diff --git a/merge-check.sh b/merge-check.sh
deleted file mode 100644
index 46acd95..0000000
--- a/merge-check.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,56 +0,0 @@
-#!/bin/sh
-# mesh-check-toolchain: go
-#
-# The tool runtime's own check (novox/hq ADR 0237 as amended): the second layer of a pull request's merge
-# check, `mesh/repo-check`, run by the build seat in the mesh's Go toolchain — and by hand.
-#
-# The gate — every machine of the facts snapshot composed with this change — is the build seat's first
-# layer (`mesh/merge-gate`), run because the mesh's module graph builds node-tools and mesh-tools from
-# here. This is the code's own: node-tools (Go) formatted, vetted and its suite, every test on a bus of its
-# own at the release the mesh runs (internal/meshtest), packages in parallel, under the race detector when
-# the toolchain has a C compiler.
-#
-# **Said, never passed silently**: the runtime's and the console's tests launch TypeScript and Python
-# bundles that import the mesh's own package (@novox/mesh-sdk), which comes from the package registry — and
-# a check of code nobody has approved is given no credential for it. Where node and that package are not
-# present those two packages are not tested here, and the TypeScript in node-tools/src neither.
-set -eu
-cd node-tools
-
-unformatted=$(gofmt -l cmd internal)
-if [ -n "$unformatted" ]; then
-	echo "not gofmt'd:"
-	echo "$unformatted"
-	exit 1
-fi
-CGO_ENABLED=0 go vet ./...
-
-packages=$(go list ./...)
-bundleless=""
-if ! command -v node >/dev/null 2>&1 || [ ! -d node_modules/@novox/mesh-sdk ]; then
-	echo "NOT TESTED HERE: internal/runtime and internal/console launch bundles that need node and @novox/mesh-sdk"
-	packages=$(printf '%s\n' "$packages" | grep -v -e '/internal/runtime$' -e '/internal/console$')
-	# What of the console launches no bundle runs anyway: how an address resolves (novox/hq issue 287),
-	# and how a search ranks (novox/hq ADR 0245), and what discovery heard and how a round that heard nothing is
-	# answered (novox/hq issue 554), and how a session waits on the bus (novox/hq ADR 0367).
-	bundleless='^(TestMeshWait.*|TestTheManifestNamesTheFirstFamiliesOneByOne|TestASeatAndAModuleOfOneNameAreEachReached|TestSearch.*|TestASearchByCommandSaysWhatItReplaces|TestARuntimeThatAnswersLateIsFoundAndOneThatNeverDoesIsNamed|TestARuntimeHeardBeforeAndNotNowIsNamed|TestACallAfterARoundThatHeardNothingUsesWhatWasHeardBefore|TestAnAddressKnownOnlyFromAnEarlierAnswerSaysHowOld)$'
-	# And what of the runtime launches no bundle: how a bundle's seat traffic reaches the bus, what its
-	# environment holds, what a runtime on a module's own account serves (novox/hq ADR 0259), and that a write
-	# by compare-and-set loses no update under contention (novox/hq research 042), and a module's log verbs
-	# (novox/hq ADR 0297), and a key's history (novox/hq ADR 0307), and a module's values asked of its machine's
-	# provisioner client (novox/hq ADR 0370).
-	runtimeless='^(TestALogAnswersEachVerbOnTheBus|TestALogPageIsBoundedByItsBytes|TestAnAppendAtAStaleExpectIsRefusedAsALostUpdate|TestALogNotIssuedIsRefusedWithTheReason|TestWhatALogCannotHoldIsRefusedWithTheReason|TestALogRefusesAValueNamingACredential|TestAKeysHistoryIsEveryValueKeptOldestFirst|TestAKeysHistoryIsRefusedToAModuleNotIssuedTheState|TestARuntimeOnAModulesOwnAccountServesThatModuleAlone|TestNoBusWordReachesABundle|TestAToolCallNeverReachesASeatsEventAcceptOrProof|TestABundlesSeatTrafficGoesThroughItsModulesBus|TestALostCompareAndSetCarriesItsCode|TestTwoWritersIncrementingOneCounterOnTheBusLoseNoUpdate|TestAStaleWriteIsRefusedAndWritesNothing|TestACallOnTheCallerNamedSubjectReachesTheModuleWithItsCaller|TestTheSubjectThatNamesNoCallerStillWorksAndNamesNone|TestABundleAsksForItsValuesAsItsOwnModule|TestABundlesWatchIsHandedTheValueAndEachChange)$'
-fi
-if command -v gcc >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-	CGO_ENABLED=1 go test -race -count=1 $packages
-else
-	echo "NOT RACE-CHECKED: the toolchain holds no C compiler; the suite runs without the race detector"
-	CGO_ENABLED=0 go test -count=1 $packages
-fi
-if [ -n "$bundleless" ]; then
-	CGO_ENABLED=0 go test -count=1 -run "$bundleless" ./internal/console
-fi
-if [ -n "${runtimeless:-}" ]; then
-	CGO_ENABLED=0 go test -count=1 -run "$runtimeless" ./internal/runtime
-fi
-echo "NOT TESTED HERE: node-tools/src (TypeScript) needs @novox/mesh-sdk from the package registry"
diff --git a/node-tools/internal/console/address_test.go b/node-tools/internal/console/address_test.go
index 6a333b7..6342941 100644
--- a/node-tools/internal/console/address_test.go
+++ b/node-tools/internal/console/address_test.go
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ func call(t *testing.T, endpoint, tool string, args map[string]any) (string, boo
 // novox/hq ADR 0195 and ADR 0367: the console announces seven tools, and everything the mesh answers is reached
 // through them by one address per layer.
