diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index ae1d061..9bdeb88 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -219,6 +219,17 @@ dependencies = [
  "subtle",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "displaydoc"
+version = "0.2.7"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "c6232dd377dcc64799954cbd3a9bb882e9cdc1308ccd87b1c098f1fb2eaf82a8"
+dependencies = [
+ "proc-macro2",
+ "quote",
+ "syn 3.0.6",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "ed25519"
 version = "2.2.3"
@@ -268,6 +279,41 @@ version = "0.1.14"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "aedcfb3409746eddb02b9e19ebda1c3394f759a152e48ee875a0844d1b955484"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "fluent-bundle"
+version = "0.16.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "01203cb8918f5711e73891b347816d932046f95f54207710bda99beaeb423bf4"
+dependencies = [
+ "fluent-langneg",
+ "fluent-syntax",
+ "intl-memoizer",
+ "intl_pluralrules",
+ "rustc-hash",
+ "self_cell",
+ "smallvec",
+ "unic-langid",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "fluent-langneg"
+version = "0.13.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "7eebbe59450baee8282d71676f3bfed5689aeab00b27545e83e5f14b1195e8b0"
+dependencies = [
+ "unic-langid",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "fluent-syntax"
+version = "0.12.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "54f0d287c53ffd184d04d8677f590f4ac5379785529e5e08b1c8083acdd5c198"
+dependencies = [
+ "memchr",
+ "thiserror",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "fumi-core"
 version = "0.1.0"
@@ -362,6 +408,25 @@ dependencies = [
  "generic-array",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "intl-memoizer"
+version = "0.5.3"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "310da2e345f5eb861e7a07ee182262e94975051db9e4223e909ba90f392f163f"
+dependencies = [
+ "type-map",
+ "unic-langid",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "intl_pluralrules"
+version = "7.0.2"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "078ea7b7c29a2b4df841a7f6ac8775ff6074020c6776d48491ce2268e068f972"
+dependencies = [
+ "unic-langid",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "itoa"
 version = "1.0.18"
@@ -483,6 +548,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "smallvec",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "rustc-hash"
+version = "2.1.3"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "6b1e7f9a428571be2dc5bc0505c13fb6bf936822b894ec87abf8a08a4e51742d"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "rustc_version"
 version = "0.4.1"
@@ -492,6 +563,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "semver",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "self_cell"
+version = "1.3.0"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "2ab42ca02749e120097e328d91d415325bdf43b1c72c4c8badf37375fe40a813"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "semver"
 version = "1.0.28"
@@ -577,10 +654,12 @@ checksum = "f9395f0f0eee849a9b707b2f06bb92a6a422090e2123bb2ef8e87a0e61892a8e"
 name = "smolboid"
 version = "0.1.0"
 dependencies = [
+ "fluent-bundle",
  "fumi-core",
  "serde",
  "serde_json",
  "smolboid-core",
+ "unic-langid",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
@@ -646,12 +725,70 @@ dependencies = [
  "unicode-ident",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "thiserror"
+version = "2.0.21"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "09e52cb86a36cede5cb101bf8908837b3e4c6e5e59fe7fd85c23fb56200d189e"
+dependencies = [
+ "thiserror-impl",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "thiserror-impl"
+version = "2.0.21"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "fe5197923287db20a58125f0bc85c062f7f2c892de97b18c356f9efb14b28524"
+dependencies = [
+ "proc-macro2",
+ "quote",
+ "syn 3.0.6",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "tinystr"
+version = "0.8.4"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "b1e27c91459209c2986af3dcf603a5a74a4368754ce37414f59acc971167f643"
+dependencies = [
+ "displaydoc",
+ "serde_core",
+ "zerovec",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "type-map"
