diff --git a/owpengram-server.bat b/owpengram-server.bat
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..c0db3095
--- /dev/null
+++ b/owpengram-server.bat
@@ -0,0 +1,69 @@
+@echo off
+setlocal enabledelayedexpansion
+cd /d "%~dp0"
+
+rem Checks prerequisites (Go, Python 3, and its packages), then launches the
+rem interactive server-panel TUI (tui-panel\server-panel.py). Run this instead
+rem of the TUI directly so missing prerequisites get a clear message instead
+rem of a Python traceback.
+
+echo == Checking prerequisites ==
+
+set "PROBLEMS=0"
+
+rem --- Go ---------------------------------------------------------------
+where go >nul 2>&1
+if errorlevel 1 (
+  echo [WARN] Go is not installed ^(needed to build owpengram-server / owpengram-admin-panel^)
+  echo        Install it from: https://go.dev/dl/
+  set "PROBLEMS=1"
+) else (
+  for /f "delims=" %%v in ('go version') do echo [ok] Go found: %%v
+)
+
+rem --- Python -------------------------------------------------------------
+set "PYTHON="
+where py >nul 2>&1
+if not errorlevel 1 (
+  py -3 --version >nul 2>&1
+  if not errorlevel 1 set "PYTHON=py -3"
+)
+if not defined PYTHON (
+  where python >nul 2>&1
+  if not errorlevel 1 set "PYTHON=python"
+)
+
+if not defined PYTHON (
+  echo [WARN] Python 3 is not installed ^(needed to run the server-panel TUI^)
+  echo        Install it from: https://www.python.org/downloads/
+  set "PROBLEMS=1"
+) else (
+  for /f "delims=" %%v in ('!PYTHON! --version 2^>^&1') do echo [ok] Python found: %%v ^(!PYTHON!^)
+)
+
+rem --- Python dependencies --------------------------------------------------
+if defined PYTHON (
+  set "MISSING="
+  for /f "delims=" %%m in ('!PYTHON! tui-panel\check_deps.py') do (
+    if not defined MISSING (set "MISSING=%%m") else (set "MISSING=!MISSING!, %%m")
+  )
+  if defined MISSING (
+    echo [WARN] Missing Python packages: !MISSING!
+    echo        Install them with: !PYTHON! -m pip install -r tui-panel\requirements-panel.txt
+    set "PROBLEMS=1"
+  ) else (
+    echo [ok] Python dependencies OK ^(textual, psutil, cryptography^)
+  )
+)
+
+if "%PROBLEMS%"=="1" (
+  echo.
+  echo [ERROR] missing prerequisites above -- install them and re-run this script
+  pause
+  exit /b 1
+)
+
+echo.
+echo [cfg] All prerequisites OK, launching server panel...
+echo.
+!PYTHON! tui-panel\server-panel.py %*
diff --git a/owpengram-server.sh b/owpengram-server.sh
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5c602586
--- /dev/null
+++ b/owpengram-server.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,63 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# Checks prerequisites (Go, Python 3, and its packages), then launches the
+# interactive server-panel TUI (tui-panel/server-panel.py). Run this instead
+# of the TUI directly so missing prerequisites get a clear message instead of
+# a Python traceback.
+set -uo pipefail
+cd "$(dirname "$0")"
+
+ok()   { echo "[ok] $*"; }
+warn() { echo "[WARN] $*"; }
+die()  { echo "[ERROR] $*" >&2; exit 1; }
+
+echo "== Checking prerequisites =="
+
+PROBLEMS=0
+
+# --- Go -----------------------------------------------------------------
+if command -v go >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+  ok "Go found: $(go version)"
+else
+  warn "Go is not installed (needed to build owpengram-server / owpengram-admin-panel)"
+  echo "       Install it from: https://go.dev/dl/"
+  PROBLEMS=1
+fi
+
+# --- Python ---------------------------------------------------------------
+PYTHON=""
+for cand in python3 python; do
+  if command -v "$cand" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
+    PYTHON="$cand"
+    break
+  fi
+done
+
+if [[ -z "$PYTHON" ]]; then
+  warn "Python 3 is not installed (needed to run the server-panel TUI)"
+  echo "       Install it from: https://www.python.org/downloads/"
+  PROBLEMS=1
+else
+  ok "Python found: $("$PYTHON" --version 2>&1) (${PYTHON})"
+fi
+
+# --- Python dependencies ----------------------------------------------------
+if [[ -n "$PYTHON" ]]; then
+  MISSING="$("$PYTHON" tui-panel/check_deps.py)"
+  if [[ -n "$MISSING" ]]; then
+    warn "Missing Python packages: $(echo "$MISSING" | tr '\n' ' ')"
+    echo "       Install them with: $PYTHON -m pip install -r tui-panel/requirements-panel.txt"
+    PROBLEMS=1
+  else
+    ok "Python dependencies OK (textual, psutil, cryptography)"
+  fi
+fi
+
+if [[ "$PROBLEMS" -ne 0 ]]; then
+  echo
+  die "missing prerequisites above -- install them and re-run this script"
+fi
+
+echo
+echo "[cfg] All prerequisites OK, launching server panel..."
+echo
+exec "$PYTHON" tui-panel/server-panel.py "$@"
diff --git a/tui-panel/check_deps.py b/tui-panel/check_deps.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..4549a69a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tui-panel/check_deps.py
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env python3
+"""Reports which Python packages server-panel.py needs are missing.
+
+Used by owpengram-server.sh / owpengram-server.bat before launching the
+panel, so both launchers share one source of truth for the dependency list
+instead of duplicating it in shell and batch syntax.
+
+Prints one missing package's pip install name per line. Exit code is 0 if
+everything is already installed, 1 if anything is missing.
+"""
+import importlib
+import sys
+
+REQUIRED = [
+    ("textual", "textual"),
+    ("psutil", "psutil"),
+    ("cryptography", "cryptography"),
+]
+
+
+def main() -> int:
+    missing = []
+    for module_name, pip_name in REQUIRED:
+        try:
+            importlib.import_module(module_name)
+        except ImportError:
+            missing.append(pip_name)
+
+    for name in missing:
+        print(name)
+
+    return 1 if missing else 0
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    sys.exit(main())
diff --git a/requirements-panel.txt b/tui-panel/requirements-panel.txt
similarity index 100%
rename from requirements-panel.txt
rename to tui-panel/requirements-panel.txt
diff --git a/server-panel.py b/tui-panel/server-panel.py
similarity index 99%
rename from server-panel.py
rename to tui-panel/server-panel.py
index c36be4df..bc736955 100644
--- a/server-panel.py
+++ b/tui-panel/server-panel.py
@@ -11,8 +11,9 @@ processes and writes their PIDs to .server_panel.json next to .env; closing
 the panel (Exit) does NOT stop them -- only the Stop action does. Reopening
 the panel later picks the same PIDs back up and reports live status.
 
-Requires: pip install textual
-Run: python server-panel.py
+Requires: pip install -r tui-panel/requirements-panel.txt
+Run: owpengram-server.sh (Linux/macOS) or owpengram-server.bat (Windows) from
+the repo root -- they check prerequisites first, then launch this.
 """
 from __future__ import annotations
 
@@ -44,7 +45,7 @@ IS_WINDOWS = platform.system() == "Windows"
 # real reading in the stats timer is already a proper since-last-call delta.
 psutil.cpu_percent(interval=None)
 
-ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parent
+ROOT = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
 DEPLOY_DIR = ROOT / "deploy"
 BIN_DIR = ROOT / "bin"
 LOG_DIR = ROOT / "logs"