diff --git a/src/cli/hook-files.ts b/src/cli/hook-files.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5fe2b647
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cli/hook-files.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+import * as fs from "node:fs";
+import * as path from "node:path";
+
+/**
+ * Which hook files an install consists of.
+ *
+ * This used to be a literal list, written out three times — in `init`, in `update`, and in
+ * `status` — and the three had drifted apart. `dist/hooks/` ships eleven files; `init` and
+ * `update` each copied ten, and `status` checked seven. The missing one was
+ * `symbol-extractor.js`, which `post-write.js` imports.
+ *
+ * The consequence was total and silent: ESM resolves imports at load time, so `post-write.js`
+ * threw `ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND` on *every* invocation from the moment of the upgrade. Nothing
+ * was recorded in `anatomy.md`, `memory.md` or `_session.json` for the entire window, in every
+ * upgraded project, and it fails to stderr so there is no visible symptom. `openwolf status`
+ * reported "✓ All 7 hook scripts present" throughout, because its list was the shortest of
+ * the three.
+ *
+ * Reading the shipped directory removes the possibility of drift rather than correcting one
+ * instance of it: whatever the build emits is what gets installed and what gets checked. The
+ * literal below is only a fallback for when the shipped directory cannot be read.
+ */
+export const HOOK_FILES = [
+  "anatomy-lock.js",
+  "anatomy-store.js",
+  "post-read.js",
+  "post-write.js",
+  "pre-read.js",
+  "pre-write.js",
+  "precompact.js",
+  "session-start.js",
+  "shared.js",
+  "stop.js",
+  "symbol-extractor.js",
+] as const;
+
+/** The hook files actually shipped in `sourceDir`, or the fallback list if it cannot be read. */
+export function shippedHookFiles(sourceDir?: string): string[] {
+  if (sourceDir) {
+    try {
+      const found = fs
+        .readdirSync(sourceDir)
+        .filter((f) => f.endsWith(".js") && !f.endsWith(".map"))
+        .sort();
+      if (found.length > 0) return found;
+    } catch {
+      // fall through to the literal
+    }
+  }
+  return [...HOOK_FILES];
+}
+
+/**
+ * Every relative import in `hooksDir`'s hooks resolves to a file that is present.
+ *
+ * Returns a list of human-readable problems; empty means healthy.
+ *
+ * Deliberately a STATIC check rather than importing each hook. Importing them would be the
+ * obvious way to prove they load, but every hook calls `main()` at module scope — so an
+ * import would execute it, read stdin, and write to the project. `node --check` is no help
+ * either: it parses without resolving imports, which is precisely why a missing dependency
+ * passed a syntax check cleanly and stayed invisible.
+ */
+export function verifyHookImports(hooksDir: string): string[] {
+  const problems: string[] = [];
+  let files: string[];
+  try {
+    files = fs.readdirSync(hooksDir).filter((f) => f.endsWith(".js"));
+  } catch {
+    return [`hooks directory is unreadable: ${hooksDir}`];
+  }
+  for (const file of files) {
+    let src: string;
+    try {
+      src = fs.readFileSync(path.join(hooksDir, file), "utf-8");
+    } catch {
+      problems.push(`${file}: unreadable`);
+      continue;
+    }
+    // `import ... from "./x.js"` and `export ... from "./x.js"`, single or double quoted.
+    for (const m of src.matchAll(/(?:import|export)[^;]*?from\s*["'](\.[^"']+)["']/g)) {
+      const target = path.resolve(hooksDir, m[1]);
+      if (!fs.existsSync(target)) {
+        problems.push(`${file} imports ${m[1]}, which is not installed`);
+      }
+    }
+  }
+  return problems;
+}
diff --git a/src/cli/init.ts b/src/cli/init.ts
index 8d862e6c..abf97776 100644
--- a/src/cli/init.ts
+++ b/src/cli/init.ts
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import { registerProject, getRegisteredProjects } from "./registry.js";
 import { resolveAgents, detectInstalledAgents } from "../agents/index.js";
 import { installSkills } from "../agents/skills.js";
 import { newStore, importFromMarkdown, saveStore, loadStore, STORE_FILE, sha256 as storeSha256 } from "../hooks/anatomy-store.js";
+import { shippedHookFiles, verifyHookImports } from "./hook-files.js";
 
 const __filename = fileURLToPath(import.meta.url);
 const __dirname = path.dirname(__filename);
@@ -582,18 +583,8 @@ function copyHookScripts(wolfDir: string): void {
     }
   }
 