 func TestTheMeshsToolsAreFoundByAddress(t *testing.T) {
+	mt.NeedBundles(t)
 	was := IndexKept
 	IndexKept = 0 // every discovery asks the mesh, so a module arriving mid-test is found
 	t.Cleanup(func() { IndexKept = was })
diff --git a/node-tools/internal/console/console_test.go b/node-tools/internal/console/console_test.go
index d41b55f..c8e557b 100644
--- a/node-tools/internal/console/console_test.go
+++ b/node-tools/internal/console/console_test.go
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ func post(t *testing.T, endpoint string, body string) map[string]any {
 // As node-tools, the runtime serves the bundles and is the console on loopback: the listing is what
 // the modules and the mesh's records answered, and a call reaches the module on the machine named.
 func TestTheConsoleListsAndCallsOverHTTP(t *testing.T) {
+	mt.NeedBundles(t)
 	mesh := mt.New(t)
 	mesh.Issue(t, mt.MembershipOf("alpha", "desk", true, nil))
 	mesh.Issue(t, mt.MembershipOf("beta", "desk", false, map[string][]string{"node-shelf": {"list", "clear"}}))
diff --git a/node-tools/internal/meshtest/bundles.go b/node-tools/internal/meshtest/bundles.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a6281f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/node-tools/internal/meshtest/bundles.go
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+package meshtest
+
+import (
+	"os"
+	"os/exec"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"runtime"
+	"testing"
+)
+
+// bundlesWhy returns the reason bundles cannot be launched from a checkout rooted at root, or "" when they can: the
+// TypeScript and Python bundles the runtime and the console launch need node and the package
+// @novox/mesh-sdk, which comes from the package registry and is installed beside node-tools/package.json
+// (novox/hq ADR 0529 clause 1: what merge-check.sh said "NOT TESTED HERE" about is a skip with its reason).
+func bundlesWhy(root string, haveNode bool) string {
+	if !haveNode {
+		return "node is not installed"
+	}
+	if _, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(root, "node_modules", "@novox", "mesh-sdk")); err != nil {
+		return "@novox/mesh-sdk is not installed in " + filepath.Join(root, "node_modules")
+	}
+	return ""
+}
+
+// NeedBundles skips the test, saying why, where the bundles it launches cannot run here.
+func NeedBundles(t *testing.T) {
+	t.Helper()
+	_, err := exec.LookPath("node")
+	if why := bundlesWhy(moduleRoot(), err == nil); why != "" {
+		t.Skip("NOT TESTED HERE: this test launches bundles, and " + why)
+	}
+}
+
+// moduleRoot is node-tools/, where package.json and node_modules are.
+func moduleRoot() string {
+	_, here, _, _ := runtime.Caller(0)
+	return filepath.Join(filepath.Dir(here), "..", "..")
+}
diff --git a/node-tools/internal/meshtest/meshtest_test.go b/node-tools/internal/meshtest/meshtest_test.go
index 220557e..374cd93 100644
--- a/node-tools/internal/meshtest/meshtest_test.go
+++ b/node-tools/internal/meshtest/meshtest_test.go
@@ -73,3 +73,20 @@ func TestEachTestHasABusOfItsOwn(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	})
 }
+
+// What merge-check.sh said was "NOT TESTED HERE" is a skip with its reason: no node, or no package, each says so.
+func TestBundlesCannotBeLaunchedWithoutNodeOrTheSDKAndTheSkipSaysWhy(t *testing.T) {
+	root := t.TempDir()
+	if why := bundlesWhy(root, false); !strings.Contains(why, "node is not installed") {
+		t.Errorf("no node said %q", why)
+	}
+	if why := bundlesWhy(root, true); !strings.Contains(why, "@novox/mesh-sdk") {
+		t.Errorf("no package said %q", why)
+	}
+	if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Join(root, "node_modules", "@novox", "mesh-sdk"), 0o755); err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if why := bundlesWhy(root, true); why != "" {
+		t.Errorf("node and the package present said %q", why)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/node-tools/internal/runtime/announce_test.go b/node-tools/internal/runtime/announce_test.go
index ce7d88b..ab49ada 100644
--- a/node-tools/internal/runtime/announce_test.go
+++ b/node-tools/internal/runtime/announce_test.go
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ import (
 // read here with NATS's own types, each endpoint a subject actually served — and the announcement
 // follows a re-issued membership.
