diff --git a/scripts/orchestra_e2e_healthcheck.sh b/scripts/orchestra_e2e_healthcheck.sh
index f6fa7ee..f061566 100755
--- a/scripts/orchestra_e2e_healthcheck.sh
+++ b/scripts/orchestra_e2e_healthcheck.sh
@@ -64,6 +64,9 @@ now_us() { printf '%s' "${EPOCHREALTIME//[!0-9]/}"; }
 # elapsed_ms <start-us>: whole milliseconds since <start-us>.
 elapsed_ms() { printf '%s' "$(( ($(now_us) - $1) / 1000 ))"; }
 
+# check_count: how many checks the run will execute.
+check_count() { set -- $CHECKS; printf '%s' "$#"; }
+
 # emit <format> <template> [args...]: the single output path.
 # format: text or json print; none suppresses (--quiet). Explicit argument,
 # never read from an enclosing variable.