-  const hookFiles = [
-    "session-start.js",
-    "pre-read.js",
-    "pre-write.js",
-    "post-read.js",
-    "post-write.js",
-    "precompact.js",
-    "stop.js",
-    "shared.js",
-    "anatomy-store.js",
-    "anatomy-lock.js",
-  ];
+  // Derived from what is actually shipped, so a new hook dependency cannot be left behind.
+  const hookFiles = shippedHookFiles(sourceDir);
 
   let copiedAny = false;
   if (sourceDir) {
diff --git a/src/cli/status.ts b/src/cli/status.ts
index 0fb04c35..e5ef784b 100644
--- a/src/cli/status.ts
+++ b/src/cli/status.ts
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@ import * as fs from "node:fs";
 import * as path from "node:path";
 import { findProjectRoot } from "../scanner/project-root.js";
 import { readJSON, readText } from "../utils/fs-safe.js";
+import { HOOK_FILES, verifyHookImports } from "./hook-files.js";
 
 export async function statusCommand(): Promise<void> {
   const projectRoot = findProjectRoot();
@@ -35,17 +36,24 @@ export async function statusCommand(): Promise<void> {
   }
 
   // Hook scripts check
-  const hookFiles = [
-    "session-start.js", "pre-read.js", "pre-write.js",
-    "post-read.js", "post-write.js", "stop.js", "shared.js",
-  ];
+  // Was a seven-name subset, so it reported "✓ All 7 hook scripts present" while an
+  // uninstalled dependency made post-write.js fail to load on every invocation.
+  const hookFiles = [...HOOK_FILES];
   const hooksDir = path.join(wolfDir, "hooks");
   let hooksMissing = 0;
   for (const file of hookFiles) {
     if (!fs.existsSync(path.join(hooksDir, file))) hooksMissing++;
   }
   if (hooksMissing === 0) {
-    console.log(`  ✓ All ${hookFiles.length} hook scripts present`);
+    // Present is not the same as loadable: an unresolvable import kills the hook at load
+    // time, silently, and "all present" is exactly the message that hid it.
+    const problems = verifyHookImports(hooksDir);
+    if (problems.length > 0) {
+      console.log(`  ✗ ${problems.length} hook(s) cannot load — unresolved imports:`);
+      for (const p of problems) console.log(`      - ${p}`);
+    } else {
+      console.log(`  ✓ All ${hookFiles.length} hook scripts present and loadable`);
+    }
   } else {
     console.log(`  ✗ Missing ${hooksMissing} hook scripts`);
   }
diff --git a/src/cli/update.ts b/src/cli/update.ts
index b7191f55..2ae9d7ae 100644
--- a/src/cli/update.ts
+++ b/src/cli/update.ts
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 import * as fs from "node:fs";
 import * as path from "node:path";
 import { fileURLToPath } from "node:url";
+import { shippedHookFiles, verifyHookImports } from "./hook-files.js";
 import { getRegisteredProjects, registerProject, type RegisteredProject } from "./registry.js";
 import { readJSON, writeJSON, readText, writeText, safeCopyFile } from "../utils/fs-safe.js";
 import { ensureDir } from "../utils/paths.js";
@@ -450,11 +451,9 @@ function copyHookScripts(wolfDir: string): void {
     }
   }
 
-  const hookFiles = [
-    "session-start.js", "pre-read.js", "pre-write.js",
-    "post-read.js", "post-write.js", "precompact.js", "stop.js", "shared.js",
-    "anatomy-store.js", "anatomy-lock.js",
-  ];
+  // Derived from what is actually shipped, so the copy list cannot drift from the build
+  // again. It had: this list omitted symbol-extractor.js, which post-write.js imports.
+  const hookFiles = shippedHookFiles(sourceDir);
 
   if (sourceDir) {
     for (const file of hookFiles) {
@@ -468,6 +467,15 @@ function copyHookScripts(wolfDir: string): void {
   // Always ensure package.json with type:module
   const hooksPkgPath = path.join(hooksDir, "package.json");
   fs.writeFileSync(hooksPkgPath, JSON.stringify({ type: "module" }, null, 2) + "\n", "utf-8");
+
+  // A hook with an unresolvable import throws at LOAD time, on every invocation, straight to
+  // stderr — so the failure is both total and invisible. Say so here rather than let a user
+  // discover it weeks later from an empty anatomy.md.
+  const problems = verifyHookImports(hooksDir);
+  if (problems.length > 0) {
+    console.log(`    ✗ ${problems.length} hook dependency problem(s) — hooks will fail to load:`);
+    for (const p of problems) console.log(`      - ${p}`);
+  }
 }
 
