doctor

ward doctor checks that the project, its tools, and its integrations are ready for Ward.

ward doctor [-C <dir>]

Options

Option	What it does
`-C`, `--directory <dir>`	Inspect the project in `<dir>` instead of the current directory.
`--verbose`	Print diagnostics to stderr. See Verbose diagnostics.

Checks

Doctor inspects the selected directory, or its nearest supported parent project, and prints one line per check:

[OK] project       /path/to/project
[OK] maven         Maven Wrapper available.
[OK] configuration Configuration is present.
[OK] integration   Configured integrations: codex=installed [[APPROVED_ARTIFACT_GUARD, FEEDBACK, POST_EDIT, PRE_TOOL]].
[OK] native        Native executable present.
[OK] ward          v0.2.0 is the latest release.

Check	Status	Meaning
`project`	`OK` / `ERROR`	A supported project was detected. When none is found, only the `ward` check runs after it.
`maven` / `gradle`	`OK` / `ERROR`	For Java and Kotlin projects: the detected build tool’s wrapper exists in the project root, or its executable (`mvn` / `gradle`) is on `PATH`.
`jdk`	`OK` / `WARNING`	For Java and Kotlin projects: the JDK that runs the build, read from `mvn --version` or the Gradle launcher JVM, as init reads it. `WARNING` means the JDK is below 8 (Ward supports Java 8 to 25 and may not work with it), above 25 (not tested or supported; Ward treats it as JDK 25), or that neither the build tool nor its wrapper reported a Java version. The warning does not change the exit status.
a gate id, such as `spotbugs`	`WARNING`	For each gate `ward.toml` enables whose version pinned in the build file does not run on that JDK, for example `spotbugs-maven-plugin 4.9.7.0 runs on JDK 11 to 25; this project builds on JDK 8.` Re-run `ward init` to choose a compatible version. A JDK above 25 is checked as JDK 25. Not reported when the JDK is unknown, and it does not change the exit status.
`node`	`OK` / `ERROR`	For TypeScript and JavaScript projects other than Bun: `node` is on `PATH`.
`node-version`	`WARNING`	For TypeScript and JavaScript projects other than Bun, when the target Node version (from `.nvmrc`, `.node-version`, or `engines.node`) is below 22: Ward supports Node 22 and 24 and may not work with the declared version. The warning does not change the exit status.
`npm` / `pnpm` / `yarn` / `bun`	`OK` / `ERROR`	For TypeScript and JavaScript projects: the detected package manager’s executable is on `PATH`. No `maven` or `gradle` line is printed.
Other build tools, such as `cargo` or `poetry`	`WARNING`	Ward does not check that toolchain yet. The finding is named after the build tool, and nothing about Maven is reported.
`configuration`	`OK` / `ERROR`	`ward.toml` exists in the project root; otherwise run `ward init`.
`integration`	`OK` / `WARNING`	Lists configured project-local agent integrations as `id=status [capabilities]`. Integrations without pre-tool support are marked `advisory-only`. `installed` means the integration’s files are present and Ward-owned; it does not show that the harness has loaded them. `WARNING` means none is configured (`No supported agent integration configured.`) or one is incomplete or outdated; re-run `ward integrate <agent>` to repair it. For a project in a monorepo, agent integrations are looked up at the repository root, where `ward init` installs them.
`native`	`OK` / `WARNING`	`target/ward` exists in the current directory. This is a development check for the Ward repository.
`openspec` / `openspec-archived`	`OK` / `WARNING` / `ERROR`	For each enabled registration, the configured executable and project-root `openspec/` directory are available. `WARNING` means Git ignores `openspec/`, so CI checkouts will not contain the specs and the gate fails there.
`openspec-junit-traceability`	`OK` / `ERROR`	When enabled, `openspec/specs/` and `src/test/java/` must exist; doctor does not create them.
`dependency-check-nvd-api-key`	`WARNING`	When dependency-check is enabled, `NVD_API_KEY` should be set; without it scans may be very slow or rate-limited. The value is never displayed.
`ward`	`OK` / `WARNING`	Compares the running version with the latest GitHub release, looking it up now rather than using the update check cache. `WARNING` means a newer release exists (the line shows how to install it) or the latest release could not be determined, for example offline. `OK` also covers development builds and `WARD_NO_UPDATE_CHECK`, which skip the lookup.
`dependency-check-oss-index`	`WARNING`	When dependency-check is enabled and the build leaves the OSS Index analyzer on (explicitly or by the plugin default), `OSS_INDEX_PASSWORD` should be set; without it scans fail with `401 Unauthorized`. Turn the analyzer off or set the variable. Values are never displayed.

Warnings do not affect the result.

OpenSpec checks

OpenSpec diagnosis is conditional and read-only:

Doctor inspects only enabled registrations in configured profiles.
It never runs validation, installs a tool, creates an openspec/ directory, or reads artifact contents.
Relative executable paths are resolved against the target root. Bare names use PATH, and absolute paths are used as supplied.

Verbose diagnostics

ward --verbose doctor explains the inspection phase and safe availability counts on stderr. Environment contents and filesystem paths are not included in diagnostics.

Exit codes

Code	Meaning
`0`	No check reported `ERROR`.
`2`	At least one check reported `ERROR`.