+version = "0.5.1"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "cb30dbbd9036155e74adad6812e9898d03ec374946234fbcebd5dfc7b9187b90"
+dependencies = [
+ "rustc-hash",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "typenum"
 version = "1.20.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
 checksum = "b6f5e870be6c3b371b77fe0ee0bafb859fa4964b4404c27de1d380043c4dda20"
 
+[[package]]
+name = "unic-langid"
+version = "0.9.6"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "a28ba52c9b05311f4f6e62d5d9d46f094bd6e84cb8df7b3ef952748d752a7d05"
+dependencies = [
+ "unic-langid-impl",
+]
+
+[[package]]
+name = "unic-langid-impl"
+version = "0.9.6"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "dce1bf08044d4b7a94028c93786f8566047edc11110595914de93362559bc658"
+dependencies = [
+ "tinystr",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "unicode-ident"
 version = "1.0.26"
@@ -718,6 +855,12 @@ dependencies = [
  "syn 2.0.119",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "zerofrom"
+version = "0.1.8"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "0ec05a11813ea801ff6d75110ad09cd0824ddba17dfe17128ea0d5f68e6c5272"
+
 [[package]]
 name = "zeroize"
 version = "1.9.0"
@@ -738,6 +881,16 @@ dependencies = [
  "syn 2.0.119",
 ]
 
+[[package]]
+name = "zerovec"
+version = "0.11.8"
+source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
+checksum = "bb0464e17806c1d976d5cba29399c7f08e516e279e2ba493f63123b5fca67dd8"
+dependencies = [
+ "serde",
+ "zerofrom",
+]
+
 [[package]]
 name = "zmij"
 version = "1.0.23"
diff --git a/daemon/Cargo.toml b/daemon/Cargo.toml
index 66b738e..034c026 100644
--- a/daemon/Cargo.toml
+++ b/daemon/Cargo.toml
@@ -10,3 +10,7 @@ smolboid-core = { path = "../core" }
 fumi-core = { path = "../../fumi/core" }
 serde = { version = "1", features = ["derive"] }
 serde_json = "1"
+# Author-facing mail copy lives in a Fluent catalogue; see src/i18n.rs. Same
+# versions carrier pins, so the two catalogues stay portable between them.
+fluent-bundle = "0.16.0"
+unic-langid = "0.9.6"
diff --git a/daemon/locales/en-US/main.ftl b/daemon/locales/en-US/main.ftl
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..fb3b900
--- /dev/null
+++ b/daemon/locales/en-US/main.ftl
@@ -0,0 +1,37 @@
+## Loaded once by `src/i18n.rs`; every string the daemon mails to an author
+## lives here, grouped by the mail it belongs to. Operator-facing CLI output is
+## deliberately not here — see the module header.
+##
+## Keep the `-32` style placeables out: these bodies are read in plain-text
+## mail clients and on phones, so they stay short lines and no markup.
+
+## Error replies — a mail the daemon could not apply
+
+reply-subject = twtxt: { $reason }
+reply-body =
+    Your mail could not be applied.
+
+    Reason: { $reason }
+
+    Quoted mail:
+    { $quoted }
+
+## Retention — the one-time warning as a feed approaches its size cap
+
+cap-warning-subject = twtxt: feed at 90% of its size cap
+cap-warning-body =
+    Your feed has reached 90% of the { $cap }-byte cap.
+
+    In hard-limit mode (the default) a full feed rejects new records; delete
+    some with Twt-Delete, or choose FIFO pruning with Twt-Prune: fifo, which
+    drops the oldest records to make room.
+
+## Admission — the mail that hands over the accept token
+
+welcome-subject = twtxt: your feed is ready
+welcome-body =
+    Your smolboid feed is live: { $url }
+
+    Post by sending mail to this address with the twt as the body. Manage it
+    with Twt-Nick, Twt-Delete, Twt-Repost and Twt-Prune frontmatter fields
+    (PLAN.md).
diff --git a/daemon/src/i18n.rs b/daemon/src/i18n.rs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8d74595
--- /dev/null
+++ b/daemon/src/i18n.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+//! A single Fluent bundle, loaded once from `locales/en-US/main.ftl` and baked
+//! into the binary via `include_str!`. Every string the daemon mails to an
+//! author is looked up through `t`/`t1`/`t_args` rather than written inline, so
+//! copy review and translation both have one place to work from. There is only
+//! one locale today; a future one would plug in here without touching a call
+//! site.
+//!
