diff --git a/wizard-work/spark/file_counter.py b/wizard-work/spark/file_counter.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4a2f0f9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wizard-work/spark/file_counter.py
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Count files in a directory, excluding subdirectories."""
+import sys
+import os
+
+def count_files(path):
+    if not os.path.exists(path):
+        print(f"ERROR: Path does not exist: {path}")
+        return -1
+    if not os.path.isdir(path):
+        print(f"ERROR: Path is not a directory: {path}")
+        return -1
+    
+    count = 0
+    for entry in os.listdir(path):
+        full_path = os.path.join(path, entry)
+        if os.path.isfile(full_path):
+            count += 1
+    
+    print(f"FILE_COUNT:{count}")
+    return count
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    target = sys.argv[1] if len(sys.argv) > 1 else "/root/.hermes/wizard-outputs/spark"
+    result = count_files(target)
+    sys.exit(0 if result >= 0 else 1)
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