diff --git a/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Setup.hs b/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Setup.hs
index f5d941a90..d197e7940 100644
--- a/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Setup.hs
+++ b/hledger/Hledger/Cli/Commands/Setup.hs
@@ -23,11 +23,11 @@ module Hledger.Cli.Commands.Setup (
 )
 where
 
-import Control.Applicative ((<|>))
 import Control.Exception
 import Control.Monad
-import qualified Data.ByteString as B
+-- import qualified Data.ByteString as B
 import Data.Char
+import Data.Default (def)
 import Data.List
 import qualified Data.Map as M
 import Data.Maybe
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ import Hledger hiding (setupPager)
 import Hledger.Cli.CliOptions
 import Hledger.Cli.Conf
 import Hledger.Cli.Version
-import Data.Default (def)
+import System.IO (localeEncoding)
 
 
 setupmode = hledgerCommandMode
@@ -69,27 +69,16 @@ without premature termination or misformatting.
 The tests are grouped into setup* routines, so named because they might do more
 than just test in future.
 
-The first group of tests checks the hledger executable found in PATH.
-Note, later tests which require running hledger should use this executable,
-rather than the API of the hledger currently running (in case they're different).
-
-This hledger executable could be old; we can't assume it has modern flags/commands.
-Eg its --version output may be less than usual, or it may not have the check command.
-
-Or it may not accept -n/--no-conf, which we may need to avoid disruption from config files.
-Eg there's an inconvenient bug in hledger 1.40-1.42ish: without -n, a bad config file
-breaks pretty much everything, including --version, --help, and test.
-
-So we first try hledger --version -n; if this fails, we try hledger --version.
-(For absolute precision we should perhaps check the failure output for "Unknown flag: -n"..)
-If we are able to detect the version, we use that to decide how and whether to run
-later tests. Eg, for hledger <1.40, we won't run config tests, and won't use -n.
-
+This is the second version of setup. If it finds that the currently
+running hledger is not the one installed in PATH (by comparing --version output),
+it refuses to proceed further until that has been done.
+This means it can rely on all the latest features and use the hledger API
+within this process, simplifying things greatly.
 -}
 setup :: CliOpts -> Journal -> IO ()
 setup _opts@CliOpts{rawopts_=_rawopts, reportspec_=_rspec} _ignoredj = do
   -- This command is not given a journal and should not use _ignoredj;
-  -- instead detect it ourselves when we are ready.
+  -- instead read it ourselves when we are ready.
   putStrLn "Checking your hledger setup.."
   color <- useColorOnStdout
   when color $ 
@@ -99,331 +88,228 @@ setup _opts@CliOpts{rawopts_=_rawopts, reportspec_=_rspec} _ignoredj = do
       ,warning "unknown"
       ,bad     "warning"
       ]
-  mversion <- setupHledger
-  case mversion of
-    Nothing -> return ()
-    Just HledgerBinaryVersion{hbinPackageVersion=version} -> do
-      setupLocale
-      conf <- fromMaybe nullconf <$> setupConfig version
-      setupColor version conf
-      setupPager version conf
-      setupPretty version conf
-      setupCompletions version
-      ej <- setupJournal version
-      let mj = either (const Nothing) Just ej
-      setupAccounts version mj
-      setupCommodities version mj
-      return ()
+  conf <- fromMaybe nullconf <$> setupHledger
+  setupTerminal conf
+  setupJournal
+  -- setupStrictness conf
   putStr "\n"
 
--- Test a hledger version for support of various features.
-ver >=! str = ver >= (fromJust $ toVersion str)
-supportsIgnoreAssertions      = (>=! "0.24")  -- --ignore-assertions (2014)
-supportsCommodityDirective    = (>=! "1.0")   -- commodity directive (2016)
-supportsPretty                = (>=! "1.2")   -- --pretty, to use box-drawing characters (2017)
-supportsAccountDirective      = (>=! "1.9")   -- account directive (2018)
-supportsAccountTypes          = (>=! "1.13")  -- ALERX account types, type: tag (2019)
-supportsCashAccountType       = (>=! "1.19")  -- C/Cash account type (2020)
-supportsBasicColor            = (>=! "1.19")  -- basic color detection/control (2020)
-supportsConversionAccountType = (>=! "1.25")  -- V/Conversion account type, accounts --types (2022)
-supportsConfigFiles           = (>=! "1.40")  -- config files (2024)
-supportsColor                 = (>=! "1.41")  -- robust color detection/control (2024)
-supportsPager                 = (>=! "1.41")  -- use a pager for all output (2024)
-supportsBashCompletions       = (>=! "1.41")  -- up to date bash shell completions (2024)
-
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
 -- | This first test group looks for a "hledger" executable in PATH;
 -- if found, tests it in various ways;
 -- and if it ran successfully, returns the full --version output
 -- and the numeric Version parsed from that.
-setupHledger :: IO (Maybe HledgerBinaryVersion)
+setupHledger :: IO (Maybe Conf)
 setupHledger = do
   pgroup "hledger"
 
