diff --git a/app/ui/features/settings/about.js b/app/ui/features/settings/about.js
index 5c509e91..ba7f670c 100644
--- a/app/ui/features/settings/about.js
+++ b/app/ui/features/settings/about.js
@@ -24,3 +24,20 @@ export const about = (api) => function mount() {
   });
   return body;
 };
+
+/** "Is this machine ready to generate?": the rows core/readiness.py reports, worst first. */
+export const readiness = (api) => function mount() {
+  const body = c.region.stack({ gap: "sm", label: "Ready to generate" });
+  const MARK = { ok: "✓", warn: "!", fail: "✗" }, ORDER = { fail: 0, warn: 1, ok: 2 };
+  const run = async () => {
+    body.set([c.hint.default({ text: "Checking…" })]);
+    let rows;
+    try { rows = (await api.readiness()).rows; } catch (err) { return body.set([c.banner.warn({ text: `Could not check: ${err.message}` }), check]); }
+    const bad = rows.filter((r) => r.level !== "ok").length;
+    body.set([check, bad ? c.banner.warn({ text: `${bad} thing${bad > 1 ? "s" : ""} to look at.` }) : c.banner.info({ text: "Nothing in the way." }),
+      ...[...rows].sort((a, b) => ORDER[a.level] - ORDER[b.level]).map((r) => c.hint.default({ text: `${MARK[r.level]} ${r.text}` }))]);
+  };
+  const check = c.button.sm({ label: "Check this machine", tone: "ghost", title: "Look for what a first run on a new GPU box trips over", onClick: run });
+  body.set([c.hint.default({ text: "Run this on a new rental before the first generation: it checks ffmpeg, the GPU, model files, installed nodes and loaded modules." }), check]);
+  return body;
+};
diff --git a/app/ui/features/settings/index.js b/app/ui/features/settings/index.js
index e9aec560..0fea7c15 100644
--- a/app/ui/features/settings/index.js
+++ b/app/ui/features/settings/index.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 // Settings sections that sit in v4's window: the real ones, and stand-ins (named, grouped, saying what is coming) for the rest.
 import { composer as c } from "../../composer/composer.js";
-import { about } from "./about.js";
+import { about, readiness } from "./about.js";
 import { appearance } from "./appearance.js";
 import { models } from "./models.js";
 import { engine } from "./engine.js";
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ export default {
   setup({ host, app }) {
     const add = (id, title, subtitle, icon, tone, mount, group = "", keywords = "") => host.add({ id, group, title, subtitle, icon, tone, mount, keywords: `${keywords} ${title}` });
     add("about", "About FunPack", "", "◎", "accent", about(app.api), "", "version commit branch cpu memory gpu disk python torch");
+    add("readiness", "Ready to generate?", "Check this machine before a first run: ffmpeg, GPU, models, nodes, modules.", "✓", "accent", readiness(app.api), "", "check preflight rental gpu ffmpeg models missing nodes");
     add("appearance", "Appearance", "Light, dark, or follow the system.", "◐", "neutral", appearance(app.theme), "", "theme colour light dark auto");
     add("editor", "Editor", "How the editor behaves. The open project remembers these, so they follow it to another machine.", "☰", "neutral",
       editor(app), "", "upscale autocomplete shortcuts ideas preferences");
diff --git a/app/ui/shell/api.js b/app/ui/shell/api.js
index 29c41c90..b8836a33 100644
--- a/app/ui/shell/api.js
+++ b/app/ui/shell/api.js
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ export const api = {
   releaseModule: (id) => call("POST", "/api/control/release", { id }),
   searchNodes: (q, limit = 40) => call("GET", `/api/nodes/search?q=${encodeURIComponent(q || "")}&limit=${limit}`),
   pipelinePresets: () => call("GET", "/api/pipeline/presets"),
+  readiness: () => call("GET", "/api/readiness"),
   importWorkflow: (workflow) => call("POST", "/api/pipeline/import", { workflow }),
   /** The pipeline as a PNG (loaders, typed-in values, host torch/CUDA). -> a Blob. */
   async settingsCard(slots, projectName, theme) {
diff --git a/core/readiness.py b/core/readiness.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..31b07eb1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/readiness.py
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+"""Is this machine ready to generate? Plain checks of what a first run on a fresh GPU box trips over.
+
+Each check is one row: {"level": "ok" | "warn" | "fail", "text": a sentence that says what to do}.
+`fail` = a generation or render will not work; `warn` = it works but not as it should. Nothing here raises:
+a check that cannot run reports itself as a warning, because this is the screen to trust when things are off.
