diff --git a/.codex/hooks.json b/.codex/hooks.json
index d7cd1b798..b6784765e 100644
--- a/.codex/hooks.json
+++ b/.codex/hooks.json
@@ -6,7 +6,7 @@
         "hooks": [
           {
             "type": "command",
-            "command": "[ ! -f \".codex/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook.mjs\" ] || ! { node -e \"import('fs')\" 2>/dev/null || { D=\"$HOME/.impeccable\"; [ -f \"$D/node-unsupported\" ] || { mkdir -p \"$D\" 2>/dev/null && : > \"$D/node-unsupported\" 2>/dev/null && printf '%s' '{\"systemMessage\":\"The impeccable design hook is not running: no Node 22 or newer on PATH. Install one, or remove the impeccable hook from your harness settings.\"}'; }; exit 0; }; } || node \".codex/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook.mjs\"",
+            "command": "[ ! -f \".codex/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook.mjs\" ] || ! node -e \"import('fs')\" 2>/dev/null || node \".codex/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook.mjs\"",
             "timeout": 5,
             "statusMessage": "Checking UI changes"
           }
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
         "hooks": [
           {
             "type": "command",
-            "command": "[ ! -f \".codex/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook.mjs\" ] || ! { node -e \"import('fs')\" 2>/dev/null || { D=\"$HOME/.impeccable\"; [ -f \"$D/node-unsupported\" ] || { mkdir -p \"$D\" 2>/dev/null && : > \"$D/node-unsupported\" 2>/dev/null && printf '%s' '{\"systemMessage\":\"The impeccable design hook is not running: no Node 22 or newer on PATH. Install one, or remove the impeccable hook from your harness settings.\"}'; }; exit 0; }; } || node \".codex/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook.mjs\"",
+            "command": "[ ! -f \".codex/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook.mjs\" ] || ! node -e \"import('fs')\" 2>/dev/null || node \".codex/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook.mjs\"",
             "timeout": 30,
             "statusMessage": "Design deep pass"
           }
diff --git a/.cursor/hooks.json b/.cursor/hooks.json
index e4dd64f5e..c7dc57cea 100644
--- a/.cursor/hooks.json
+++ b/.cursor/hooks.json
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
   "hooks": {
     "preToolUse": [
       {
-        "command": "[ ! -f \".cursor/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs\" ] || ! { node -e \"import('fs')\" 2>/dev/null || { D=\"$HOME/.impeccable\"; [ -f \"$D/node-unsupported\" ] || { mkdir -p \"$D\" 2>/dev/null && : > \"$D/node-unsupported\" 2>/dev/null && printf '%s' '{\"systemMessage\":\"The impeccable design hook is not running: no Node 22 or newer on PATH. Install one, or remove the impeccable hook from your harness settings.\"}'; }; exit 0; }; } || node \".cursor/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs\"",
+        "command": "[ ! -f \".cursor/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs\" ] || ! node -e \"import('fs')\" 2>/dev/null || node \".cursor/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook-before-edit.mjs\"",
         "timeout": 5
       }
     ]
diff --git a/scripts/lib/transformers/hooks.js b/scripts/lib/transformers/hooks.js
index 72d39e006..e92ae29d8 100644
--- a/scripts/lib/transformers/hooks.js
+++ b/scripts/lib/transformers/hooks.js
@@ -56,22 +56,30 @@ const CLAUDE_PROJECT_HOOK = '${CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR}/.claude/skills/impeccable/scr
 // or no node at all, kills the hook script while it is still being parsed,
 // before the script's own always-exit-0 contract can run. Nothing written in
 // ESM can report that, the doctor and the sub-commands included, so the command
-// string reports it instead: probe dynamic import, and when the probe fails
-// hand the user the two things they can act on (install a supported node, or
-// drop the hook) through the universal `systemMessage` field on exit 0. A
-// marker under ~/.impeccable keeps it to one notice per machine rather than one
-// per edit. The message says `on PATH` deliberately: the common cause is a hook
-// shell whose PATH misses the version manager, so a user already running Node 22
-// needs to know the hook's PATH is at issue and not their install. Apostrophes
-// cannot appear in the message, which travels in a single-quoted shell string.