-  pdesc "is in PATH ?"
+  pdesc "is a released version ?"
+  let isreleased = if isReleaseVersion $ hbinPackageVersion binaryinfo then Y else N
+  i isreleased prognameandversion
+
+  pdesc "is up to date ?"
+  elatestversionnumstr <- getLatestHledgerVersion
+  case elatestversionnumstr of
+    Left e -> p U ("couldn't read " <> latestHledgerVersionUrlStr <> " , " <> e)
+    Right latestversionnumstr ->
+      case toVersion latestversionnumstr of
+        Nothing -> p U "couldn't parse latest version number"
+        Just latestversion -> p
+          (if hbinPackageVersion binaryinfo >= latestversion then Y else N)
+          (showVersion (hbinPackageVersion binaryinfo) <> " installed, latest is " <> latestversionnumstr)
+
+  pdesc "is a native binary for this machine ?"
+  case hbinArch binaryinfo of
+    Nothing -> p U $ "couldn't detect this binary's architecture"
+    Just a | a /= arch -> p N $ "binary is for " <> a <> ", system is " <> arch <> ", may run slowly"
+    Just a -> p Y a
+
+  pdesc "is installed in PATH ?"
   pathexes  <- findExecutables progname
-  home      <- getHomeDirectory
-  appdata   <- getXdgDirectory XdgData ""
-  otherexes <- flip findExecutablesInDirectories progname $
-    [home </> ".local/bin"
-    ,home </> ".cabal/bin"
-    ,home </> ".nix-profile/bin"
-    ,"/opt/homebrew/bin"
-    ,"/usr/local/bin"
-    ,"/usr/bin"
-    ]
-    ++ [appdata </> "local/bin" | os == "mingw32"]
-    ++ [appdata </> "cabal/bin" | os == "mingw32"]
-  case (pathexes, otherexes) of
-    ([], []) -> do
-      p N $ "Move the " <> progname <> " binary to a directory in your shell's PATH"
-      return Nothing
-    ([], otherexe:_) -> do
-      let otherdir = takeDirectory otherexe
-      p N $ unlines
-        ["Add " <> otherdir <> " to PATH in your shell config."
-        ,"  Eg on unix: echo 'export PATH=" <> otherdir <> ":$PATH' >> ~/.profile"
-        ,"  and start a new shell session."
-        ]
-      return Nothing
-    (pathexe:_, _) -> do
-      p Y (quoteIfNeeded pathexe)
-
-      -- hledger was found in PATH, continue
-
-      pdesc "runs and --version looks like hledger ?"
+  let msg = "please install this hledger in PATH and run setup again"
+  case pathexes of
+    [] -> p N msg >> exitFailure
+    exe:_ -> do
       eerrout <- tryHledgerArgs [["--version", "--no-conf"], ["--version"]]
       case eerrout of
-        Left  err ->
-          p N (progname <> " --version failed: " <> err) >> return Nothing
-        Right out | versionoutput <- rstrip out -> do
-          case parseHledgerVersion versionoutput of
-            Left  _ -> p N (progname <> " --version shows: " <> rstrip out) >> return Nothing
-            Right bininfo@HledgerBinaryVersion{..} -> do
-              p Y versionoutput
+        Left  err -> p U (progname <> " --version failed: " <> err) >> exitFailure
+        Right out -> do
+          case parseHledgerVersion out of
+            Left  _ -> p U ("couldn't parse " <> progname <> " --version: " <> rstrip out) >> exitFailure
+            Right pathbin -> do
+              let pathversion = hbinVersionOutput pathbin
+              if pathversion /= prognameandversion
+              then p N (unlines [
+                 ""
+                ,"PATH hledger is " <> pathversion <> " (" <> exe <> ")"
+                ,"this hledger is " <> prognameandversion
+                ,msg
+                ]) >> exitFailure
+              else p Y exe
 
