diff --git a/wizard-work/spark/scratch_word_counter.py b/wizard-work/spark/scratch_word_counter.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2ca3fbd
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wizard-work/spark/scratch_word_counter.py
@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Count words in all text files in the scratch directory and output JSON report."""
+import os
+import json
+from pathlib import Path
+
+SCRATCH_DIR = "/root/.hermes/profiles/spark/cache/scratch"
+OUTPUT_FILE = "/root/.hermes/wizard-outputs/spark/word_count_report.json"
+
+def count_words_in_file(filepath):
+    """Count words in a file, return 0 if unreadable."""
+    try:
+        with open(filepath, 'r', encoding='utf-8', errors='ignore') as f:
+            content = f.read()
+            return len(content.split())
+    except Exception:
+        return 0
+
+def main():
+    results = []
+    total_words = 0
+    
+    scratch_path = Path(SCRATCH_DIR)
+    if scratch_path.exists():
+        for filepath in sorted(scratch_path.iterdir()):
+            if filepath.is_file():
+                word_count = count_words_in_file(filepath)
+                total_words += word_count
+                results.append({
+                    "file": filepath.name,
+                    "word_count": word_count
+                })
+    
+    report = {
+        "scratch_directory": SCRATCH_DIR,
+        "files_processed": len(results),
+        "total_words": total_words,
+        "files": results
+    }
+    
+    with open(OUTPUT_FILE, 'w') as f:
+        json.dump(report, f, indent=2)
+    
+    print(f"Word count report written to {OUTPUT_FILE}")
+    print(f"Files: {len(results)}, Total words: {total_words}")
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    main()
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diff --git a/wizard-work/spark/word_count_report.json b/wizard-work/spark/word_count_report.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..24f1eec
--- /dev/null
+++ b/wizard-work/spark/word_count_report.json
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+{
+  "scratch_directory": "/root/.hermes/profiles/spark/cache/scratch",
+  "files_processed": 5,
+  "total_words": 789,
+  "files": [
+    {
+      "file": ".last_prune",
+      "word_count": 0
+    },
+    {
+      "file": "hermes-snap-18c65962e510.sh",
+      "word_count": 261
+    },
+    {
+      "file": "hermes-snap-42e725078645.sh",
+      "word_count": 261
+    },
+    {
+      "file": "hermes-snap-717571bc4904.sh",
+      "word_count": 261
+    },
+    {
+      "file": "tmpnx0d8oia.json",
+      "word_count": 6
+    }
+  ]
+}
\ No newline at end of file