@@ -572,6 +572,14 @@ python3 -c "from codec_config import *; print('Config OK')"
 - **RGBA→JPEG crash**: macOS screenshots are PNG with alpha (RGBA). Must `img.convert("RGB")` before saving as JPEG
 </details>
 
+<details>
+<summary><strong>PM2 says "Script not found: /usr/local/bin/python3.13"</strong></summary>
+
+- Five services (codec-mcp-http, codec-dictate, codec-autopilot, codec-observer, codec-agent-runner) run on Python 3.13. `ecosystem.config.js` looks for `python3.13` in `/usr/local/bin`, then `/opt/homebrew/bin`, then your `PATH`, and falls back to `python3`.
+- Install it if it is missing: `brew install python@3.13` (or the python.org installer), then `pm2 start ecosystem.config.js` again.
+- Python 3.13 somewhere else? Point CODEC at it: `CODEC_PYTHON=/path/to/python3.13 pm2 start ecosystem.config.js`.
+</details>
+
 <details>
 <summary><strong>Dictate not working</strong></summary>
 
 
@@ -25,6 +25,28 @@
  * after 30s up). The backoff starts at each app's restart_delay, so no app
  * restarts sooner than it did before.
  */
+// Python for the services pinned to 3.13: CODEC_PYTHON if set, else the first python3.13
+// found in /usr/local/bin (python.org installer), /opt/homebrew/bin (Homebrew on Apple
+// Silicon) or on PATH, else plain python3. A hard-coded /usr/local/bin/python3.13 made
+// `pm2 start ecosystem.config.js` fail with "Script not found" on Macs where Python lives
+// elsewhere (GitHub issue #424).
+const fs = require("fs");
+const path = require("path");
+function findPython313() {
+  if (process.env.CODEC_PYTHON) return process.env.CODEC_PYTHON;
+  const dirs = ["/usr/local/bin", "/opt/homebrew/bin"].concat((process.env.PATH || "").split(path.delimiter));
+  for (const dir of dirs) {
+    if (!dir) continue;
+    const candidate = path.join(dir, "python3.13");
+    try {
+      fs.accessSync(candidate, fs.constants.X_OK);
+      return candidate;
+    } catch (e) { /* not here */ }
+  }
+  return "python3";
+}
+const PYTHON313 = findPython313();
+
 function withCrashCaps(app) {
   return {
     min_uptime: "60s",
@@ -62,7 +84,7 @@ module.exports = {
     // ── CODEC MCP HTTP bridge (remote Claude access via Cloudflare) ──
     {
       name: "codec-mcp-http",
-      script: "/usr/local/bin/python3.13",
+      script: PYTHON313,
       args: "codec_mcp_http.py",
       cwd: __dirname,
       env: {
@@ -79,7 +101,7 @@ module.exports = {
     // NOTE: codec-heartbeat and codec-scheduler are unified into codec-dashboard
     {
       name: "codec-dictate",
-      script: "/usr/local/bin/python3.13",
+      script: PYTHON313,
       args: "-u codec_dictate.py",
       cwd: __dirname,
       max_memory_restart: "768M",
@@ -179,7 +201,7 @@ module.exports = {
     // ── Autopilot (ambient scheduler — fires skills at configured times) ──
     {
       name: "codec-autopilot",
-      script: "/usr/local/bin/python3.13",
+      script: PYTHON313,
       args: "-u codec_autopilot.py",
       cwd: __dirname,
       max_memory_restart: "128M",
@@ -208,7 +230,7 @@ module.exports = {
     // content, no file paths leaked to ~/.codec/audit.log.
     {
       name: "codec-observer",
-      script: "/usr/local/bin/python3.13",
+      script: PYTHON313,
       args: "-u codec_observer.py",
       cwd: __dirname,
       max_memory_restart: "128M",
@@ -228,7 +250,7 @@ module.exports = {
     // Kill switch: AGENT_RUNNER_ENABLED=false (daemon idles).
     {
       name: "codec-agent-runner",
-      script: "/usr/local/bin/python3.13",
+      script: PYTHON313,
       args: "-u codec_agent_runner.py",
       cwd: __dirname,
       max_memory_restart: "256M",
 
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+"""The PM2 ecosystem finds Python 3.13 instead of hard-coding one path (GitHub issue #424).
+
+Five services were pinned to /usr/local/bin/python3.13, so `pm2 start ecosystem.config.js`
+failed with "Script not found" on Macs where Python lives elsewhere (Homebrew on Apple
+Silicon uses /opt/homebrew/bin).
+"""
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import json
+import os
+import shutil
+import subprocess
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+REPO = Path(__file__).resolve().parent.parent
+ECO = REPO / "ecosystem.config.js"
+PINNED = ("codec-mcp-http", "codec-dictate", "codec-autopilot", "codec-observer", "codec-agent-runner")
+
+pytestmark = pytest.mark.skipif(shutil.which("node") is None, reason="needs node to load ecosystem.config.js")
+
+
+def _scripts(env: dict) -> dict:
+    out = subprocess.run(
+        ["node", "-e", f"const c=require({json.dumps(str(ECO))});"
+                       "console.log(JSON.stringify(Object.fromEntries(c.apps.map(a=>[a.name,a.script]))))"],
+        capture_output=True, text=True, env=env, timeout=30, check=True)
+    return json.loads(out.stdout)
+
+
+def test_no_service_hard_codes_a_python_path():
+    assert '"/usr/local/bin/python3.13"' not in ECO.read_text(encoding="utf-8").split("function findPython313")[1]
+
+
+def test_codec_python_wins():
+    env = dict(os.environ, CODEC_PYTHON="/custom/bin/python3.13")
+    scripts = _scripts(env)
+    assert {scripts[n] for n in PINNED} == {"/custom/bin/python3.13"}
+
+
+def test_a_python313_on_path_is_found(tmp_path):
+    fake = tmp_path / "python3.13"
+    fake.write_text("#!/bin/sh\n")
+    fake.chmod(0o755)
+    env = {k: v for k, v in os.environ.items() if k != "CODEC_PYTHON"}
+    env["PATH"] = f"{tmp_path}{os.pathsep}{env.get('PATH', '')}"
+    scripts = _scripts(env)
+    found = {scripts[n] for n in PINNED}
+    assert len(found) == 1, "the five services use the same Python"
+    (python,) = found
+    # The usual install places come first; otherwise the one on PATH.
+    assert python.endswith("/python3.13") and os.access(python, os.X_OK)
+    if not any(os.access(f"{d}/python3.13", os.X_OK) for d in ("/usr/local/bin", "/opt/homebrew/bin")):
+        assert python == str(fake)