-              -- It runs and --version output looks ok, continue
+  pdesc "has a system text encoding configured ?"
+  let encoding = localeEncoding  -- the initial system encoding
+  if map toLower (show encoding) == "ascii"
+  then p N (show encoding <> " - please configure an encoding to handle non-ascii text")
+  else p Y (show encoding)
 
-              pdesc "is a native binary ?"
-              case hbinArch of
-                Nothing -> p U $ "couldn't detect arch in --version output"
-                Just binarch | binarch /= arch -> p N $ "installed binary is for " <> binarch <> ", system is " <> arch
-                Just binarch -> p Y binarch
+  -- pdesc "can handle UTF-8 text ?"
+  -- let
+  --   eAcuteUtf8   = B.pack [0xC3, 0xA9]
+  --   eAcuteLatin1 = B.pack [0xE9]
+  -- case T.decodeUtf8' eAcuteUtf8 of
+  --   Left _  -> p N "hledger's docs and examples use UTF-8"
+  --   Right t -> p Y (T.unpack t)
 
-              pdesc "is up to date ?"
-              let binversion = hbinPackageVersion
-              elatestversionnumstr <- getLatestHledgerVersion
-              case elatestversionnumstr of
-                Left e -> p U ("couldn't read " <> latestHledgerVersionUrlStr <> " , " <> e)
-                Right latestversionnumstr ->
-                  case toVersion latestversionnumstr of
-                    Nothing -> p U "couldn't parse latest version number"
-                    Just latestversion -> p
-                      (if binversion >= latestversion then Y else N)
-                      (showVersion hbinPackageVersion <> " installed, latest is " <> latestversionnumstr)
+  -- pdesc "can report text decoding failures ?"
+  -- i U (T.unpack $ T.decodeUtf8 eAcuteLatin1)
 
-              pdesc "is same as the hledger running setup ?"
-              if prognameandversion == hbinVersionOutput
-              then i Y ""
-              else i N prognameandversion
+  pdesc "has a user config file ? (optional)"
+  muf <- activeUserConfFile
+  let
+    (ok, msg) = case muf of
+      Just f  -> (Y, f)
+      Nothing -> (N, "")
+  i ok msg
 
-              return $ Just bininfo
+  pdesc "current directory has a local config ?"
+  mlf <- activeLocalConfFile
+  let
+    (ok, msg) = case mlf of
+      Just f  -> (Y, f) -- <> if isJust muf then " (masking user config)" else "")
+      Nothing -> (N, "")
+  i ok msg
 
+  when (isJust muf && isJust mlf) $ do
+    pdesc "local config is masking user config ?"
+    i Y ""
+
+  if (isJust muf || isJust mlf) then do
+    pdesc "the config file is readable ?"
+    econf <- getConf def
+    case econf of
+      Left e -> p N (show e) >> return Nothing
+      Right (conf, f) -> do
+        p Y (fromMaybe "" f)
+
+        -- pdesc "common general options are configured ?"
+        -- --infer-costs"
+        -- print --explicit --show-costs"
+
+        return $ Just conf
+  else
+    return Nothing
 
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-setupConfig :: Version -> IO (Maybe Conf)
-setupConfig version = do
-  pgroup "config"
+setupTerminal conf = do
+  pgroup "terminal"
 
-  pdesc "hledger supports config files ?"
-  if (not $ supportsConfigFiles version)
-  then p N "hledger 1.40+ needed" >> return Nothing
-  else do
-    p Y ""
+  pdesc "the NO_COLOR variable is defined ?"
+  mnocolor <- lookupEnv "NO_COLOR"
+  case mnocolor of
+    Nothing -> i N ""
+    Just _  -> i Y ""
 
