diff --git a/node-packages/wp-tooling/CHANGELOG.md b/node-packages/wp-tooling/CHANGELOG.md
index 8a77b0d..00bcb4b 100644
--- a/node-packages/wp-tooling/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/node-packages/wp-tooling/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.1.0/).
 
 ### Added
 
+- `lint/i18n` scaffold — a standalone `phpcs.i18n.xml.dist` running only `WordPress.WP.I18n` against the project's text domain, plus a `lint:i18n` composer script. Standalone because the `text_domain` property is project-specific and the engine never edits an existing `phpcs.xml.dist`. The `text_domain` input is `required` (discovered from `.wp-tooling.json` `textDomain` when present) rather than defaulted, because the sniff silently loses its `MissingArgDomain` / `TextDomainMismatch` checks when the property is wrong or unset. The rendered ruleset deliberately omits `default` from the allowed domains — listing it downgrades a missing domain argument from the `MissingArgDomain` error to the `MissingArgDomainDefault` warning — with a commented opt-in for projects that intentionally reuse core strings. Companion to the i18n lens skill in `rtcamp/wp-devtools`.
 - Remote scaffolds — a scaffold's `scaffold.json` + templates can live in another repo. `scaffolds/sources.json` lists the source repos (pinned `{ repository, ref, path }`); each repo publishes a `scaffolds/index.json` enumerating the scaffolds it offers, which the registry fetches to discover them (one PR in the owning repo adds/changes a scaffold; wp-tooling only changes to onboard a new repo). Manifests + templates are fetched on `add`, cached under `${XDG_CACHE_HOME:-$HOME/.cache}/wp-tooling/remote/` and validated with ETag conditional requests (`304 Not Modified` serves the cache; movable tags refresh when they move). New error code `EFETCHFAIL` (network/HTTP) distinct from `EBADSCAFFOLD` (bad index/manifest). `list` is online-preferred with a cache fallback and reports unreachable sources as warnings; `validate --remote` fetches + schema-validates each index + manifest; `wp-tooling cache clear` empties the cache. Dormant by default — no `sources.json` ships.
 - Engine-side input discovery (`discover_from`) — an input declaration can say where to source its value from the project, so the engine fills it instead of the caller guessing. Resolves from `composer.json` / `package.json` (dotted paths; `autoload.psr-4` yields the root namespace) and `.wp-tooling.json`, with precedence `supplied → discovered → default`. Fail-safe: a missing or malformed project file falls through to the input's `default`, so a project without those files behaves exactly as before the resolver existed. Adds an optional `transform` step for derived inputs (`json-escape` doubles backslashes for the PSR-4 composer key). The inputs the engine actually rendered with are surfaced on `execute()` as `engine.inputs`. Bundled `setup/psr4` + `wp/*` scaffolds annotated with `discover_from`.
 - Feature toggle layer — a scaffold may declare an optional `feature` block (`config_key`, `owned_files`, `confirm_remove`, `gitignore`) marking it as a toggleable project feature. New TTY-free `enable` / `disable` / `status` verbs create or remove the owned files idempotently, manage `.gitignore` lines (Mustache-rendered against resolved inputs), prompt before deleting consumer-editable files (`confirm_remove`, overridable with `--force`), and persist on/off state in `.wp-tooling.json`. New `wp-tooling features` command — lists feature status by default, with `--enable` / `--disable` to toggle (plus `--json`, `--force`, `--no-install`, `--dry-run`); `setup/tailwind` ships as the first such feature. Additive — the `feature` block never affects the `add` / `execute` path.
