCTO_TIER=unset and suggest setting it only when the project has a stable risk profile.

---

Remote Session Checks

If CLAUDE_CODE_REMOTE=true or OCTOPUS_REMOTE_SESSION=true, report:

• remote session detected
• autonomous mode default active when no explicit autonomy is set
• provider probes skipped to conserve time/quota
• full HUD disabled unless OCTOPUS_REMOTE_STATUSLINE=full
• provider CLIs may need to be installed in the cloud setup script

Suggest /octo:setup only for configuration guidance; do not recommend interactive provider logins inside the remote session.

---

Runtime Context

The doctor checks for project-level RUNTIME.md — a file that provides project-specific context (API endpoints, env vars, test commands, build steps) to orchestration prompts.

What the Doctor Checks

• RUNTIME.md exists in the project root (also checks .octopus/RUNTIME.md and .claude-octopus/RUNTIME.md)
• If missing, suggest creating one from the template: cp "${HOME}/.claude-octopus/plugin/config/templates/RUNTIME.md" ./RUNTIME.md
• If present, confirm it contains at least one populated section (not just the template defaults)

Why It Matters

Without a RUNTIME.md, orchestration prompts lack project-specific details — leading to generic advice about test commands, environment variables, and build steps. A populated RUNTIME.md makes every workflow more accurate.

---

Quick Reference

User Input	Action
/octo:doctor	Run all 11 categories
/octo:doctor providers	Check provider installation only
/octo:doctor auth --verbose	Detailed auth status
/octo:doctor --json	Machine-readable output