-    pdesc "a user config file exists ? (optional)"
-    muf <- activeUserConfFile
-    let
-      (ok, msg) = case muf of
-        Just f  -> (Y, f)
-        Nothing -> (N, "")
-    i ok msg
-
-    pdesc "a local config file exists ?"
-    mlf <- activeLocalConfFile
-    let
-      (ok, msg) = case mlf of
-        Just f  -> (Y, f) -- <> if isJust muf then " (masking user config)" else "")
-        Nothing -> (N, "")
-    i ok msg
-
-    when (isJust muf && isJust mlf) $ do
-      pdesc "local config is masking user config ?"
-      i Y ""
-
-    let mf = mlf <|> muf
-    case mf of
-      Nothing -> return Nothing
-      Just _ -> do
-        pdesc "hledger can read the config file ?"
-        -- Test config file readability, without requiring journal file readability, forward compatibly.
-        (exit, _, err) <- readProcessWithExitCode progname ["print", "-f-"] ""
-        case exit of
-          ExitFailure _ -> p N ("\n"<>err) >> return Nothing
-          ExitSuccess   -> do
-            p Y ""
-
-            -- Read config file ourselves for closer inspection
-            -- econfsections <- readFile f <&> parseConf f . T.pack
-            econf <- getConf def  -- safer; should agree with file detection above
-            case econf of
-              Left _ -> return Nothing
-              Right (conf, _) -> do
-
-                -- pdesc "common general options configured ?"
-                -- --pretty --ignore-assertions --infer-costs"
-                -- print --explicit --show-costs"
-
-                return $ Just conf
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-setupLocale = do
-  pgroup "locale"
-
-  -- pdesc "a locale is set to allow UTF-8 text ?"
-  -- pdesc "the locale allows decoding UTF-8 text ?"
-  pdesc "the locale allows handling UTF-8 text ?"
-  case T.decodeUtf8' $ B.pack [0xC3, 0xA9] of  -- é
-    Left _  -> p N "hint: set a UTF-8 locale / enable UTF-8 text"
-    Right t -> p Y (T.unpack t)
-  --- XXX also recognise non-utf8 locales I guess, as long as some text encoding is supported
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-setupColor version conf = do
-  pgroup "color"
-
-  pdesc "hledger supports robust color output ?"
-  if not $ supportsColor version then p N "hledger 1.41+ needed"
-  else do
-    p Y ""
-
-    pdesc "the NO_COLOR variable is defined ?"
-    mnocolor <- lookupEnv "NO_COLOR"
-    case mnocolor of
-      Nothing -> i N ""
-      Just _  -> i Y ""
-
-    meconfigcolor <- do
-      pdesc "color is configured in the config file ?"  -- we check the general section only
-      let
-        confgenargs = confLookup "general" conf
-        mcolorarg = find (\a -> any (`isPrefixOf` a) ["--color", "--colour"]) confgenargs
-      case mcolorarg of
-        Nothing -> i N "" >> return Nothing
-        Just a  -> do
-          i Y a
-          let
-            arg = reverse $ takeWhile (`notElem` ['=',' ']) $ reverse a
-          return $ Just $ parseYNA arg
-
-    pdesc "hledger will use color when possible ?"
-    case (meconfigcolor, isJust mnocolor) of
-      (Just (Right Yes), _)     -> i Y ""
-      (Just (Right No),  _)     -> i N ""
-      (_,                True)  -> i N ""
-      (_,                False) -> i Y ""
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-setupPager version conf = do
-  pgroup "pager"
-  
-  pdesc "hledger supports paged output ?"
-  if not $ supportsPager version then p N "hledger 1.41+ needed"
-  else do
-    p Y ""
-
-    pdesc "the PAGER variable is defined ?"
-    mv <- lookupEnv "PAGER"
-    case mv of
-      Nothing -> i N ""
-      Just v  -> i Y v
-
-    pdesc "pager is configured in the config file ?"
+  meconfigcolor <- do
+    pdesc "color is configured in the config file ?"  -- we check the general section only
     let
       confgenargs = confLookup "general" conf
-      mpagerarg = find ("--pager" `isPrefixOf`) confgenargs
-    meconfpager <- case mpagerarg of
+      mcolorarg = find (\a -> any (`isPrefixOf` a) ["--color", "--colour"]) confgenargs
+    case mcolorarg of
       Nothing -> i N "" >> return Nothing
       Just a  -> do
         i Y a
-        let arg = reverse $ takeWhile (`notElem` ['=',' ']) $ reverse a
+        let
+          arg = reverse $ takeWhile (`notElem` ['=',' ']) $ reverse a
         return $ Just $ parseYNA arg
 
