diff --git a/.forum/src/install_hooks.ts b/.forum/src/install_hooks.ts
index dd34eb5..c15d54c 100644
--- a/.forum/src/install_hooks.ts
+++ b/.forum/src/install_hooks.ts
@@ -41,63 +41,78 @@ async function runCommand(
   }
 }
 
+const REQUIRED_TOOLS = [
+  { name: "git", command: "git", args: ["--version"], required: true, failMsg: "Git is not installed or not in PATH." },
+  { name: "Deno", command: "deno", args: ["--version"], required: true, failMsg: "Deno is not installed or not in PATH." },
+  { name: "Node.js / npm", command: "npm", args: ["--version"], required: true, failMsg: "npm is not installed or not in PATH." },
+  { name: "tree-sitter", command: "tree-sitter", args: ["--version"], required: false, warnMsg: "SCIP/AST generation may be limited." },
+  { name: "semgrep", command: "semgrep", args: ["--version"], required: false, warnMsg: "Security analysis payloads may be skipped." },
+  { name: "scip-typescript", command: "scip-typescript", args: ["--version"], required: false, warnMsg: "TypeScript SCIP indexing may be skipped." },
+  { name: "madge", command: "madge", args: ["--version"], required: false, warnMsg: "Dependency graphing may be skipped." },
+  { name: "stryker", command: "stryker", args: ["--version"], required: false, warnMsg: "Mutation testing may be skipped." }
+];
+
 async function checkDependencies() {
   console.log("Checking dependencies...");
 
-  // Git
-  const gitCheck = await runCommand("git", ["--version"]);
-  if (gitCheck.code !== 0) {
-    console.error("❌ Git is not installed or not in PATH.");
-    Deno.exit(1);
-  }
-  console.log(`✅ ${gitCheck.stdout}`);
-
-  // Deno
-  const denoCheck = await runCommand("deno", ["--version"]);
-  if (denoCheck.code !== 0) {
-    console.error("❌ Deno is not installed or not in PATH.");
-    Deno.exit(1);
-  }
-  console.log(`✅ Deno installed`);
-
-  // Optional: Tree-sitter
-  const treeSitterCheck = await runCommand("tree-sitter", ["--version"]);
-  if (treeSitterCheck.code === 0) {
-    console.log(`✅ tree-sitter found: ${treeSitterCheck.stdout}`);
-  } else {
-    console.log(
-      "⚠️ tree-sitter not found. SCIP/AST generation may be limited.",
-    );
-  }
-
-  // Optional: Semgrep
-  const semgrepCheck = await runCommand("semgrep", ["--version"]);
-  if (semgrepCheck.code === 0) {
-    console.log(`✅ semgrep found: ${semgrepCheck.stdout}`);
-  } else {
-    console.log(
-      "⚠️ semgrep not found. Security analysis payloads may be skipped.",
-    );
+  for (const tool of REQUIRED_TOOLS) {
+    const check = await runCommand(tool.command, tool.args);
+    if (check.code !== 0) {
+      if (tool.required) {
+        console.error(`[!] Missing: ${tool.name} - ${tool.failMsg}`);
+        Deno.exit(1);
+      } else {
+        console.log(`[!] Warning: ${tool.name} not found. ${tool.warnMsg}`);
+      }
+    } else {
+      // For tools like npm or tree-sitter that might output multiline or noisy versions,
+      // we take just the first line for a cleaner log.
+      const versionStr = check.stdout.split('\n')[0].substring(0, 30);
+      console.log(`[✓] Found: ${tool.name} (${versionStr})`);
+    }
   }
 }
 
 async function initializeMetaStateBranch() {
   console.log("\nInitializing 'meta-state' orphan branch...");
 
+  const dirs = ["tasks", "ontologies", "vectors"];
+
   // Check if branch exists
   const checkBranch = await runCommand("git", [
     "show-ref",
     "--verify",
     "refs/heads/meta-state",
   ]);
+
   if (checkBranch.code === 0) {
     console.log(
-      "✅ 'meta-state' branch already exists. Preserving existing data.",
+      "[ Already Exists ] 'meta-state' branch found. Checking existing structure...",
     );
+
+    // Check which directories exist on the meta-state branch
+    const lsTree = await runCommand("git", ["ls-tree", "refs/heads/meta-state"]);
+    if (lsTree.code === 0) {
+      const existingItems = lsTree.stdout.split('\n').map(line => line.split('\t')[1]);
+      for (const d of dirs) {
+        if (existingItems.includes(d)) {
+          console.log(`[✓] Found directory: ${d}/`);
+        } else {
+          console.log(`[!] Missing directory in meta-state: ${d}/`);
+        }
+      }
+      if (existingItems.includes("transitions.json")) {
+        console.log(`[✓] Found file: transitions.json`);
+      } else {
+        console.log(`[!] Missing file in meta-state: transitions.json`);
+      }
+    }
+
+    console.log("[~] Preserving existing data. (If missing items are needed, you may need to add them manually to the meta-state branch)");
     return;
   }
 
-  console.log("Creating 'meta-state' orphan branch...");
+  console.log("[+] Creating 'meta-state' orphan branch...");
 
   // Save current branch name (not strictly needed since we use plumbing, but kept for context if needed later)
   const currentBranchRes = await runCommand("git", [
@@ -111,7 +126,6 @@ async function initializeMetaStateBranch() {
   const tempDir = await Deno.makeTempDir();
 
   // Create structure
-  const dirs = ["tasks", "ontologies", "vectors"];
   for (const d of dirs) {
     await Deno.mkdir(join(tempDir, d), { recursive: true });
     // Add a .gitkeep so git tracks the directory
@@ -220,7 +234,7 @@ async function initializeMetaStateBranch() {
   }
 
   console.log(
-    "✅ 'meta-state' branch initialized successfully without modifying working tree.",
+    "[+] 'meta-state' branch freshly initialized successfully without modifying working tree.",
   );
 }
 
@@ -229,7 +243,7 @@ async function installHooks() {
 
   if (!existsSync(GIT_DIR)) {
     console.error(
-      "❌ .git directory not found. Must be run from the root of a git repository.",
+      "[!] Error: .git directory not found. Must be run from the root of a git repository.",
     );
     Deno.exit(1);
   }
@@ -238,13 +252,13 @@ async function installHooks() {
   const preCommitTarget = join(HOOKS_DIR, "pre-commit");
 
   if (!existsSync(preCommitSource)) {
-    console.error(`❌ Hook template not found at ${preCommitSource}`);
+    console.error(`[!] Error: Hook template not found at ${preCommitSource}`);
     Deno.exit(1);
   }
 
   if (existsSync(preCommitTarget)) {
-    console.log("⚠️ An existing pre-commit hook was found.");
-    console.log("Moving existing hook to pre-commit.backup...");
+    console.log("[~] An existing pre-commit hook was found.");
+    console.log("[~] Replaced: Moving existing hook to pre-commit.backup...");
     await Deno.rename(preCommitTarget, join(HOOKS_DIR, "pre-commit.backup"));
   }
 
@@ -255,7 +269,7 @@ async function installHooks() {
     await runCommand("chmod", ["+x", preCommitTarget]);
   }
 
-  console.log("✅ pre-commit hook installed successfully.");
+  console.log("[+] Freshly Initialized: pre-commit hook installed successfully.");
 }
 
 async function main() {