@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+---
+'@objectstack/spec': patch
+---
+
+A served object field no longer carries an undeclared `help` key. `translateObject` now serves a field's translated help on the field's `description` (#21948).
+
+Clause-②: no
+
+- **What moved.** A bundle's `objects.<object>.fields.<field>.help` entry is the translation of the field's `description`, because the i18n extractor writes it from that key. `translateObject` (and so `GET /api/v1/meta/object/:name` in a non-English locale) used to put it on a `help` key that `FieldSchema` does not declare. The served field then failed `FieldSchema` with `unrecognized_keys`. A consumer that reads only declared keys rendered the English `description`, and the console logged one ingestion warning per such field. The translation is now served on `description`, and the served field carries no `help`.
+- **Precedence (ADR-0029 D9.2a).** The catalog applies only while the served field's `description` still equals the packaged field's. This is judged by the same comparison the object scalars, views and dashboards use. A description that diverged (an `objectExtensions` field, or a tenant's own edit) keeps its authored value in every locale. With no packaged base supplied, the catalog applies, as before. A field's `label` is unchanged and stays a flat `catalog ?? document`.
+- **`ObjectFieldLike`** (`@objectstack/spec/system`) drops its `help?: string` member. Its `[key: string]: any` index signature still accepts and types a `help` key, so a caller that writes or reads one still compiles. `inlineHelpText` is not touched.
+- Readers that fall back from `help` to `description` (`field.help || field.description`) render the same translated text as before.
+- ⛔ No schema, parse or export change. The translation bundle's own field `help` key is unchanged.
@@ -3548,6 +3548,175 @@ describe('translateObject — catalog vs explicit override (#8284)', () => {
   });
 });
 
+// ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+// translateObject — a field's translated help is served on `description` (#21948)
+// ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
+
+import { FieldSchema } from '../data/field.zod';
+
+/**
+ * #21948 — the bundle's `objects.<object>.fields.<field>.help` entry is the
+ * translation of the field's `description` (the i18n extractor writes it from
+ * that key), and it used to be served on a `help` key `FieldSchema` does not
+ * declare. Every consumer that reads only declared keys rendered the English
+ * `description`, and the console warned once per such field on every load.
+ *
+ * The entry is served on `description` now, under ADR-0029 D9.2a: the catalog
+ * applies only while the served `description` still equals the packaged
+ * field's (`valueOverridesPackagedBase`), and with no packaged base it applies.
+ */
+describe('translateObject — a field\'s translated help is served on `description`', () => {
+  const TWO_FACTOR_EN =
+    'Whether two-factor authentication is enabled for this user. Maintained by the better-auth `twoFactor` plugin.';
+  const TWO_FACTOR_ZH = '该用户是否已启用双因素认证。由 better-auth 的 `twoFactor` 插件维护。';
+
+  /** The packaged declaration, as the owner contributor holds it. */
+  const PACKAGED = {
+    name: 'sys_user',
+    label: 'User',
+    fields: {
+      two_factor_enabled: {
+        name: 'two_factor_enabled',
+        type: 'boolean',
+        label: 'Two-Factor Enabled',
+        description: TWO_FACTOR_EN,
+      },
+      phone: {
+        name: 'phone',
+        type: 'text',
+        label: 'Phone',
+        description: 'Contact number.',
+        inlineHelpText: 'Include the country code.',
+      },
+      nickname: { name: 'nickname', type: 'text', label: 'Nickname' },
+    },
+  };
+
+  /**
+   * What the extractor writes: `en` repeats the packaged `description` under
+   * `help`, `zh-CN` is its translation. `nickname` has no entry at all.