 func TestTheRuntimeAnnouncesWhatItServesInTheServicesProtocol(t *testing.T) {
+	mt.NeedBundles(t)
 	mesh := mt.New(t)
 	mesh.Issue(t, mt.MembershipOf("alpha", "anchor", false, nil))
 	mesh.Issue(t, mt.MembershipOf("beta", "anchor", false, map[string][]string{"node-shelf": {"list", "clear"}}))
diff --git a/node-tools/internal/runtime/events_test.go b/node-tools/internal/runtime/events_test.go
index 2cf56c9..bea321b 100644
--- a/node-tools/internal/runtime/events_test.go
+++ b/node-tools/internal/runtime/events_test.go
@@ -50,6 +50,7 @@ func countLines(t *testing.T, path, want string) int {
 // is its bus — it binds the module's own consumer, hands each event to the bundle, and acknowledges it
 // only when the bundle has taken it; one the bundle failed or died on is offered again.
 func TestTheRuntimeHandsAModulesEventsToItsBundleAndAcknowledgesThemOnlyWhenTaken(t *testing.T) {
+	mt.NeedBundles(t)
 	mesh := mt.New(t)
 	restore := bus.NakDelay
 	bus.NakDelay = 300 * time.Millisecond
@@ -128,6 +129,7 @@ func TestTheRuntimeHandsAModulesEventsToItsBundleAndAcknowledgesThemOnlyWhenTake
 
 // A long-running bundle that exits is started again, without waiting for a call (ADR 0198).
 func TestALongRunningBundleThatExitsIsStartedAgain(t *testing.T) {
+	mt.NeedBundles(t)
 	mesh := mt.New(t)
 	firstPause := launch.RestartFirst
 	launch.RestartFirst = 100 * time.Millisecond
diff --git a/node-tools/internal/runtime/runtime_test.go b/node-tools/internal/runtime/runtime_test.go
index 1c1040f..d962bed 100644
--- a/node-tools/internal/runtime/runtime_test.go
+++ b/node-tools/internal/runtime/runtime_test.go
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ func same(t *testing.T, got, want string) {
 // The node's runtime serves five modules' bundles on one credential — two TypeScript, one broken,
 // one Python, one written against the protocol — and follows a re-issued membership (ADR 0175, 0193).
 func TestTheNodesRuntimeServesFiveModulesAndFollowsAReissuedMembership(t *testing.T) {
+	mt.NeedBundles(t)
 	mesh := mt.New(t)
 	mesh.Issue(t, mt.MembershipOf("alpha", "anchor", true, nil))
 	mesh.Issue(t, mt.MembershipOf("beta", "anchor", false, map[string][]string{"node-shelf": {"list", "clear"}}))
@@ -152,6 +153,7 @@ func TestTheNodesRuntimeServesFiveModulesAndFollowsAReissuedMembership(t *testin
 // Each bundle is given its own environment and none of another's (ADR 0192), and the composed
 // environments are not left in the runtime's.
 func TestEachBundleIsGivenItsOwnEnvironment(t *testing.T) {
+	mt.NeedBundles(t)
 	mesh := mt.New(t)
 	for _, m := range []string{"gamma", "delta", "zeta"} {
 		mesh.Issue(t, mt.MembershipOf(m, "anchor", false, nil))
@@ -192,6 +194,7 @@ func TestEachBundleIsGivenItsOwnEnvironment(t *testing.T) {
 
 // An entrypoint that is not executable is refused by name, and the others serve (ADR 0193).
 func TestAnEntrypointThatIsNotExecutableIsRefused(t *testing.T) {
+	mt.NeedBundles(t)
 	mesh := mt.New(t)
 	mesh.Issue(t, mt.MembershipOf("alpha", "anchor", false, nil))
 	mesh.Issue(t, mt.MembershipOf("plain", "anchor", false, nil))
@@ -218,6 +221,7 @@ func TestAnEntrypointThatIsNotExecutableIsRefused(t *testing.T) {
 
 // A launched bundle is told the module it serves, so its seat's verbs stay the seat's (ADR 0193).
 func TestALaunchedBundleRegisteringItsSeatFirstServesTheSeat(t *testing.T) {
+	mt.NeedBundles(t)
 	mesh := mt.New(t)
 	mesh.Issue(t, mt.MembershipOf("theta", "anchor", false, map[string][]string{"node-shelf": {"list"}}))
 	nodeTools := connect(t, "node-tools", "anchor")
diff --git a/node-tools/internal/runtime/state_test.go b/node-tools/internal/runtime/state_test.go
index d0f258d..b88888b 100644
--- a/node-tools/internal/runtime/state_test.go
+++ b/node-tools/internal/runtime/state_test.go
@@ -139,6 +139,7 @@ func waitFor(t *testing.T, path, line string) {
 // The TypeScript SDK against the runtime (ADR 0201): two watches of one state, each handed only its
 // own changes, the current values handled before the module's import goes on.
 func TestTheSDKsStateReachesTheRuntime(t *testing.T) {
+	mt.NeedBundles(t)
 	mesh := mt.New(t)
 	kv := mesh.Bucket(t, "sdkkeeper_servers")
 	if _, err := kv.Put("all.one", []byte(`{"url":"http://one"}`)); err != nil {