-    pdesc "hledger will use a pager when needed ?"
-    mpager <- findPager
-    case mpager of
-      Nothing    -> p N "no pager was found"
-      Just pager ->
-        case meconfpager of
-          Just (Right No) -> p N ""
-          _ -> do
-            p Y pager
+  pdesc "hledger will use color by default ?"
+  case (meconfigcolor, isJust mnocolor) of
+    (Just (Right Yes), _)     -> p Y ""
+    (Just (Right No),  _)     -> i N ""
+    (_,                True)  -> i N ""
+    (_,                False) -> p Y ""
 
-            when (map toLower (takeBaseName pager) == "more") $ do
-              pdesc "the MORE variable is defined ?"
-              mv <- lookupEnv "MORE"
-              case mv of
-                Nothing -> i N ""
-                Just v  -> i Y v
+  pdesc "the PAGER variable is defined ?"
+  mv <- lookupEnv "PAGER"
+  case mv of
+    Nothing -> i N ""
+    Just v  -> i Y v
 
-            when (map toLower (takeBaseName pager) == "less") $ do
-              pdesc "the LESS variable is defined ?"
-              mLESS <- lookupEnv "LESS"
-              case mLESS of
-                Nothing -> i N ""
-                Just _  -> i Y ""
+  pdesc "pager is configured in the config file ?"
+  let
+    confgenargs = confLookup "general" conf
+    mpagerarg = find ("--pager" `isPrefixOf`) confgenargs
+  meconfpager <- case mpagerarg of
+    Nothing -> i N "" >> return Nothing
+    Just a  -> do
+      i Y a
+      let arg = reverse $ takeWhile (`notElem` ['=',' ']) $ reverse a
+      return $ Just $ parseYNA arg
 
-              pdesc "the HLEDGER_LESS variable is defined ?"
-              mHLEDGER_LESS <- lookupEnv "HLEDGER_LESS"
-              case mHLEDGER_LESS of
-                Nothing -> i N ""
-                Just v  -> i Y v
+  pdesc "hledger will use a pager when needed ?"
+  mpager <- findPager
+  case mpager of
+    Nothing    -> p N "no pager was found"
+    Just pager ->
+      case meconfpager of
+        Just (Right No) -> p N "disabled in config file"
+        _ -> do
+          p Y pager
 
-              when (isNothing mHLEDGER_LESS) $ do
-                pdesc "adjusting LESS variable for color etc. ?"
-                usecolor <- useColorOnStdout
-                i (if usecolor then Y else N) ""
+          when (map toLower (takeBaseName pager) == "more") $ do
+            pdesc "the MORE variable is defined ?"
+            mv <- lookupEnv "MORE"
+            case mv of
+              Nothing -> i N ""
+              Just v  -> i Y v
 
+          when (map toLower (takeBaseName pager) == "less") $ do
+            pdesc "the LESS variable is defined ?"
+            mLESS <- lookupEnv "LESS"
+            case mLESS of
+              Nothing -> i N ""
+              Just _  -> i Y ""
+
+            pdesc "the HLEDGER_LESS variable is defined ?"
+            mHLEDGER_LESS <- lookupEnv "HLEDGER_LESS"
+            case mHLEDGER_LESS of
+              Nothing -> i N ""
+              Just v  -> i Y v
+
+            when (isNothing mHLEDGER_LESS) $ do
+              pdesc "adjusting LESS variable for color etc. ?"
+              usecolor <- useColorOnStdout
+              i (if usecolor then Y else N) ""
+
+  pdesc "--pretty is enabled in the config file ?"
+  let
+    confgenargs = confLookup "general" conf
+    confpretty = isJust $ find ("--pretty" ==) confgenargs
+  if confpretty
+  then i Y "tables will use box-drawing characters"
+  else i N "tables will use ASCII characters"
+
+  pdesc "bash shell completions are installed ?" >> p U ""
+  pdesc "zsh shell completions are installed ?" >> p U ""
 
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-setupPretty version conf = do
-  pgroup "pretty"
-
-  pdesc "hledger supports pretty table borders ?"
-  if not $ supportsPretty version then p N "hledger 1.2+ needed"
-  else do
-    p Y ""
-
-    pdesc "--pretty is enabled in the config file ?"
-    let
-      confgenargs = confLookup "general" conf
-      confpretty = isJust $ find ("--pretty" ==) confgenargs
-    i (if confpretty then Y else N) ""
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-setupCompletions version = do
-  pgroup "completions"
-
-  pdesc "up to date bash completions available ?"
-  if not $ supportsBashCompletions version then p N "hledger 1.41+ needed"
-  else do
-    p Y ""
-
-    pdesc "bash shell completions are installed ?"
-    p U ""
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-setupJournal :: Version -> IO (Either String Journal)
-setupJournal version = do
+setupJournal :: IO (Either String Journal)
+setupJournal = do
   pgroup "journal"
 
