@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+---
+'@objectstack/plugin-approvals': patch
+---
+
+fix: a new out-of-office delegation opens with the Delegator already set to the signed-in user, and the field's help says why no one else can be chosen
+
+Clause-②: no
+Metadata-protocol: none
+
+The Delegator of `sys_approval_delegation` (Setup → Delegations) only ever offers the signed-in user, because the delegation write guard admits nobody else. The field still opened empty, and a search for a colleague answered "No options found" with no reason.
+
+- `delegator_id` now declares `defaultValue: 'current_user'`, the spec's runtime token for a `sys_user` lookup, so the one admissible value is filled in from the start. The write guard is unchanged and stays the enforcement.
+- The field's help now reads: "The user going out of office. You can delegate only your own approvals, so this is always you: it starts as you and offers no one else." The `es-ES`, `ja-JP` and `zh-CN` bundles carry the translated text.
@@ -24,13 +24,21 @@
  *  4. the guard is not widened: a create or an update naming anyone else is
  *     still refused, `FORBIDDEN` / 403, and nothing is stored;
  *  5. `required` stays: a write with no acting user and no delegator is
- *     refused.
+ *     refused;
+ *  6. the field defaults to the acting user with the spec's runtime token
+ *     `current_user`, which the spec admits on a `sys_user` lookup, so a new
+ *     delegation opens with its one admissible Delegator already filled.
  */
 
 import { describe, it, expect, beforeAll, afterAll } from 'vitest';
 import { ObjectQL } from '@objectstack/objectql';
 import { SqlDriver } from '@objectstack/driver-sql';
-import type { EngineCountOptions, EngineQueryOptions } from '@objectstack/spec/data';
+import {
+  FieldSchema,
+  DEFAULT_VALUE_TOKEN_CURRENT_USER,
+  type EngineCountOptions,
+  type EngineQueryOptions,
+} from '@objectstack/spec/data';
 import { SysApprovalDelegation } from './sys-approval-delegation.object.js';
 import { bindDelegationWriteGuard } from './lifecycle-hooks.js';
 import { installDefaultOrganization } from './default-organization.testkit.js';
@@ -121,6 +129,17 @@ describe('sys_approval_delegation — the Delegator picker offers only what the
     expect(registered.lookupFilters).toEqual(ACTING_USER_ONLY);
   });
 
+  it('defaults to the acting user with the spec\'s `current_user` token, and the spec admits it on this field', () => {
+    const field = delegatorField();
+    expect(field.defaultValue).toBe(DEFAULT_VALUE_TOKEN_CURRENT_USER);
+    expect((engine.registry.getObject(OBJECT) as any).fields.delegator_id.defaultValue)
+      .toBe(DEFAULT_VALUE_TOKEN_CURRENT_USER);
+    // A token on a field it cannot default is refused at parse time; a full
+    // parse of this field must be green.
+    const parsed = FieldSchema.safeParse({ name: 'delegator_id', ...field });
+    expect(parsed.success, JSON.stringify(parsed.error?.issues)).toBe(true);
+  });
+
   it.each(USERS.map((u) => [u.id]))('the picker offers %s themselves and nobody else', async (caller) => {
     const candidates = await engine.find('sys_user', pickerQuery(), asUser(caller));
     expect(candidates.map((r: any) => r.id)).toEqual([caller]);
 
@@ -94,13 +94,20 @@ export const SysApprovalDelegation = ObjectSchema.create({
     // `lookupFilters` is the picker's candidate query, and the engine resolves
     // `{current_user_id}` against the caller on every read. Presentation only
     // — the guard stays the enforcement, and what a write may store is
-    // unchanged. Pinned in `sys-approval-delegation-delegator-picker.test.ts`.
+    // unchanged. Since that one value is always the acting user, the field
+    // also defaults to it: `defaultValue: 'current_user'` is the spec's
+    // runtime token for a `sys_user` lookup (`DEFAULT_VALUE_TOKENS`), so a new
+    // delegation opens with the Delegator already filled instead of at an
+    // empty picker. Pinned in `sys-approval-delegation-delegator-picker.test.ts`.
     delegator_id: Field.lookup('sys_user', {
       label: 'Delegator',
       required: true,
+      defaultValue: 'current_user',
       lookupFilters: [{ field: 'id', operator: 'eq', value: '{current_user_id}' }],
       group: 'Delegation',
-      description: 'The user going out of office; their individually-routed approver slots are rerouted while active.',
+      description:
+        'The user going out of office. You can delegate only your own approvals, so this is always you: '
+        + 'it starts as you and offers no one else. Their individually-routed approver slots are rerouted while active.',
     }),
 
