diff --git a/recommend.js b/recommend.js
index d582465..a87b1f5 100644
--- a/recommend.js
+++ b/recommend.js
@@ -5,12 +5,18 @@
  * Reads from the cached token-monitor run (if fresh) or probes directly.
  * Returns the best Teams provider considering 7d budget utilization.
  *
- * Selection rules:
- *   1. status must be "allowed" or "allowed_warning" (both can serve requests)
+ * Selection rules (extra-usage credit era, post April 4 2026):
+ *   0. Consult provider-check.json (pi session usability) — primary availability signal
+ *      With extra-usage credit, 7d limits don't block sessions; broken OAuth tokens do.
+ *   1. Among pi-usable providers: status must be "allowed" or "allowed_warning"
  *   2. Scan chain in order; take first with utilization_7d < SWITCH_THRESHOLD
  *   3. If none under threshold, take lowest-utilization allowed/allowed_warning provider
  *   4. If no usable Teams providers, return emergency=true (shelley-proxy)
  *
+ * Note on provider-check.json:
+ *   Written by ~/projects/provider-check/provider-check.ts (run by health-pulse hourly)
+ *   at /tmp/provider-check.json. Stale if > 2 hours old — fallback to budget-only logic.
+ *
  * Usage:
  *   node recommend.js                              # JSON output
  *   node recommend.js --threshold 0.80             # switch above 80% 7d
@@ -23,6 +29,7 @@
 import { getProviders } from './providers/index.js';
 import { probeTeamsProvider } from './providers/anthropic-teams.js';
 import { getCachedRun } from './logger.js';
+import { readFileSync, existsSync, statSync } from 'fs';
 
 const args = process.argv.slice(2);
 
@@ -32,13 +39,36 @@ const SWITCH_THRESHOLD = threshIdx !== -1 ? parseFloat(args[threshIdx + 1]) : 0.
 
 // Parse --chain
 const chainIdx = args.indexOf('--chain');
-const DEFAULT_CHAIN = ['team-vigilio', 'team-ludo', 'team-molto', 'team-nadja'];
+const DEFAULT_CHAIN = ['team-vigilio', 'team-ludo', 'team-buio', 'team-molto', 'team-nadja'];
 const PROVIDER_CHAIN = chainIdx !== -1
   ? args[chainIdx + 1].split(',').map(s => s.trim())
   : DEFAULT_CHAIN;
 
 const DEFAULT_MODEL = 'claude-sonnet-4-6';
 const EMERGENCY_FALLBACK = 'shelley-proxy';
+const PROVIDER_CHECK_PATH = '/tmp/provider-check.json';
+const PROVIDER_CHECK_MAX_AGE_MS = 2 * 60 * 60 * 1000; // 2 hours
+
+// Load provider-check.json — returns Set of provider names that can start pi sessions
+// Returns null if file missing, stale, or unreadable (fall through to budget-only logic)
+function getPiUsableProviders() {
+  try {
+    if (!existsSync(PROVIDER_CHECK_PATH)) return null;
+    const stat = statSync(PROVIDER_CHECK_PATH);
+    const ageMs = Date.now() - stat.mtimeMs;
+    if (ageMs > PROVIDER_CHECK_MAX_AGE_MS) return null; // stale — don't trust it
+    const data = JSON.parse(readFileSync(PROVIDER_CHECK_PATH, 'utf8'));
+    if (!data.results) return null;
+    const usable = new Set(
+      data.results
+        .filter(r => r.status === 'ok')
+        .map(r => r.provider)
+    );
+    return usable.size > 0 ? usable : null;
+  } catch {
+    return null;
+  }
+}
 
 // Format utilization as percentage string
 function pct(v) {
@@ -86,10 +116,25 @@ async function main() {
   const { source, providers } = await getProviderData();
 
   // Filter to chain members that are Teams providers with data
-  const candidates = PROVIDER_CHAIN
+  let candidates = PROVIDER_CHAIN
     .filter(name => providers[name] && providers[name].type === 'teams-direct')
     .map(name => ({ name, ...providers[name] }));
 
+  // Apply pi-usability filter from provider-check.json
+  // With extra-usage credit, 7d limits don't block sessions — OAuth token validity does.
+  // provider-check.json tests actual pi session startup: the ground truth for usability.
+  const piUsable = getPiUsableProviders();
+  let piFilterApplied = false;
+  if (piUsable) {
+    const filtered = candidates.filter(p => piUsable.has(p.name));
+    if (filtered.length > 0) {
+      candidates = filtered;
+      piFilterApplied = true;
+    }
+    // If no candidates pass pi check — don't filter (stale data or misconfigured check)
+    // Fall through to budget-only selection so we don't always emergency-fallback
+  }
+
   // Phase 1: first provider under threshold with status=allowed or allowed_warning
   // Both statuses can serve requests; allowed_warning just means approaching limit
   let best = null;
@@ -99,7 +144,8 @@ async function main() {
       if (util7d < SWITCH_THRESHOLD) {
         best = {
           name: p.name,
-          reason: `7d at ${pct(util7d)}, 5h at ${pct(p.utilization_5h)} — under ${pct(SWITCH_THRESHOLD)} threshold (data: ${source})`,
+          reason: `7d at ${pct(util7d)}, 5h at ${pct(p.utilization_5h)} — under ${pct(SWITCH_THRESHOLD)} threshold (data: ${source}${piFilterApplied ? ', pi-check' : ''})`,
+            piFilterApplied,
         };
         break;
       }
@@ -124,7 +170,8 @@ async function main() {
       const warningTag = lowestCandidate.status === 'allowed_warning' ? ', warning' : '';
       best = {
         name: lowestCandidate.name,
-        reason: `all over threshold — best available at ${pct(lowestUtil)} 7d${warningTag} (data: ${source})`,
+        reason: `all over threshold — best available at ${pct(lowestUtil)} 7d${warningTag} (data: ${source}${piFilterApplied ? ', pi-check' : ''})`,
+        piFilterApplied,
       };
     }
   }