+"""
+
+import importlib.util
+import shutil
+from typing import Callable, Iterable, List
+
+LOW_DISK_GB = 20
+MODEL_FOLDERS = (("diffusion_models", "diffusion models"), ("checkpoints", "checkpoints"), ("vae", "VAEs"),
+                 ("text_encoders", "text encoders"), ("loras", "LoRAs"))
+
+
+def row(level, text):
+    return {"level": level, "text": text}
+
+
+def have(module) -> bool:
+    try:
+        return importlib.util.find_spec(module) is not None
+    except (ImportError, ValueError):
+        return False
+
+
+def machine(disk_free_gb=None) -> List[dict]:
+    out = []
+    for tool, why in (("ffmpeg", "the final render and previews"), ("ffprobe", "reading clip lengths")):
+        out.append(row("ok", f"{tool} found") if shutil.which(tool) else row("fail", f"{tool} is not installed: it is needed for {why}. Install ffmpeg on this machine."))
+    out.append(row("ok", "Pillow found") if have("PIL") else row("fail", "Pillow is not installed: 'continue from the previous clip' cannot read the last frame. pip install pillow"))
+    try:
+        import torch
+        if not torch.cuda.is_available():
+            out.append(row("warn", "No NVIDIA GPU is visible to torch: this machine can edit but not generate."))
+        else:
+            props = torch.cuda.get_device_properties(0)
+            out.append(row("ok", f"{props.name}, {props.total_memory / 1024 ** 3:.0f} GB, sm_{props.major}{props.minor}"))
+            if not torch.cuda.is_bf16_supported():
+                out.append(row("fail", "This GPU does not support bf16, which the H3 VAEs need."))
+            if props.major >= 12 and have("xformers"):
+                out.append(row("warn", "xformers has no masked-attention kernel for this GPU: start ComfyUI with --disable-xformers --use-sage-attention."))
+    except Exception as exc:                                  # noqa: BLE001
+        out.append(row("warn", f"torch could not be inspected ({exc})."))
+    if not have("sageattention"):
+        out.append(row("warn", "sageattention is not installed: attention runs slower (and the H3 SLA setting has no fast path)."))
+    if disk_free_gb is not None and disk_free_gb < LOW_DISK_GB:
+        out.append(row("warn", f"Only {disk_free_gb} GB free: renders and previews fill a disk quickly (want {LOW_DISK_GB}+)."))
+    return out
+
+
+def models(counts: dict) -> List[dict]:
+    """`counts`: model folder -> number of files ComfyUI lists there."""
+    out = []
+    if not counts.get("diffusion_models") and not counts.get("checkpoints"):
+        out.append(row("fail", "No model files: put a diffusion model (or checkpoint) in ComfyUI's models folder."))
+    for key, label in MODEL_FOLDERS:
+        n = counts.get(key)
+        if n is None:
+            continue
+        out.append(row("ok" if n else "warn", f"{n} {label}" if n else f"No {label} found."))
+    return out
+
+
+def pipelines(presets: Iterable[dict], installed: Callable[[str], bool]) -> List[dict]:
+    """Nodes a starting point needs that this ComfyUI does not have (a custom-node pack is missing)."""
+    out = []
+    for preset in presets:
+        missing = sorted({s["node"] for s in preset.get("slots", []) if not installed(s["node"])})
+        if missing:
+            out.append(row("warn", f"“{preset.get('title') or preset.get('id')}” needs nodes that are not installed: {', '.join(missing)}. Install the pack that provides them (Settings ▸ Custom nodes)."))
+    return out or [row("ok", "Every starting point's nodes are installed")]
+
+
+def modules(failed, quarantined) -> List[dict]:
+    out = [row("warn", f"{where} did not load: {why}") for where, why in failed]
+    out += [row("warn", f"Module {mid} is switched off after a failure: {e.get('reason', '')}. Release it in Settings ▸ Modules.") for mid, e in quarantined.items()]
+    return out or [row("ok", "Every module loaded")]
diff --git a/core/routes.py b/core/routes.py
index 13405273..4f2ef639 100644
--- a/core/routes.py
+++ b/core/routes.py
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ from . import (backend_log, config, control as control_mod, graph as graph_mod,
                story,
                sysinfo,
                temp_files,
-               update as update_mod, workflow_import,
+               readiness, update as update_mod, workflow_import,
                registry as registry_mod, serve as static, widgets)
 from .contract import CONTRACT_VERSION
 from .relations import order
@@ -258,6 +258,32 @@ def register(routes, prefix=None):
         except (ValueError, TypeError, KeyError, AttributeError, IndexError) as exc:        # an export that is not shaped like one
             return web.json_response({"why": str(exc)}, status=400)
 
+    @routes.get(P + "/api/readiness")
+    async def _readiness(_req):
+        """Plain checks of whether this machine can generate (core/readiness.py)."""