-  pdesc "a home directory journal file exists ?"
-  mh <- getHomeSafe
-  (ok,msg) <- case mh of
-    Just h -> do
-      let f = h </> journalDefaultFilename
-      e <- doesFileExist f
-      return (if e then Y else N, if e then f else "")
-    Nothing -> return (N, "")
-  i ok msg
+  -- pdesc "a home directory journal file exists ?"
+  -- mh <- getHomeSafe
+  -- (ok,msg) <- case mh of
+  --   Just h -> do
+  --     let f = h </> journalDefaultFilename
+  --     e <- doesFileExist f
+  --     return (if e then Y else N, if e then f else "")
+  --   Nothing -> return (N, "")
+  -- i ok msg
 
   pdesc "the LEDGER_FILE variable is defined ?"
   mf <- lookupEnv journalEnvVar
@@ -444,139 +330,104 @@ setupJournal version = do
   --   pdesc "$LEDGER_FILE is masking home journal ?"
   --   i Y ""
 
-  pdesc "a default journal file exists ?"
+  pdesc "a default journal file is readable ?"
   jfile <- defaultJournalPath
-  exists <- doesFileExist jfile
-  let (ok, msg) = (if exists then Y else N, if exists then jfile else "")
-  p ok msg
 
-  when exists $ do
-    
-    when (os == "mingw32") $ do
-      pdesc "default journal file path is safe for Windows ?"
+  -- let
+  --   args = concat [
+  --     ["print"],
+  --     ["--ignore-assertions" | supportsIgnoreAssertions version],
+  --     ["--no-conf" | supportsConfigFiles version]
+  --     ]
+  -- (exit, _, err) <- readProcessWithExitCode progname args ""
+  -- XXX can this ignore assertions and config files, like the above ?
+  ej <- defaultJournalSafely
+  case ej of
+    Left e -> do
+      p N (jfile <> ":\n" <> show e)
+      return $ Left e
+    Right j@Journal{..} -> do
+      p Y jfile
+
+      pdesc "it includes additional files ?"
+      let numfiles = length jfiles
+      if numfiles > 1
+      then i Y (show $ numfiles - 1)
+      else i N ""
+
+      pdesc "all commodities are declared ?"
       let
-        (ok, msg) =
-          -- like ensureJournalFileExists:
-          if isWindowsUnsafeDotPath jfile
-          then (N, "the file name ends with a dot, this is unsafe on Windows")
-          else (Y, "")
-      p ok msg
+        numcommodities = length $ journalCommodities j
+        undeclaredcommodities = journalCommoditiesUsed j \\ journalCommoditiesDeclared j
+      if null undeclaredcommodities
+      then p Y (show numcommodities)
+      else p N (show (length undeclaredcommodities) <> "; declaring helps set their precision")
 
-    pdesc "hledger can read the default journal ?"
-    -- Basic readability check: ignoring config files if it's hledger >=1.40,
-    -- and balance assertions if possible (can't if it's hledger <=0.23),
-    -- try read the file (ie do the parseable and autobalanced checks pass).
-    let
-      args = concat [
-        ["print"],
-        ["--ignore-assertions" | supportsIgnoreAssertions version],
-        ["--no-conf" | supportsConfigFiles version]
-        ]
-    (exit, _, err) <- readProcessWithExitCode progname args ""
-    case exit of
-      ExitSuccess   -> p Y ""
-      ExitFailure _ -> p N ("\n"<>err)
+      let
+        accttypes = [Asset, Liability, Equity, Revenue, Expense, Cash, Conversion]
+        typesdeclaredorinferred = nub $ M.elems jaccounttypes
+        typesnotfound = filter (not.(`elem` typesdeclaredorinferred)) accttypes
+        acctswithdeclaredorinferredtype = nub (M.keys jaccounttypes)
+        numaccts = length $ journalAccountNames j
+        untypedaccts = journalAccountNames j \\ acctswithdeclaredorinferredtype
+        undeclaredaccts = journalAccountNamesUsed j \\ journalAccountNamesDeclared j
+        -- hasdeclaredaccts t = case M.lookup t jdeclaredaccounttypes of
+        --   Just (_ : _) -> True
+        --   _ -> False
 
