Check Tools - Development Environment Validator

Core Philosophy

Systematically verify tool presence and versions across major programming ecosystems. Provide actionable feedback about availability and validate complete toolchains with awareness of interdependencies (e.g., Node.js requires npm).

Environment Compatibility

This skill supports flexible validation modes:

• Strict mode: Fail on missing core tools (python3, node, git, gcc)
• Lenient mode: Report all tools but only warn on optional ones
• Custom mode: Define required vs optional tools per project

Default behavior reports all tools without failing validation, suitable for diverse PaaS environments.

When to Use This Skill

Trigger this skill when working on:

• Environment setup verification - Validating that all required tools are installed
• Troubleshooting build failures - Checking for missing dependencies or version mismatches
• Documentation generation - Creating system requirements documentation
• CI/CD pipeline setup - Ensuring container images have required tools
• Onboarding new developers - Verifying development environment readiness
• Cross-platform development - Checking tool availability across different operating systems
• Polyglot projects - Validating toolchains for multiple programming languages

Tool Categories

1. Python Ecosystem

Core Tools (typically available):

• python3, python - Python interpreters ✅
• pip - Package installer ✅
• uv - Fast Python package installer ✅

Development Tools (install as needed):

• poetry - Dependency management and packaging
• black - Code formatter
• mypy - Static type checker
• pytest - Testing framework
• ruff - Fast Python linter

Validation Pattern:

if command -v python3 &> /dev/null; then
    python3 --version
fi

2. Node.js Ecosystem

Core Tools (typically available):

• node - Node.js runtime ✅
• npm - Package manager ✅

Development Tools (install as needed):

• nvm - Node version manager
• yarn - Fast, reliable package manager
• pnpm - Efficient disk space package manager
• eslint - JavaScript linter
• prettier - Code formatter
• chromedriver - Browser automation

Validation Pattern:

if command -v node &> /dev/null; then
    node --version
    # Check for multiple Node versions via nvm
    if [[ -s "/opt/nvm/nvm.sh" ]]; then
        source "/opt/nvm/nvm.sh"
        nvm list
    fi
fi

3. Java Ecosystem

Core Tools (typically available):

• java - Java runtime and compiler ✅

Build Tools (install as needed):

• mvn - Maven build tool
• gradle - Gradle build tool

Validation Pattern:

if command -v java &> /dev/null; then
    java -version 2>&1 | head -3
fi

4. Go Ecosystem

Development Tools (install as needed):

• go - Go compiler and toolchain

Validation Pattern:

if command -v go &> /dev/null; then
    go version
fi

5. Rust Ecosystem

Development Tools (install as needed):

• rustc - Rust compiler
• cargo - Rust package manager and build tool

Environment Setup:

# Source cargo environment if it exists
if [[ -f "$HOME/.cargo/env" ]]; then
    source "$HOME/.cargo/env"
fi

6. C/C++ Ecosystem

Core Tools (typically available):

• gcc - GNU Compiler Collection ✅

Build Tools (install as needed):

• clang - LLVM C/C++ compiler
• cmake - Cross-platform build system
• ninja - Small build system with focus on speed
• conan - C/C++ package manager

Validation Pattern:

if command -v gcc &> /dev/null; then
    gcc --version | head -1
fi

7. System Utilities

Core Tools (typically available):

• git - Version control ✅
• curl - Data transfer tool ✅
• awk - Pattern scanning and processing ✅
• sed - Stream editor ✅
• grep - Pattern matching ✅
• gzip - File compression ✅
• tar - Archive utility ✅
• make - Build automation ✅

Development Tools (install as needed):

• jq - JSON processor
• rg (ripgrep) - Fast text search
• tmux - Terminal multiplexer
• yq - YAML processor
• vim - Vi improved
• nano - Simple text editor

Validation Strategies

Basic Presence & Version Check

Combine tool detection with version extraction:

check_tool() {
    local tool=$1
    local required=${2:-false}

    if command -v "$tool" &> /dev/null; then
        echo "✅ $tool: $($tool --version 2>&1 | head -1)"
        return 0
    else
        if [[ "$required" == "true" ]]; then
            echo "❌ $tool: not found (REQUIRED)"
            return 1
        else
            echo "⚠️  $tool: not found (optional)"
            return 0
        fi
    fi
}

# Usage
check_tool python3 true   # Required
check_tool poetry false   # Optional

Environment-Specific Loading

Some tools require environment setup before detection:

# Load version managers if present
[[ -f "$HOME/.nvm/nvm.sh" ]] && source "$HOME/.nvm/nvm.sh"
[[ -f "$HOME/.cargo/env" ]] && source "$HOME/.cargo/env"

# Then check tools
check_tool node true
check_tool cargo false

Output Formatting

Visual Indicators

• ✅ Tool found and working
• ❌ Tool not found or not working
• ⚠️ Tool optional but recommended

Categorical Organization

Group tools by ecosystem for clarity:

=================== Python ===================
✅ python3: Python 3.11.4
✅ pip: pip 23.1.2
✅ poetry: Poetry (version 1.5.1)
❌ mypy: not found

=================== NodeJS ===================
✅ node: v20.5.0
✅ npm: 9.8.0
...

ASCII Art Banners

Create visually appealing output for tool reports:

cat << 'EOF'
   _____ _                 _        _____           _
  / ____| |               | |      / ____|         | |
 | |    | | __ _ _   _  __| | ___  | |     ___   __| | ___
 | |    | |/ _` | | | |/ _` |/ _ \ | |    / _ \ / _` |/ _ \
 | |____| | (_| | |_| | (_| |  __/ | |___| (_) | (_| |  __/
  \_____|_|\__,_|\__,_|\__,_|\___|  \_____\___/ \__,_|\___|

      Development Environment Tool Versions
      =====================================
EOF

Common Use Cases

1. Container/Docker Environment Validation

When setting up development containers, validate that all required tools are installed:

#!/bin/bash
# Validate Python data science environment
check_tool python3 "required"
check_tool pip "required"
check_tool jupyter "required"
check_tool pandas "optional - data analysis"
check_tool numpy "optional - numerical computing"

2. CI/CD Pipeline Health Checks

Add environment validation as the first step in CI pipelines:

# .github/workflows/validate.yml
steps:
  - name: Validate Build Environment
    run: |
      ./scripts/check-tools.sh
      if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
        echo "Build environment validation failed"
        exit 1
      fi

Implementation Patterns

Modular Validation Functions

validate_python_tools() {
    local failed=0

    for tool in python3 pip poetry pytest black; do
        if ! command -v "$tool" &> /dev/null; then
            echo "❌ $tool: not found"
            failed=1
        else
            echo "✅ $tool: $($tool --version 2>&1 | head -1)"
        fi
    done

    return $failed
}

Cross-Platform Considerations

case "$(uname -s)" in
    Linux*) check_linux_tools ;;
    Darwin*) check_macos_tools ;;
esac

Best Practices

1. Fail on missing core tools only - python3, node, git, gcc must be present
2. Source environments first - Load nvm, cargo before checking tools
3. Show versions, not just presence - Use tool --version 2>&1 | head -1
4. Use visual indicators - ✅ (available), ❌ (required missing), ⚠️ (optional missing)
5. Return proper exit codes - 0 for success, 1 for missing required tools

Quick Reference: Tool Availability