+        def collect():
+            import nodes as comfy_nodes
+            import folder_paths
+            counts = {}
+            for key, _label in readiness.MODEL_FOLDERS:
+                try:
+                    counts[key] = len(folder_paths.get_filename_list(key))
+                except Exception:  # noqa: BLE001 -- a folder this ComfyUI does not know
+                    pass
+            presets = [{"id": "default", "title": "Default", "slots": [s for p in modules().providers("default_pipeline") for s in p[1]()]}]
+            for _spec, make in modules().providers("pipeline_presets"):
+                try:
+                    presets += list(make() or [])
+                except Exception as exc:  # noqa: BLE001
+                    log.failed("pipeline_presets", exc)
+            reg = modules()
+            rows = readiness.machine(sysinfo.collect().get("disk", {}).get("free_gb"))
+            rows += readiness.models(counts)
+            rows += readiness.pipelines(presets, lambda cls: cls in comfy_nodes.NODE_CLASS_MAPPINGS)
+            rows += readiness.modules(reg.failed, control_mod.quarantined(reg.specs.values()))
+            return rows
+        return web.json_response({"rows": await asyncio.to_thread(collect)})
+
     @routes.post(P + "/api/settings-card")
     async def _settings_card(req):
         """Render the CALLER's pipeline as a PNG. See core/settings_card.py.
diff --git a/core/tests/test_readiness.py b/core/tests/test_readiness.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2bda81bd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/core/tests/test_readiness.py
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+from core import readiness as r
+
+
+def levels(rows):
+    return [x["level"] for x in rows]
+
+
+def test_no_model_files_is_a_failure_and_empty_folders_are_named():
+    rows = r.models({"diffusion_models": 0, "checkpoints": 0, "vae": 2})
+    assert rows[0]["level"] == "fail" and "No model files" in rows[0]["text"]
+    assert any("No diffusion models" in x["text"] for x in rows) and any(x["text"] == "2 VAEs" for x in rows)
+    assert "fail" not in levels(r.models({"diffusion_models": 1}))
+
+
+def test_a_preset_naming_a_node_that_is_not_installed_says_which_and_where_to_get_it():
+    presets = [{"id": "a", "title": "H3", "slots": [{"node": "Have"}, {"node": "ImageTransformKJ"}]}, {"id": "b", "slots": [{"node": "Have"}]}]
+    rows = r.pipelines(presets, lambda cls: cls == "Have")
+    assert len(rows) == 1 and "ImageTransformKJ" in rows[0]["text"] and "H3" in rows[0]["text"]
+    assert r.pipelines(presets[1:], lambda cls: True)[0]["level"] == "ok"
+
+
+def test_modules_that_failed_or_are_switched_off_are_listed():
+    rows = r.modules([("modules.x", "ImportError: nope")], {"reins": {"reason": "boom"}})
+    assert len(rows) == 2 and "nope" in rows[0]["text"] and "reins" in rows[1]["text"]
+    assert r.modules([], {})[0]["level"] == "ok"
+
+
+def test_the_machine_checks_never_raise_and_low_disk_is_a_warning(monkeypatch):
+    monkeypatch.setattr(r.shutil, "which", lambda name: None)
+    rows = r.machine(disk_free_gb=3)
+    assert any(x["level"] == "fail" and "ffmpeg" in x["text"] for x in rows)
+    assert any(x["level"] == "warn" and "3 GB free" in x["text"] for x in rows)
diff --git a/core/tests/test_routes_pipeline.py b/core/tests/test_routes_pipeline.py
index 77190df4..b584393b 100644
--- a/core/tests/test_routes_pipeline.py
+++ b/core/tests/test_routes_pipeline.py
@@ -535,6 +535,12 @@ def test_a_comfyui_workflow_imports_into_slots_that_build_a_real_graph(server, r
     assert _request(server, "POST", "/funpack/api/pipeline/import", {"workflow": {"nope": 1}})[0] == 400
 
 
+def test_the_readiness_check_answers_with_rows_and_says_which_starting_point_lacks_nodes(server, registered):
+    status, body = _request(server, "GET", "/funpack/api/readiness")
+    assert status == 200 and body["rows"]
+    assert all(r["level"] in ("ok", "warn", "fail") and r["text"] for r in body["rows"])
+
+
 def test_the_manifest_says_which_modules_can_be_switched_and_a_quarantined_one_can_be_released(server):
     from core import control, registry
     status, body = _request(server, "GET", "/funpack/api/modules")