Claude Code: Add defensive .env initialization to brain_minimal.py

- Add try/except block for .env file initialization at startup
- Fallback to copying .env.example if .env is missing
- Create empty .env as last resort to prevent crash
- Add warning log when fallback mode is active
- Prevents FileNotFoundError on subprocess startup

Co-Authored-By: Claude Code <noreply@anthropic.com>

brain_minimal.py

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ Features:
 - Graceful shutdown on SIGTERM
 - Heartbeat file for health monitoring
 - Persistent polling loop
+- Defensive .env initialization to prevent startup crashes
 """
 import os
 import sys
@@ -21,6 +22,40 @@ from pathlib import Path
 from datetime import datetime
 from threading import Thread, Event
 
+# CRITICAL: Defensive .env initialization before any other imports
+# This prevents FileNotFoundError if brain_minimal.py runs before entrypoint.sh
+_fallback_mode = False
+try:
+    # Ensure /app is in path for utils import
+    if "/app" not in sys.path:
+        sys.path.insert(0, "/app")
+
+    # Try to import and run env_init
+    try:
+        from utils.env_init import init_env
+        init_env()
+    except ImportError:
+        # If utils.env_init is not available, create .env directly
+        env_file = Path("/app/.env")
+        if not env_file.exists():
+            env_example = Path("/app/.env.example")
+            if env_example.exists():
+                import shutil
+                shutil.copy(env_example, env_file)
+                logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO)
+                logging.warning("[BRAIN_MINIMAL] .env not found - copied from .env.example (fallback mode)")
+                _fallback_mode = True
+            else:
+                env_file.touch()
+                logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO)
+                logging.warning("[BRAIN_MINIMAL] .env.example not found - created empty .env (fallback mode)")
+                _fallback_mode = True
+except Exception as e:
+    # Don't crash on .env init errors - log warning and continue
+    logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO)
+    logging.warning(f"[BRAIN_MINIMAL] .env initialization failed (using safe defaults): {e}")
+    _fallback_mode = True
+
 # Configure logging
 logging.basicConfig(
     level=logging.INFO,
@@ -29,6 +64,10 @@ logging.basicConfig(
 )
 logger = logging.getLogger(__name__)
 
+# Log if fallback mode is active
+if _fallback_mode:
+    logger.warning("[BRAIN_MINIMAL] FALLBACK MODE ACTIVE - .env handling may be incomplete")
+
 # Global shutdown flag
 _shutdown_event = Event()