@@ -174,18 +174,13 @@ jobs:
         find . -path './vendor' -prune -o -type f -name '*.php' -print0 | xargs -0 -r -n1 php -l
 
     - name: Verify translation template is up to date
+      if: github.event_name == 'pull_request'
+      env:
+        BASE_REF: ${{ github.event.pull_request.base.sha }}
       run: |
         cd ${{ github.workspace }}/cacti/plugins/quicktree
-        sudo chmod +x locales/build_gettext.sh
-        sudo ./locales/build_gettext.sh
-        grep -v '^"POT-Creation-Date:' locales/po/cacti.pot > /tmp/cacti.pot.new
-        git checkout -- locales/
-        grep -v '^"POT-Creation-Date:' locales/po/cacti.pot > /tmp/cacti.pot.old
-        if ! cmp -s /tmp/cacti.pot.old /tmp/cacti.pot.new; then
-          echo "locales/po/cacti.pot is out of date. Run locales/build_gettext.sh and commit the updated locales/po/cacti.pot."
-          diff -u /tmp/cacti.pot.old /tmp/cacti.pot.new || true
-          exit 1
-        fi
+        git config --global --add safe.directory ${{ github.workspace }}/cacti/plugins/quicktree
+        php tests/bin/check-i18n-pot.php "$BASE_REF"
 
     - name: Set expected Cacti version for unit tests
       run: echo -n "${{ env.CACTI }}" | sudo tee ${{ github.workspace }}/cacti/plugins/quicktree/tests/.cacti-version > /dev/null
 
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 --- develop ---
 
+* dev: Replace the translation-template CI check that regenerated locales/po/cacti.pot and compared it with a diff-based gate (tests/bin/check-i18n-pot.php) requiring cacti.pot to be updated only when a pull request adds, removes, or modifies an i18n function call
 * dev: Measure CI coverage with xdebug instead of pcov so the plugin's own sources are instrumented (pcov auto-scopes to the Composer root and skipped cacti/plugins/, leaving the patch-coverage gate with nothing to measure)
 * dev: Enforce patch coverage of changed lines in CI and remove the inert COMPOSER_ROOT_VERSION env from the Pest step
 * security: Add a version-safe CSP nonce (`plugin_quicktree_csp_nonce()`) to every inline `<script>` tag so pages stay compatible with Cacti's Content-Security-Policy nonce enforcement, while falling back cleanly on older Cacti releases that lack the `CactiSecureHeaders` class
 