-const NODE_NOTICE_TEXT = 'The impeccable design hook is not running: no Node 22 or newer on PATH. '
+// string carries the probe: dynamic import, and no-op at exit 0 when it fails.
+//
+// `notice` is the shell that reports the dead runtime to the user, and it is
+// passed in rather than baked in because the wire format is per harness. Claude
+// Code reads a `systemMessage` field off stdout on exit 0; what Codex and Cursor
+// do with stdout they did not ask for is unconfirmed, so they take the probe
+// alone and an unsupported runtime stays as quiet there as it was before the
+// probe existed. Adding their shape later is one more argument at the call site.
+const guardedNode = (hookPath, notice = '') => {
+  const probe = notice
+    ? `! { node -e "import('fs')" 2>/dev/null || { ${notice}; exit 0; }; }`
+    : `! node -e "import('fs')" 2>/dev/null`;
+  return `[ ! -f "${hookPath}" ] || ${probe} || node "${hookPath}"`;
+};
+// The message says `on PATH` deliberately: the common cause is a hook shell whose
+// PATH misses the version manager, so a user already running Node 22 needs to know
+// the hook's PATH is at issue and not their install. Apostrophes cannot appear in
+// it, since it travels inside a single-quoted shell string. The marker under
+// ~/.impeccable holds it to one notice per machine rather than one per edit.
+const CLAUDE_NODE_NOTICE_TEXT = 'The impeccable design hook is not running: no Node 22 or newer on PATH. '
   + 'Install one, or remove the impeccable hook from your harness settings.';
-const NODE_NOTICE = 'D="$HOME/.impeccable"; [ -f "$D/node-unsupported" ] || '
+const CLAUDE_NODE_NOTICE = 'D="$HOME/.impeccable"; [ -f "$D/node-unsupported" ] || '
   + '{ mkdir -p "$D" 2>/dev/null && : > "$D/node-unsupported" 2>/dev/null && '
-  + `printf '%s' '{"systemMessage":"${NODE_NOTICE_TEXT}"}'; }`;
-const guardedNode = (hookPath) =>
-  `[ ! -f "${hookPath}" ] || ! { node -e "import('fs')" 2>/dev/null || { ${NODE_NOTICE}; exit 0; }; } `
-  + `|| node "${hookPath}"`;
+  + `printf '%s' '{"systemMessage":"${CLAUDE_NODE_NOTICE_TEXT}"}'; }`;
 const CLAUDE_PLUGIN_HOOK = '${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook.mjs';
 const CODEX_PLUGIN_HOOK = '${PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/impeccable/scripts/hook.mjs';
 // Codex reads project hooks from `.codex/hooks.json`, but the skill payload the
@@ -97,14 +105,14 @@ export function buildClaudeSettingsManifest() {
           hooks: [
             {
               type: 'command',
-              command: guardedNode(CLAUDE_PROJECT_HOOK),
+              command: guardedNode(CLAUDE_PROJECT_HOOK, CLAUDE_NODE_NOTICE),
               timeout: TIMEOUT_SECONDS,
               statusMessage: STATUS_MESSAGE,
             },
           ],
         },
       ],
-      Stop: [stopEntry(guardedNode(CLAUDE_PROJECT_HOOK))],
+      Stop: [stopEntry(guardedNode(CLAUDE_PROJECT_HOOK, CLAUDE_NODE_NOTICE))],
     },
   };
 }
@@ -124,14 +132,14 @@ export function buildClaudePluginHooksManifest() {
           hooks: [
             {
               type: 'command',
-              command: guardedNode(CLAUDE_PLUGIN_HOOK),
+              command: guardedNode(CLAUDE_PLUGIN_HOOK, CLAUDE_NODE_NOTICE),
               timeout: TIMEOUT_SECONDS,
               statusMessage: STATUS_MESSAGE,
             },
           ],
         },
       ],
-      Stop: [stopEntry(guardedNode(CLAUDE_PLUGIN_HOOK))],
+      Stop: [stopEntry(guardedNode(CLAUDE_PLUGIN_HOOK, CLAUDE_NODE_NOTICE))],
     },
   };
 }