diff --git a/node-packages/wp-tooling/scaffolds/lint/i18n/scaffold.json b/node-packages/wp-tooling/scaffolds/lint/i18n/scaffold.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9b47450
--- /dev/null
+++ b/node-packages/wp-tooling/scaffolds/lint/i18n/scaffold.json
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+{
+	"slug": "i18n",
+	"category": "lint",
+	"name": "PHPCS - i18n",
+	"description": "Standalone PHP_CodeSniffer ruleset running only WordPress.WP.I18n, configured with the project's text domain, plus a `lint:i18n` composer script. Separate from the main phpcs.xml.dist because the text domain is project-specific and the engine never edits existing files.",
+	"source": "template",
+	"files": [
+		{
+			"src": "templates/phpcs.i18n.xml.dist.mustache",
+			"dest": "phpcs.i18n.xml.dist"
+		}
+	],
+	"inputs": [
+		{
+			"key": "text_domain",
+			"description": "The project's text domain, exactly as it appears in the plugin header's `Text Domain:` (or the theme's style.css). The sniff cannot report a wrong domain without it, so it is required rather than guessed.",
+			"discover_from": "config:textDomain",
+			"required": true
+		}
+	],
+	"composer_dev_dependencies": {
+		"squizlabs/php_codesniffer": "^3.7",
+		"wp-coding-standards/wpcs": "^3.0"
+	},
+	"scripts": {
+		"composer": {
+			"lint:i18n": "phpcs --standard=phpcs.i18n.xml.dist"
+		}
+	}
+}
diff --git a/node-packages/wp-tooling/scaffolds/lint/i18n/templates/phpcs.i18n.xml.dist.mustache b/node-packages/wp-tooling/scaffolds/lint/i18n/templates/phpcs.i18n.xml.dist.mustache
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f9441c1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/node-packages/wp-tooling/scaffolds/lint/i18n/templates/phpcs.i18n.xml.dist.mustache
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
+<?xml version="1.0"?>
+<ruleset name="Project i18n">
+	<description>Translation-readiness checks: the WordPress.WP.I18n sniff, bound to this project's text domain.</description>
+
+	<!--
+		Scaffolded by @rtcamp/wp-tooling. Run with `composer lint:i18n`.
+
+		Standalone on purpose: the `text_domain` property is project-specific and
+		the scaffold engine never edits an existing phpcs.xml.dist. Once you are
+		happy with it, copying the rule block below into your main ruleset makes
+		the check part of every `composer lint` run.
+
+		Without the text_domain property the sniff cannot report a wrong domain
+		at all — MissingArgDomain and TextDomainMismatch go silent while the
+		placeholder and translators-comment checks still run. That is why this
+		file exists.
+	-->
+
+	<rule ref="WordPress.WP.I18n">
+		<properties>
+			<property name="text_domain" type="array">
+				<element value="{{text_domain}}"/>
+				<!--
+					Deliberately strict: `default` (core's own domain) is NOT listed.
+					Adding it lets strings reuse core translations without a mismatch,
+					but it also downgrades a *missing* domain argument from the
+					`MissingArgDomain` error to the `MissingArgDomainDefault` warning —
+					because an omitted domain then resolves to an allowed one. Add the
+					line below only if the project intentionally reuses core strings,
+					and expect that trade-off:
+
+					<element value="default"/>
+				-->
+			</property>
+		</properties>
+	</rule>
+
+	<!-- The sniff only reads PHP; limiting extensions keeps CSS/JS out of the run. -->
+	<arg name="extensions" value="php"/>
+
+	<file>./</file>
+	<exclude-pattern>*/vendor/*</exclude-pattern>
+	<exclude-pattern>*/node_modules/*</exclude-pattern>
+	<exclude-pattern>*/build/*</exclude-pattern>
+	<exclude-pattern>*/tests/*</exclude-pattern>
+	<!-- Installed Claude Code skills ship deliberately-defective eval fixtures;
+	     linting them reports seeded defects as if they were the project's own. -->
+	<exclude-pattern>*/.claude/*</exclude-pattern>
+
+	<!--
+		Project-specific overrides go here. The common one: block render files
+		generated by @wordpress/create-block carry the block's own text domain
+		rather than the project's, so they read as a mismatch. Uncomment if that
+		applies — but only after confirming each domain really is intentional,
+		because this silences a real check on real source:
+
+		<rule ref="WordPress.WP.I18n">
+			<exclude-pattern>src/blocks/*/render.php</exclude-pattern>
+		</rule>
+	-->
+</ruleset>