@@ -0,0 +1,263 @@
+<?php
+/*
+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+ | Copyright (C) 2004-2026 The Cacti Group                                 |
+ |                                                                         |
+ | This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or           |
+ | modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License             |
+ | as published by the Free Software Foundation; either version 2          |
+ | of the License, or (at your option) any later version.                  |
+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+ | Cacti: The Complete RRDtool-based Graphing Solution                     |
+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+ | http://www.cacti.net/                                                   |
+ +-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
+*/
+
+/*
+ * Fail a pull request that changes translatable strings without refreshing the
+ * gettext template.
+ *
+ * locales/po/cacti.pot is produced by locales/build_gettext.sh, which runs
+ * xgettext over `find . -maxdepth 2 -name '*.php'` extracting the Cacti i18n
+ * helpers (__(), __n(), __esc(), ...). Rather than regenerating the template
+ * and comparing timestamps, this inspects the branch diff: if any changed line
+ * adds, removes, or edits one of those i18n calls in a file that feeds the
+ * template, then locales/po/cacti.pot must also be part of the pull request.
+ *
+ * It is not this check's job to prove the template is byte-correct, only that
+ * it was regenerated and committed when the translatable strings moved.
+ *
+ * Usage: php tests/bin/check-i18n-pot.php <base-ref>
+ *
+ * Exits 1 when a required pot update is missing, 2 on bad input, 0 otherwise.
+ */
+
+/*
+ * The gettext keywords build_gettext.sh passes to xgettext. A changed line is
+ * only interesting when it contains one of these calls. The negative lookbehind
+ * keeps PHP magic methods such as __construct()/__toString() out of the match.
+ */
+$i18n_pattern = '/(?<![A-Za-z0-9_])__(?:gettext|date|esc_xn|esc_x|esc_n|esc|xn|x|n)?\s*\(/';
+
+/* Repository-relative path of the template the plugin must keep in sync. */
+$pot_path = 'locales/po/cacti.pot';
+
+$base_ref = isset($argv[1]) ? trim($argv[1]) : '';
+
+if ($base_ref === '') {
+	$env = getenv('GITHUB_BASE_REF');
+	$base_ref = ($env !== false) ? trim($env) : '';
+}
+
+if ($base_ref === '') {
+	fwrite(STDOUT, "No base ref supplied; skipping i18n template check (not a pull request).\n");
+
+	exit(0);
+}
+
+/*
+ * Make sure the base commit is present. With fetch-depth: 0 it already is, but
+ * a branch-name ref may still need fetching on a shallow checkout.
+ */
+$probe = [];
+$probe_status = 0;
+exec('git rev-parse --verify --quiet ' . escapeshellarg($base_ref . '^{commit}'), $probe, $probe_status);
+
+if ($probe_status !== 0) {
+	$ignore = [];
+	$ignore_status = 0;
+	exec('git fetch --quiet --no-tags --depth=200 origin ' . escapeshellarg($base_ref), $ignore, $ignore_status);
+}
+
+$range = escapeshellarg($base_ref) . '...HEAD';
+
+/**
+ * Normalise a source line so that a pure re-indent or reflow of an i18n call
+ * does not read as a content change.
+ *
+ * @param string $line Raw diff line with its leading +/- already removed.
+ *
+ * @return string Whitespace-collapsed, trimmed line.
+ */
+function normalise_line($line) {
+	return preg_replace('/\s+/', ' ', trim($line));
+}
+
+/**
+ * Collect the i18n-bearing lines each side of the diff adds or removes, limited
+ * to files that actually feed the gettext template.
+ *
+ * A file feeds the template when it is a PHP file no deeper than one directory
+ * below the plugin root, mirroring `find . -maxdepth 2 -name '*.php'`.
+ *
+ * @param string $range        Git diff range expression.
+ * @param string $i18n_pattern Regex matching the Cacti i18n helper calls.
+ *
+ * @return array{added: array<int, string>, removed: array<int, string>, files: array<string, bool>}
+ */
+function collect_i18n_changes($range, $i18n_pattern) {
+	$command = 'git diff --no-ext-diff --unified=0 --no-color ' . $range . ' -- "*.php"';
+	$output  = [];
+	$status  = 0;
+
+	exec($command, $output, $status);
+
+	if ($status !== 0) {
+		fwrite(STDERR, "git diff failed\n");
+
+		exit(2);
+	}
+
+	$added    = [];
+	$removed  = [];
+	$files    = [];
+	$old_file = null;
+	$new_file = null;
+
+	foreach ($output as $line) {
+		if (strncmp($line, '--- ', 4) === 0) {
+			$old_file = diff_path(substr($line, 4));
+
+			continue;
+		}
+
+		if (strncmp($line, '+++ ', 4) === 0) {
+			$new_file = diff_path(substr($line, 4));
+
+			continue;
+		}
+
+		if ($line === '' || $line[0] !== '+' && $line[0] !== '-') {
+			continue;
+		}
+
+		if (strncmp($line, '+++', 3) === 0 || strncmp($line, '---', 3) === 0) {
+			continue;
+		}
+
+		$added_line = ($line[0] === '+');
+		$file       = $added_line ? $new_file : $old_file;
+
+		if ($file === null || !feeds_template($file)) {
+			continue;
+		}
+
+		$content = substr($line, 1);
+
+		if (!preg_match($i18n_pattern, $content)) {
+			continue;
+		}
+
+		$files[$file] = true;
+
+		if ($added_line) {
+			$added[] = normalise_line($content);
+		} else {
+			$removed[] = normalise_line($content);
+		}
+	}
+
+	return ['added' => $added, 'removed' => $removed, 'files' => $files];
+}
+
+/**
+ * Turn a diff header path ("a/foo.php", "b/foo.php" or "/dev/null") into a plain
+ * repository-relative path, or null when the side does not exist.
+ *
+ * @param string $raw Path portion following the "--- "/"+++ " marker.
+ *
+ * @return string|null Repository-relative path, or null for /dev/null.
+ */
+function diff_path($raw) {
+	$raw = trim($raw);
+
+	if ($raw === '/dev/null') {
+		return null;
+	}
+
+	if (strncmp($raw, 'a/', 2) === 0 || strncmp($raw, 'b/', 2) === 0) {
+		$raw = substr($raw, 2);
+	}
+
+	return $raw;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Whether a path is scanned by build_gettext.sh, i.e. a PHP file no more than
+ * one directory below the plugin root.
+ *
+ * @param string $file Repository-relative path.
+ *
+ * @return bool
+ */
+function feeds_template($file) {
+	if (substr($file, -4) !== '.php') {
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	return substr_count($file, '/') <= 1;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Whether the pull request already touches the gettext template.
+ *
+ * @param string $range    Git diff range expression.
+ * @param string $pot_path Repository-relative path of cacti.pot.
+ *
+ * @return bool
+ */
+function pot_updated($range, $pot_path) {
+	$command = 'git diff --no-ext-diff --name-only --no-color ' . $range;
+	$output  = [];
+	$status  = 0;
+
+	exec($command, $output, $status);
+
+	if ($status !== 0) {
+		fwrite(STDERR, "git diff failed\n");
+
+		exit(2);
+	}
+
+	foreach ($output as $name) {
+		if (trim($name) === $pot_path) {
+			return true;
+		}
+	}
+
+	return false;
+}
+
+$changes = collect_i18n_changes($range, $i18n_pattern);
+
+sort($changes['added']);
+sort($changes['removed']);
+
+$i18n_changed = ($changes['added'] !== $changes['removed']);
+
+if (!$i18n_changed) {
+	fwrite(STDOUT, "No translatable-string changes detected in the diff; locales/po/cacti.pot update not required.\n");
+
+	exit(0);
+}
+
+if (pot_updated($range, $pot_path)) {
+	fwrite(STDOUT, "Translatable strings changed and locales/po/cacti.pot is included in the pull request. OK.\n");
+
+	exit(0);
+}
+
+$files = array_keys($changes['files']);
+sort($files);
+
+fwrite(STDERR, "This pull request changes i18n strings but does not update locales/po/cacti.pot.\n");
+fwrite(STDERR, "Run locales/build_gettext.sh and commit the regenerated locales/po/cacti.pot.\n");
+fwrite(STDERR, "\n");
+fwrite(STDERR, "Files with changed i18n calls:\n");
+
+foreach ($files as $file) {
+	fwrite(STDERR, "  - $file\n");
+}
+
+exit(1);