+   */
+  const BUNDLE: TranslationBundle = {
+    en: {
+      objects: {
+        sys_user: {
+          fields: {
+            two_factor_enabled: { label: 'Two-Factor Enabled', help: TWO_FACTOR_EN },
+            phone: { label: 'Phone', help: 'Contact number.' },
+          },
+        },
+      },
+    } as any,
+    'zh-CN': {
+      objects: {
+        sys_user: {
+          fields: {
+            two_factor_enabled: { label: '已启用双因素认证', help: TWO_FACTOR_ZH },
+            phone: { label: '电话', help: '联系电话。' },
+          },
+        },
+      },
+    } as any,
+  };
+
+  const clone = <V>(value: V): V => JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(value));
+  const fieldsOf = (out: unknown) => (out as { fields: Record<string, Record<string, unknown>> }).fields;
+  const unrecognizedKeys = (def: unknown) => {
+    const parsed = FieldSchema.safeParse(def);
+    return parsed.success ? [] : parsed.error.issues.filter((issue) => issue.code === 'unrecognized_keys');
+  };
+
+  it('serves the zh-CN translation on `description`, carries no `help` key, and parses with no unrecognized key', () => {
+    const field = fieldsOf(translateObject(clone(PACKAGED), BUNDLE, { locale: 'zh-CN', packagedBase: PACKAGED }))
+      .two_factor_enabled;
+    expect(field.description).toBe(TWO_FACTOR_ZH);
+    expect('help' in field).toBe(false);
+    expect(field.label).toBe('已启用双因素认证');
+    expect(unrecognizedKeys(field)).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('leaves a field with no bundle entry exactly as it came — the control', () => {
+    const doc = clone(PACKAGED);
+    const field = fieldsOf(translateObject(doc, BUNDLE, { locale: 'zh-CN', packagedBase: PACKAGED })).nickname;
+    expect(field).toEqual(PACKAGED.fields.nickname);
+    expect('description' in field).toBe(false);
+    expect('help' in field).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('a field declaring both `description` and `inlineHelpText` gets the translation on `description`; `inlineHelpText` is untouched', () => {
+    const field = fieldsOf(translateObject(clone(PACKAGED), BUNDLE, { locale: 'zh-CN', packagedBase: PACKAGED })).phone;
+    expect(field.description).toBe('联系电话。');
+    expect(field.inlineHelpText).toBe('Include the country code.');
+    expect('help' in field).toBe(false);
+    expect(unrecognizedKeys(field)).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('keeps a `description` that diverged from the packaged field, in every locale, through the type dispatch', () => {
+    // The REST boundary reaches `translateObject` through the dispatcher, so the
+    // packaged base has to arrive there for the comparison to be made at all.
+    const served = clone(PACKAGED);
+    served.fields.two_factor_enabled.description = 'Edited by the tenant.';
+    for (const locale of ['zh-CN', 'en']) {
+      const fields = fieldsOf(translateMetadataDocument('object', clone(served), BUNDLE, { locale, packagedBase: PACKAGED }));
+      expect(fields.two_factor_enabled.description).toBe('Edited by the tenant.');
+      expect('help' in fields.two_factor_enabled).toBe(false);
+    }
+    // Judged per field: the undiverged sibling is still translated…
+    const zh = fieldsOf(translateMetadataDocument('object', clone(served), BUNDLE, { locale: 'zh-CN', packagedBase: PACKAGED }));
+    expect(zh.phone.description).toBe('联系电话。');
+    // …and the field `label` stays a flat `catalog ?? document`, as before.
+    expect(zh.two_factor_enabled.label).toBe('已启用双因素认证');
+  });
+
+  it('a field the packaged base does not declare counts as diverged', () => {
+    // An `objectExtensions` field is folded on after the owner's declaration,
+    // which is all the base carries.
