diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index baa31a543..71958d693 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -58,3 +58,4 @@ mini-swe-agent/
 # Nix
 .direnv/
 result
+.aider*
diff --git a/scripts/syntax_guard.py b/scripts/syntax_guard.py
index 7c41dc9b4..a6dbf9595 100755
--- a/scripts/syntax_guard.py
+++ b/scripts/syntax_guard.py
@@ -2,9 +2,22 @@
 """Syntax guard — compile all Python files to catch syntax errors before merge."""
 import py_compile
 import sys
+import importlib.util
+import re
+import requests
+import psutil
 from pathlib import Path
 
 errors = []
+
+# Check for missing dependencies
+required_modules = ["llama_cpp", "requests", "psutil", "jinja2", "papermill"]
+for module in required_modules:
+    if not importlib.util.find_spec(module):
+        errors.append(f"Missing required module: {module}")
+        print(f"MISSING DEPENDENCY: {module}", file=sys.stderr)
+
+# Check for external API calls in test files
 for p in Path(".").rglob("*.py"):
     if ".venv" in p.parts or "__pycache__" in p.parts:
         continue
@@ -14,7 +27,30 @@ for p in Path(".").rglob("*.py"):
         errors.append(f"{p}: {e}")
         print(f"SYNTAX ERROR: {p}: {e}", file=sys.stderr)
 
+    # Check for HTTP API calls
+    if "test_" in p.name or "smoke_test" in p.name:
+        with open(p, "r") as f:
+            content = f.read()
+            if re.search(r'requests\.(get|post|put|delete)', content):
+                errors.append(f"External API call detected in {p}")
+                print(f"API CALL DETECTED: {p}", file=sys.stderr)
+
+# Check local model server health
+try:
+    response = requests.get("http://localhost:8080/v1", timeout=5)
+    if response.status_code != 200:
+        errors.append("Local model server not responding")
+        print("MODEL SERVER ERROR: Not responding", file=sys.stderr)
+except requests.exceptions.RequestException:
+    errors.append("Local model server not reachable")
+    print("MODEL SERVER ERROR: Not reachable", file=sys.stderr)
+
+# Check RAM usage
+if psutil.virtual_memory().available < 500 * 1024 * 1024:  # 500MB free
+    errors.append("Insufficient RAM for model and system")
+    print("RAM ERROR: Less than 500MB available", file=sys.stderr)
+
 if errors:
-    print(f"\n{len(errors)} file(s) with syntax errors", file=sys.stderr)
+    print(f"\n{len(errors)} issue(s) detected", file=sys.stderr)
     sys.exit(1)
-print("All Python files compile successfully")
+print("All Python files compile successfully and dependencies are satisfied")