diff --git a/gui/.gitignore b/.gitignore
similarity index 94%
rename from gui/.gitignore
rename to .gitignore
index e0d174cb..28e4b8c9 100644
--- a/gui/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -26,3 +26,6 @@ dist-ssr
 
 # test coverage
 coverage
+
+# python
+*.pyc
diff --git a/gui/src/app/Stanc/stancWorker.ts b/gui/src/app/Stanc/stancWorker.ts
index f0624ca7..d5745d35 100644
--- a/gui/src/app/Stanc/stancWorker.ts
+++ b/gui/src/app/Stanc/stancWorker.ts
@@ -18,7 +18,12 @@ try {
     // browser
     stanc = (globalThis as any).stanc;
   }
-  console.log("loaded stanc.js");
+  if (stanc) {
+    const stanc_version = stanc("", "", ["version"]).result;
+    console.log(`loaded stanc.js, version '${stanc_version}'`);
+  } else {
+    console.error("Failed to load stanc.js");
+  }
 } catch (e) {
   console.error("Failed to load stanc.js");
   console.error(e);