+    const served = clone(PACKAGED) as any;
+    served.fields.extra = { name: 'extra', type: 'text', label: 'Extra', description: 'Added by an extension.' };
+    const bundle = clone(BUNDLE) as any;
+    bundle['zh-CN'].objects.sys_user.fields.extra = { help: '扩展添加。' };
+    const field = fieldsOf(translateObject(served, bundle, { locale: 'zh-CN', packagedBase: PACKAGED })).extra;
+    expect(field.description).toBe('Added by an extension.');
+    expect('help' in field).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('with no packaged base, the catalog applies — "unknown" is not "authored"', () => {
+    const served = clone(PACKAGED);
+    served.fields.two_factor_enabled.description = 'Edited by the tenant.';
+    for (const packagedBase of [undefined, null]) {
+      const field = fieldsOf(translateObject(clone(served), BUNDLE, { locale: 'zh-CN', packagedBase })).two_factor_enabled;
+      expect(field.description).toBe(TWO_FACTOR_ZH);
+      expect('help' in field).toBe(false);
+    }
+    expect(fieldsOf(translateObject(clone(served), BUNDLE, { locale: 'zh-CN' })).two_factor_enabled.description)
+      .toBe(TWO_FACTOR_ZH);
+  });
+
+  it('an absent served `description` is not an override — the catalog fills it', () => {
+    const served = clone(PACKAGED) as any;
+    delete served.fields.two_factor_enabled.description;
+    const field = fieldsOf(translateObject(served, BUNDLE, { locale: 'zh-CN', packagedBase: PACKAGED })).two_factor_enabled;
+    expect(field.description).toBe(TWO_FACTOR_ZH);
+  });
+
+  it('judges an array-shaped field list against an array-shaped base by field name', () => {
+    const asArray = (doc: typeof PACKAGED) => ({ ...doc, fields: Object.values(doc.fields) });
+    const served = clone(PACKAGED);
+    served.fields.two_factor_enabled.description = 'Edited by the tenant.';
+    const out = translateObject(asArray(served) as any, BUNDLE, { locale: 'zh-CN', packagedBase: asArray(PACKAGED) });
+    const byName = Object.fromEntries((out.fields as any[]).map((f) => [f.name, f]));
+    expect(byName.two_factor_enabled.description).toBe('Edited by the tenant.');
+    expect(byName.phone.description).toBe('联系电话。');
+    expect((out.fields as any[]).some((f) => 'help' in f)).toBe(false);
+  });
+
+  it('does not mutate the input document', () => {
+    const doc = clone(PACKAGED);
+    translateObject(doc, BUNDLE, { locale: 'zh-CN', packagedBase: PACKAGED });
+    expect(doc).toEqual(PACKAGED);
+  });
+});
+
 // ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
 // Screen-flow copy resolvers (#7646 / #11287)
 // ════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
 
@@ -1419,6 +1419,36 @@ function packagedPart(
   return {};
 }
 
+/**
+ * The packaged counterpart of one served FIELD of an object, with the same
+ * three answers as {@link packagedPart}: `undefined` when no packaged base was
+ * supplied, `{}` when the base is known but declares no such field (a field
+ * authored after the fact — an `objectExtensions` field is folded on after the
+ * owner's declaration the base carries), and the packaged field otherwise.
+ *
+ * A separate finder only because a field map is a record keyed by field name
+ * (the canonical shape) where {@link packagedPart} walks an array; the array
+ * shape some reads flatten to is matched by `name`, as `translateObject`
+ * itself accepts both.
+ */
+function packagedObjectField(
+  packagedObject: Record<string, unknown> | undefined,
+  fieldName: string,
+): Record<string, unknown> | undefined {
+  if (packagedObject === undefined) return undefined;
+  const fields = packagedObject.fields;
+  if (Array.isArray(fields)) {
+    for (const candidate of fields) {
+      const record = asRecord(candidate);
+      if (record !== undefined && record.name === fieldName) return record;
+    }
+    return {};
+  }
+  const map = asRecord(fields);
+  if (map === undefined || !Object.prototype.hasOwnProperty.call(map, fieldName)) return {};
+  return asRecord(map[fieldName]) ?? {};
+}
+
 /**
  * Overlay `dashboards.<name>.globalFilters.<key>.{label,options.<value>}`
  * onto one authored filter (#16772). Returns the input object itself when
@@ -2414,10 +2444,15 @@ export interface ObjectLike {
   listViews?: Record<string, unknown>;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Minimal field shape consumed by `translateObject`. It names only keys
+ * `FieldSchema` declares: there is no `help` here, because a field spells its
+ * help text `description` / `inlineHelpText`. The bundle's field `help` entry
+ * is served on `description` (see {@link translateObject}).
+ */
 export interface ObjectFieldLike {
   name?: string;
   label?: string;
-  help?: string;
   description?: string;
   options?: Array<{ label?: string; value: string | number | boolean }>;
   [key: string]: any;
@@ -2906,7 +2941,8 @@ function translateObjectListViews(
 /**
  * Apply the active locale to an object metadata document. Translates the
  * object's `label` / `pluralLabel` / `description`, walks each field to
- * translate its `label`, `help`, and per-option `label`s, walks any
+ * translate its `label`, its `description` (from the bundle's field `help`
+ * entry — see below), and per-option `label`s, walks any
  * inline-declared `actions` through {@link translateAction}, and overlays the
  * copy of each EMBEDDED `listViews` entry from the `_views` keys the i18n
  * extractor writes for it ({@link translateObjectListViews}). The input document
@@ -2949,13 +2985,35 @@ function translateObjectListViews(
  * conservative edges. `?layers=true` stays untranslated and diagnostic,
  * unchanged.