     delegate_id: Field.lookup('sys_user', {
 
@@ -354,7 +354,7 @@ export const enObjects: NonNullable<TranslationData['objects']> = {
       },
       delegator_id: {
         label: "Delegator",
-        help: "The user going out of office; their individually-routed approver slots are rerouted while active."
+        help: "The user going out of office. You can delegate only your own approvals, so this is always you: it starts as you and offers no one else. Their individually-routed approver slots are rerouted while active."
       },
       delegate_id: {
         label: "Delegate",
 
@@ -354,7 +354,7 @@ export const esESObjects: NonNullable<TranslationData['objects']> = {
       },
       delegator_id: {
         label: "Delegator",
-        help: "The user going out of office; their individually-routed approver slots are rerouted while active."
+        help: "El usuario que se ausenta. Solo puedes delegar tus propias aprobaciones, así que siempre eres tú: el campo empieza contigo y no ofrece a nadie más. Mientras la delegación está activa, los puestos de aprobador asignados a esa persona se reenrutan."
       },
       delegate_id: {
         label: "Delegate",
 
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ export const esESGeneratedSourceHashes: Readonly<Record<string, string>> = {
   "objects.sys_approval_delegation.fields.created_at.label": "1f02d416befb595b",
   "objects.sys_approval_delegation.fields.delegate_id.help": "9cfc641f7b0b04f9",
   "objects.sys_approval_delegation.fields.delegate_id.label": "afd6d8733dc5bc14",
-  "objects.sys_approval_delegation.fields.delegator_id.help": "c4686c5c9f24e0be",
   "objects.sys_approval_delegation.fields.delegator_id.label": "f76b1f95f2fdabff",
   "objects.sys_approval_delegation.fields.display_title.help": "2831a1ffde72b425",
   "objects.sys_approval_delegation.fields.display_title.label": "70f7aadecce647a5",
 
@@ -354,7 +354,7 @@ export const jaJPObjects: NonNullable<TranslationData['objects']> = {
       },
       delegator_id: {
         label: "Delegator",
-        help: "The user going out of office; their individually-routed approver slots are rerouted while active."
+        help: "不在になるユーザーです。委任できるのは自分の承認だけなので、常にあなた自身です。最初からあなたが設定され、ほかのユーザーは選べません。有効な間、その人に個別に割り当てられた承認者枠は振り替えられます。"
       },
       delegate_id: {
         label: "Delegate",
 
@@ -25,7 +25,6 @@ export const jaJPGeneratedSourceHashes: Readonly<Record<string, string>> = {
   "objects.sys_approval_delegation.fields.created_at.label": "1f02d416befb595b",
   "objects.sys_approval_delegation.fields.delegate_id.help": "9cfc641f7b0b04f9",
   "objects.sys_approval_delegation.fields.delegate_id.label": "afd6d8733dc5bc14",
-  "objects.sys_approval_delegation.fields.delegator_id.help": "c4686c5c9f24e0be",
   "objects.sys_approval_delegation.fields.delegator_id.label": "f76b1f95f2fdabff",
   "objects.sys_approval_delegation.fields.display_title.help": "2831a1ffde72b425",
   "objects.sys_approval_delegation.fields.display_title.label": "70f7aadecce647a5",
 
@@ -354,7 +354,7 @@ export const zhCNObjects: NonNullable<TranslationData['objects']> = {
       },
       delegator_id: {
         label: "委派人",
-        help: "即将不在岗的用户；规则生效期间，路由到其个人的审批人槽位将被改派。"
+        help: "即将不在岗的用户。你只能委派自己的审批，所以这里始终是你：默认填入你本人，不提供其他人选。规则生效期间，路由到其个人的审批人槽位将被改派。"
       },
       delegate_id: {
         label: "候补人",