diff --git a/.changeset/25683-inline-help-default-locale.md b/.changeset/25683-inline-help-default-locale.md
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..3851ca432f8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/25683-inline-help-default-locale.md
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+---
+'@objectstack/cli': patch
+---
+
+fix(cli): `os i18n check` reads a field's `inlineHelpText` as the default-locale text of its `help` key
+
+Clause-②: no
+Metadata-protocol: none
+
+The field help key (`objects.OBJECT.fields.FIELD.help`) took its inline source from `help` then `description` only, while `FieldSchema` spells help text `inlineHelpText`. An app that authored `inlineHelpText` and translated `help` into one locale had its default locale reported as missing a translation. The inline source is now `help`, then `inlineHelpText`, then `description`, like an authored label; a non-default locale with no `help` is still reported as a gap.
diff --git a/examples/app-showcase/src/system/translations/index.ts b/examples/app-showcase/src/system/translations/index.ts
index b578aab68f8..3b152cb4909 100644
--- a/examples/app-showcase/src/system/translations/index.ts
+++ b/examples/app-showcase/src/system/translations/index.ts
@@ -630,7 +630,7 @@ export const ShowcaseTranslationBundle = {
             label: '阶段',
             options: { new: '新建', working: '跟进中', qualified: '合格', closed: '已关闭' },
           },
-          lead_score: { label: '线索评分' },
+          lead_score: { label: '线索评分', help: '由评分规则计算,不可手动编辑。' },
           notes: { label: '备注' },
         },
         // #5420 — `ContactViews` had never been listed in the config's `views:`
diff --git a/packages/cli/src/utils/i18n-extract.ts b/packages/cli/src/utils/i18n-extract.ts
index e930860d287..73ad3d73579 100644
--- a/packages/cli/src/utils/i18n-extract.ts
+++ b/packages/cli/src/utils/i18n-extract.ts
@@ -1377,7 +1377,16 @@ export function collectExpectedEntries(
           { objectName },
         );
 
-        pushOptional(out, ['objects', objectName, 'fields', fieldName, 'help'], field.help ?? field.description, 'field', { objectName });
+        // `inlineHelpText` is the key `FieldSchema` spells help text with, so it
+        // is the authored default-locale text of `help` — after `help`, before
+        // `description` — exactly as the authored label is for `label` (#15711).
+        pushOptional(
+          out,
+          ['objects', objectName, 'fields', fieldName, 'help'],
+          field.help ?? field.inlineHelpText ?? field.description,
+          'field',
+          { objectName },
+        );
         pushOptional(out, ['objects', objectName, 'fields', fieldName, 'placeholder'], field.placeholder, 'field', { objectName });
 
         // Options — accept either `{value, label}[]` arrays or a record map.
diff --git a/packages/cli/test/i18n-extract-inline-help-text.test.ts b/packages/cli/test/i18n-extract-inline-help-text.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..8d9989f6c3c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/cli/test/i18n-extract-inline-help-text.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2026 ObjectStack contributors. Apache-2.0 license.
+//
+// A field spells its help text `inlineHelpText` (`FieldSchema`), so that is the
+// authored default-locale text of `objects.<o>.fields.<f>.help` — the same
+// rule an authored label follows. Before, the key's inline source read only
+// `help ?? description`: an app authoring `inlineHelpText` and translating
+// `help` into one locale had the DEFAULT locale reported missing.
+
+import { describe, it, expect } from 'vitest';
+import { collectExpectedEntries } from '../src/utils/i18n-extract';
+import { computeI18nCoverage } from '../src/utils/i18n-coverage';
+
+const HELP_KEY = 'objects.kpi.fields.score.help';
+
+const stack = (field: Record<string, unknown>, translations: any[]): any => ({
+  i18n: { defaultLocale: 'zh-CN', supportedLocales: ['zh-CN', 'en'] },
+  objects: [{ name: 'kpi', label: '指标', fields: { score: { label: '分数', ...field } } }],
+  translations,
+});
+
+const helpIssues = (report: ReturnType<typeof computeI18nCoverage>, locale: string) =>
+  report.issues.filter((i) => i.key === HELP_KEY && i.locale === locale);
+
+const enHelp = { en: { objects: { kpi: { fields: { score: { help: 'Full score' } } } } } };
+
+describe('the field help key takes `inlineHelpText` as its default-locale source', () => {
+  it('emits the key inline, from inlineHelpText', () => {
+    const entry = collectExpectedEntries(stack({ inlineHelpText: '满分' }, [])).find((e) => e.path.join('.') === HELP_KEY);
+    expect(entry?.inline).toBe('满分');
+  });
+
+  it('orders the sources help, then inlineHelpText, then description', () => {
+    const inlineOf = (field: Record<string, unknown>) =>
+      collectExpectedEntries(stack(field, [])).find((e) => e.path.join('.') === HELP_KEY)?.inline;
+    expect(inlineOf({ help: 'H', inlineHelpText: 'I', description: 'D' })).toBe('H');
+    expect(inlineOf({ inlineHelpText: 'I', description: 'D' })).toBe('I');
+    expect(inlineOf({ description: 'D' })).toBe('D');
+  });
+
+  it('does not report the default locale when an en bundle carries help and no zh-CN entry exists', () => {
+    const report = computeI18nCoverage(stack({ inlineHelpText: '满分' }, [enHelp]), { strict: true });
+    expect(helpIssues(report, 'zh-CN')).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('still reports a non-default locale that carries no help', () => {
+    const report = computeI18nCoverage(stack({ inlineHelpText: '满分' }, [{ 'zh-CN': {} }, enHelp]), {
+      strict: true,
+      defaultLocale: 'en',
+    });
+    // `en` is the default here: zh-CN is the non-default locale and owes help.
+    expect(helpIssues(report, 'zh-CN').length).toBe(1);
+    expect(helpIssues(report, 'en')).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('keeps the description-only case unchanged: description still seeds the default locale', () => {
+    const report = computeI18nCoverage(stack({ description: '说明' }, [enHelp]), { strict: true });
+    expect(helpIssues(report, 'zh-CN')).toEqual([]);
+  });
+
+  it('keeps the no-inline-source case unchanged: the default locale is still reported', () => {
+    const report = computeI18nCoverage(stack({}, [enHelp]), { strict: true });
+    expect(helpIssues(report, 'zh-CN').length).toBe(1);
+  });
+});