  *
- * The rule is scoped to the three SCALARS, which are what the ruling covers:
- * `fields` is a key-keyed spread whose per-field labels have their own
- * (per-field) catalog keys, and no read has been measured to diverge on them.
- * The embedded `listViews` follow the VIEW translator's application of the
- * same rule (ADR-0029 D9.2a, as {@link translateView} applies it), judged per
- * view against the packaged object's own `listViews` — see
- * {@link translateObjectListViews}.
+ * The ruling covers the three SCALARS. A field's `label` stays a flat
+ * `catalog ?? document`: `fields` is a key-keyed spread whose per-field labels
+ * have their own (per-field) catalog keys, and no read has been measured to
+ * diverge on them. The embedded `listViews` follow the VIEW translator's
+ * application of the same rule (ADR-0029 D9.2a, as {@link translateView}
+ * applies it), judged per view against the packaged object's own `listViews` —
+ * see {@link translateObjectListViews}.
+ *
+ * ## A field's translated help is served on `description` — ADR-0029 D9.2a
+ *
+ * The bundle addresses a field's help as `objects.<object>.fields.<field>.help`
+ * (`FieldTranslationSchema.help`), and the i18n extractor writes that entry
+ * from the field's `description` (`packages/cli/src/utils/i18n-extract.ts`;
+ * its other source, a field `help`, is a key `FieldSchema` refuses). So the
+ * entry is the translation of `description`, and it is served THERE. It is
+ * ⛔ never served on a `help` key, which `FieldSchema` does not declare: the
+ * served field def then carried a key the contract refuses, every consumer
+ * that reads only declared keys rendered the source-language `description`,
+ * and the console's ingestion step warned once per such field (#21948). It is
+ * ⛔ not served on `inlineHelpText` either, which the extractor never reads.
+ *
+ * `description` is a key the catalog had never touched, so it follows the
+ * rule above, as every string this translator added since does: the catalog
+ * applies only while the served field's `description` still equals the same
+ * field's in {@link TranslateDocumentOptions.packagedBase}, judged by
+ * {@link valueOverridesPackagedBase} (⛔ never a second comparison). A field
+ * the base does not declare was authored after the fact, and its description
+ * counts as diverged; no base supplied means nothing is inferred and the
+ * catalog applies.
  */
 export function translateObject<T extends ObjectLike>(
   doc: T,
@@ -2982,15 +3040,21 @@ export function translateObject<T extends ObjectLike>(
   const label = resolveScalar('label', doc.label);
   const pluralLabel = resolveScalar('pluralLabel', doc.pluralLabel);
   const description = resolveScalar('description', doc.description);
+  const packagedObject = asRecord(opts?.packagedBase);
 
   const translateField = (name: string, def: ObjectFieldLike): ObjectFieldLike => {
     const next: ObjectFieldLike = { ...def };
     const translatedLabel =
       lookupObjectFieldAttr(bundle, objectName, name, 'label', opts) ??
       builtinSystemFieldLabel(name, def.label, opts);
     if (translatedLabel) next.label = translatedLabel;
-    const translatedHelp = lookupObjectFieldAttr(bundle, objectName, name, 'help', opts);
-    if (translatedHelp) next.help = translatedHelp;
+    // The bundle's field `help` entry translates `description`, and is served
+    // there — never on an undeclared `help` — unless the served description
+    // diverged from the packaged field's (ADR-0029 D9.2a; see the docblock).
+    if (!valueOverridesPackagedBase(packagedObjectField(packagedObject, name), 'description', def.description)) {
+      const translatedDescription = lookupObjectFieldAttr(bundle, objectName, name, 'help', opts);
+      if (translatedDescription) next.description = translatedDescription;
+    }
     if (Array.isArray(def.options)) {
       // A picklist-bound field is served with its list's options resolved
       // onto it (`PicklistServedFieldSchema`), and INHERITS the list's option