-  -- Try to read the journal ourselves for closer inspection later.
-  -- There's the possibility this could read the journal differently from the hledger in PATH,
-  -- if that's  a different version.
-  -- Also we assume defaultJournalPath will detect the same file as the logic above.
-  defaultJournalSafely
+      -- pdesc "Asset accounts declared ?"    
+      -- if hasdeclaredaccts Asset then i Y "" else i N ""
 
+      -- pdesc "Liability accounts declared ?"
+      -- if hasdeclaredaccts Liability then i Y "" else i N ""
+
+      -- pdesc "Equity accounts declared ?"
+      -- if hasdeclaredaccts Equity then i Y "" else i N ""
+
+      -- pdesc "Revenue accounts declared ?"
+      -- if hasdeclaredaccts Revenue then i Y "" else i N ""
+
+      -- pdesc "Expense accounts declared ?"
+      -- if hasdeclaredaccts Expense then i Y "" else i N ""
+
+      -- pdesc "Cash accounts declared ?"
+      -- if hasdeclaredaccts Cash then i Y "" else i N ""
+
+      -- pdesc "Conversion accounts declared ?"
+      -- if hasdeclaredaccts Conversion then i Y "" else i N ""  -- ("--infer-equity will use a default conversion account name")
+
+      -- XXX hard to detect accounts where type was inferred from name
+      -- unless arealltypesdeclared $ do
+      -- let
+      --   acctswithdeclaredtype           = concat (M.elems jdeclaredaccounttypes)
+      --   acctswithinferredtype           = acctswithdeclaredorinferredtype \\ acctswithdeclaredtype
+      --   arealltypesdeclared = all hasdeclaredaccts accttypes
+      --   typesinferredfromnames =
+      --     if arealltypesdeclared then []
+      --     else sort $ nub $ catMaybes $ map (flip M.lookup jaccounttypes) acctswithinferredtype
+      -- pdesc "types detected from account names ?"
+      -- if null typesinferredfromnames then i N "" else i Y (concatMap show typesinferredfromnames)
+
+      pdesc "all accounts are declared ?"
+      if null undeclaredaccts then i Y (show numaccts) else i N (show (length undeclaredaccts) <> " undeclared")
+
+      pdesc "all accounts have types ?"
+      if null untypedaccts then i Y "" else i N (show (length untypedaccts) <> " untyped")
+
+      pdesc "accounts of each type were detected ?"
+      if null typesnotfound
+      then p Y (concatMap show accttypes)
+      else p N (concatMap show typesnotfound <> "not found; type: queries, bs/cf/is reports may not work")
+
+      return $ Right j
 
