i18n locale fill (release time)

Contributors add ENGLISH only; the maintainer fills every locale at release. This skill is that fill workflow. The release-tier gate (I18N_RELEASE_TIER=1, automatic on release/** branches) hard-fails on any pending registry row, so a release is not shippable until the fill lands.

1. Generate the worklist

npm run i18n:gen        # refresh the registry first
npm run i18n:worklist   # writes one batch per language under docs/i18n-scaling/worklist/ (gitignored)

scripts/i18n_fill_worklist.mjs is data-only (no translation): each batch entry carries { scope, key, english, placeholders, siblings }.

• main-scope keys are filled in the matching src/ui/i18n.locales/<lang>.ts overlay.
• sim / server / admin scope keys are filled in their matcher DICTs (the worklist header in scripts/i18n_fill_worklist.mjs names the exact files).
• humanRequired entries are blocked by default (quest narratives, names, lore, SEO copy): never machine-fill them; only autoFillable entries are fair game for a model pass.

Batches are per-language and independent: fan out one fill agent per language when the volume is large, then regenerate once at the end.

2. The fill contract

• Translate, never transplant. The registry counts PRESENCE, not language: pasting the English value into an overlay marks the row filled and silently ships English. Do not.
• Placeholder parity. Every {token} in the English value must appear verbatim in the fill (the worklist lists them). The scanner checks parity; a dropped token is a break.
• Locked terminology. Classic-MMO terms per locale live in scripts/i18n_glossary.json and are locked; follow them, and extend the glossary when a new recurring term appears.
• Matcher DICT values must be literal string copies. Never alias or share a reference between DICT rows; the matcher relies on per-row literals.
• Native punctuation in overlays is legitimate. Russian and other locales use real em dashes; NEVER strip them. The repo copy scans deliberately exclude src/ui/i18n.locales.
• The placeholder guard flags a bare "todo" value, which is also a real word in es/pt. Phrase such fills differently (for example "por hacer") so the guard does not trip.

3. Regenerate, verify

1. npm run i18n:gen regenerates the resolved bundles and the status registry.
2. Stage the regenerated artifacts in the SAME commit as the fills. The freshness gate diffs the regenerated output against the staged/committed copies; unstaged artifacts fail it.
3. Prove completion: run the i18n steps release-tier, I18N_RELEASE_TIER=1 npm run gate (or at minimum i18n:gen + the guard tests), and confirm zero pending rows remain.

4. Reword staleness (the silent trap)

Rewording an EXISTING English value does not mark its translations pending: every locale silently keeps the old meaning. After any English copy change, diff the resolved en output between the base branch and HEAD and re-fill the touched keys in the same change.