llama.cpp whose CUDA backend cannot load runs on the CPU without an error. The CUDA build is now asked for its devices when installed, a shard on GPUs must hold memory on each before it is ready, and engine-check reports the devices. Shards get CUDA_DEVICE_ORDER=PCI_BUS_ID so CUDA numbers GPUs as placement does. Refs #2 (item 2). Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>