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
-setupAccounts version mj = do
-  pgroup "accounts"
-
-  pdesc "hledger supports account directives ?"
-  if not $ supportsAccountDirective version
-  then p N "hledger 1.9+ needed"
-  else do
-    p Y ""
-
-    pdesc "hledger supports all account types ?"  --  (ALERXCV)
-    if not $ supportsConversionAccountType version
-    then p N "hledger 1.25+ needed"
-    else do
-      p Y ""
-
-      case mj of
-        Nothing -> return ()
-        Just j@Journal{..} -> do
-
-          let
-            accttypes = [Asset, Liability, Equity, Revenue, Expense, Cash, Conversion]
-            typesdeclaredorinferred = nub $ M.elems jaccounttypes
-            acctswithdeclaredorinferredtype = nub (M.keys jaccounttypes)
-            untypedaccts = journalAccountNames j \\ acctswithdeclaredorinferredtype
-            undeclaredaccts = journalAccountNamesUsed j \\ journalAccountNamesDeclared j
-            hasdeclaredaccts t = case M.lookup t jdeclaredaccounttypes of
-              Just (_ : _) -> True
-              _ -> False
-
-          pdesc "Asset accounts declared ?"    
-          if hasdeclaredaccts Asset then i Y "" else i N ""
-
-          pdesc "Liability accounts declared ?"
-          if hasdeclaredaccts Liability then i Y "" else i N ""
-
-          pdesc "Equity accounts declared ?"
-          if hasdeclaredaccts Equity then i Y "" else i N ""
-
-          pdesc "Revenue accounts declared ?"
-          if hasdeclaredaccts Revenue then i Y "" else i N ""
-
-          pdesc "Expense accounts declared ?"
-          if hasdeclaredaccts Expense then i Y "" else i N ""
-
-          pdesc "Cash accounts declared ?"
-          if hasdeclaredaccts Cash then i Y "" else i N ""
-
-          pdesc "Conversion accounts declared ?"
-          if hasdeclaredaccts Conversion then i Y "" else i N ""  -- ("--infer-equity will use a default conversion account name")
-
-          -- XXX hard to detect accounts where type was inferred from name
-          -- unless arealltypesdeclared $ do
-          -- let
-          --   acctswithdeclaredtype           = concat (M.elems jdeclaredaccounttypes)
-          --   acctswithinferredtype           = acctswithdeclaredorinferredtype \\ acctswithdeclaredtype
-          --   arealltypesdeclared = all hasdeclaredaccts accttypes
-          --   typesinferredfromnames =
-          --     if arealltypesdeclared then []
-          --     else sort $ nub $ catMaybes $ map (flip M.lookup jaccounttypes) acctswithinferredtype
-          -- pdesc "types detected from account names ?"
-          -- if null typesinferredfromnames then i N "" else i Y (concatMap show typesinferredfromnames)
-
-          pdesc "an account of each type was detected ?"
-          if all (`elem` typesdeclaredorinferred) accttypes
-          then p Y ""
-          else p N "reports like bs, cf, is may be empty"
-
-          pdesc "all accounts have types ?"
-          if null untypedaccts then i Y "" else i N ""
-
-          pdesc "all accounts are declared ?"
-          if null undeclaredaccts then i Y "" else i N ""
-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
-setupCommodities version mj = do
-  pgroup "commodities"
-
-  pdesc "hledger supports commodity directives ?"
-  if not $ supportsCommodityDirective version
-  then p N "hledger 1.0+ needed"
-  else do
-    p Y ""
-
-    case mj of
-      Nothing -> return ()
-      Just j -> do
-
-        pdesc "all commodities are declared ?"
-        let undeclaredcommodities = journalCommoditiesUsed j \\ journalCommoditiesDeclared j
-        if null undeclaredcommodities then p Y "" else p N "declaring helps set their precision"
+setupStrictness = do
+  pgroup "strictness"
+  pdesc "balance assertions are checked by default ?"
+  -- ignore-assertions
+  pdesc "commodities/conversions/accounts are checked by default ?"
 
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
@@ -586,6 +437,21 @@ setupCommodities version mj = do
 
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
+-- Test a hledger version for support of various features.
+ver >=! str = ver >= (fromJust $ toVersion str)
+supportsIgnoreAssertions = (>=! "0.24") -- --ignore-assertions (2014)
+supportsCommodityDirective = (>=! "1.0") -- commodity directive (2016)
+supportsPretty = (>=! "1.2") -- --pretty, to use box-drawing characters (2017)
+supportsAccountDirective = (>=! "1.9") -- account directive (2018)
+supportsAccountTypes = (>=! "1.13") -- ALERX account types, type: tag (2019)
+supportsCashAccountType = (>=! "1.19") -- C/Cash account type (2020)
+supportsBasicColor = (>=! "1.19") -- basic color detection/control (2020)
+supportsConversionAccountType = (>=! "1.25") -- V/Conversion account type, accounts --types (2022)
+supportsConfigFiles = (>=! "1.40") -- config files (2024)
+supportsColor = (>=! "1.41") -- robust color detection/control (2024)
+supportsPager = (>=! "1.41") -- use a pager for all output (2024)
+supportsBashCompletions = (>=! "1.41") -- up to date bash shell completions (2024)
+
 -- yes, no, unknown
 data YNU = Y | N | U deriving (Eq)
 
@@ -599,12 +465,12 @@ bad     = bold' . brightRed'
 instance Show YNU where
   show Y = good    "yes"    -- ✅ apple emojis - won't work everywhere
   show N = bad     " no"    -- ❌
-  show U = warning " ? "
+  show U = warning "  ?"
 
 -- Show status, in blue/yellow if supported.
 showInfo Y = neutral "yes"  -- ℹ️
 showInfo N = neutral " no"  -- ℹ️
-showInfo U = warning " ? "
+showInfo U = warning "  ?"
 
 -- | Print a test's pass or fail status, as "yes" or "no" or "",
 -- in green/red if supported, and the (possibly empty) provided message.