 function replaceOpenWolfHooks(
diff --git a/tests/hook-files.test.ts b/tests/hook-files.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..d3ec97d4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/hook-files.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,94 @@
+import { test, describe } from "node:test";
+import * as assert from "node:assert";
+import * as fs from "node:fs";
+import * as os from "node:os";
+import * as path from "node:path";
+
+import { HOOK_FILES, shippedHookFiles, verifyHookImports } from "../src/cli/hook-files.ts";
+
+const tmpDir = () => fs.mkdtempSync(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "wolf-hookfiles-"));
+
+describe("the install list is derived from what ships", () => {
+  test("every hook in dist/hooks is in the fallback list", () => {
+    // The regression that started this: dist shipped 11 hooks, the copy lists named 10, and
+    // the omitted one was a dependency of post-write.js. Pin the literal to the build.
+    const shipped = path.resolve(import.meta.dirname, "../dist/hooks");
+    if (!fs.existsSync(shipped)) return; // not built in this checkout; the next test covers the logic
+    const onDisk = fs.readdirSync(shipped).filter((f) => f.endsWith(".js") && !f.endsWith(".map")).sort();
+    const missing = onDisk.filter((f) => !(HOOK_FILES as readonly string[]).includes(f));
+    assert.deepEqual(missing, [], `shipped but not in HOOK_FILES: ${missing.join(", ")}`);
+  });
+
+  test("shippedHookFiles reads the directory rather than a hardcoded list", () => {
+    const dir = tmpDir();
+    for (const f of ["a.js", "b.js", "brand-new-dependency.js", "notes.md", "x.js.map"])
+      fs.writeFileSync(path.join(dir, f), "", "utf-8");
+    const found = shippedHookFiles(dir);
+    assert.deepEqual(found, ["a.js", "b.js", "brand-new-dependency.js"].sort());
+    assert.ok(found.includes("brand-new-dependency.js"), "a newly added hook must be picked up");
+    fs.rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+
+  test("falls back to the literal when the directory is unreadable or empty", () => {
+    assert.deepEqual(shippedHookFiles(path.join(os.tmpdir(), "does-not-exist-xyz")), [...HOOK_FILES]);
+    assert.deepEqual(shippedHookFiles(undefined), [...HOOK_FILES]);
+    const empty = tmpDir();
+    assert.deepEqual(shippedHookFiles(empty), [...HOOK_FILES]);
+    fs.rmSync(empty, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+
+  test("symbol-extractor.js is in the list", () => {
+    // The specific omission. Named explicitly so a future edit cannot quietly drop it again.
+    assert.ok((HOOK_FILES as readonly string[]).includes("symbol-extractor.js"));
+  });
+});
+
+describe("an uninstalled dependency is detected instead of failing silently", () => {
+  test("reports a hook whose import is not installed", () => {
+    const dir = tmpDir();
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(dir, "post-write.js"),
+      'import { extractSymbols } from "./symbol-extractor.js";\nmain();\n', "utf-8");
+    const problems = verifyHookImports(dir);
+    assert.equal(problems.length, 1, JSON.stringify(problems));
+    assert.match(problems[0], /post-write\.js imports \.\/symbol-extractor\.js/);
+    fs.rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+
+  test("silent once the dependency is installed", () => {
+    const dir = tmpDir();
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(dir, "post-write.js"),
+      'import { extractSymbols } from "./symbol-extractor.js";\n', "utf-8");
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(dir, "symbol-extractor.js"), "export function extractSymbols() {}\n", "utf-8");
+    assert.deepEqual(verifyHookImports(dir), []);
+    fs.rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+
+  test("bare specifiers are left alone — only relative imports are ours to install", () => {
+    const dir = tmpDir();
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(dir, "h.js"),
+      'import * as fs from "node:fs";\nimport cron from "node-cron";\n', "utf-8");
+    assert.deepEqual(verifyHookImports(dir), []);
+    fs.rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+
+  test("catches re-exports too, and both quote styles", () => {
+    const dir = tmpDir();
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(dir, "h.js"), "export { x } from './gone.js';\n", "utf-8");
+    const problems = verifyHookImports(dir);
+    assert.equal(problems.length, 1, JSON.stringify(problems));
+    assert.match(problems[0], /gone\.js/);
+    fs.rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+
+  test("does not execute the hooks it checks", () => {
+    // Importing each hook would be the obvious way to prove it loads — but every hook calls
+    // main() at module scope, so an import would run it. This must stay a static check.
+    const dir = tmpDir();
+    const sentinel = path.join(dir, "SIDE_EFFECT");
+    fs.writeFileSync(path.join(dir, "h.js"),
+      `import * as fs from "node:fs";\nfs.writeFileSync(${JSON.stringify(sentinel)}, "ran");\n`, "utf-8");
+    verifyHookImports(dir);
+    assert.ok(!fs.existsSync(sentinel), "verifyHookImports executed a hook");
+    fs.rmSync(dir, { recursive: true, force: true });
+  });
+});