+//! Operator-facing output — the CLI's `println!`s — stays inline: the operator
+//! runs the binary and reads English, and routing it through a catalogue would
+//! be cost with no reader.
+
+use std::sync::OnceLock;
+
+use fluent_bundle::concurrent::FluentBundle;
+use fluent_bundle::{FluentArgs, FluentResource, FluentValue};
+
+fn bundle() -> &'static FluentBundle<FluentResource> {
+    static BUNDLE: OnceLock<FluentBundle<FluentResource>> = OnceLock::new();
+    BUNDLE.get_or_init(|| {
+        let ftl = include_str!("../locales/en-US/main.ftl");
+        let resource =
+            FluentResource::try_new(ftl.to_string()).expect("main.ftl must parse as Fluent");
+        let locale = "en-US".parse().expect("\"en-US\" is a valid language tag");
+        let mut bundle = FluentBundle::new_concurrent(vec![locale]);
+        // Bidi isolation marks are invisible but real characters; with a single
+        // left-to-right locale they only cost correctness — these strings go
+        // into mail bodies that get quoted, diffed and compared — for no
+        // visible benefit.
+        bundle.set_use_isolating(false);
+        bundle
+            .add_resource(resource)
+            .expect("main.ftl must not redefine a message id");
+        bundle
+    })
+}
+
+/// Looks up a message with no variables.
+pub fn t(id: &str) -> String {
+    t_args(id, None)
+}
+
+/// Looks up a message with one variable — the common case, since most
+/// interpolated strings here carry a single value.
+pub fn t1(id: &str, key: &'static str, value: impl Into<FluentValue<'static>>) -> String {
+    let mut args = FluentArgs::new();
+    args.set(key, value);
+    t_args(id, Some(&args))
+}
+
+/// Looks up a message against a caller-built argument set, for the rare string
+/// that interpolates more than one value.
+pub fn t_args(id: &str, args: Option<&FluentArgs>) -> String {
+    let bundle = bundle();
+    // A missing id or a value-less term is a copy bug, not a runtime condition
+    // to hide: surface it in the string itself rather than silently falling
+    // back to English prose that isn't there to fall back to (there's only the
+    // one locale).
+    let Some(message) = bundle.get_message(id) else {
+        return format!("???{id}???");
+    };
+    let Some(pattern) = message.value() else {
+        return format!("???{id}???");
+    };
+    let mut errors = Vec::new();
+    bundle
+        .format_pattern(pattern, args, &mut errors)
+        .into_owned()
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod tests {
+    use super::*;
+
+    /// `FluentResource::try_new` and `add_resource` both panic on a malformed
+    /// or duplicate-id catalogue, and nothing touches the bundle until the
+    /// daemon first mails someone — so without this the failure surfaces
+    /// inside `poll()` on a live instance rather than here.
+    #[test]
+    fn catalogue_parses_and_every_id_resolves() {
+        for id in IDS {
+            let rendered = t(id);
+            assert!(
+                !rendered.starts_with("???"),
+                "`{id}` is used in code but missing from main.ftl"
+            );
+        }
+    }
+
+    /// Every id the daemon looks up. A lookup added without a line here still
+    /// works, but loses its compile-adjacent guard — keep them in step.
+    const IDS: &[&str] = &[
+        "reply-subject",
+        "reply-body",
+        "cap-warning-subject",
+        "cap-warning-body",
+        "welcome-subject",
+        "welcome-body",
+    ];
+
+    #[test]
+    fn a_missing_id_is_visible_rather_than_silent() {
+        assert_eq!(t("no-such-message-id"), "???no-such-message-id???");
+    }
+
+    #[test]
+    fn arguments_interpolate() {
+        let rendered = t1("cap-warning-body", "cap", 1024);
+        assert!(rendered.contains("1024"), "{rendered}");
+    }
+}
diff --git a/daemon/src/mailloop.rs b/daemon/src/mailloop.rs
index 693c9de..f72765d 100644
--- a/daemon/src/mailloop.rs
+++ b/daemon/src/mailloop.rs
@@ -357,13 +357,11 @@ impl Daemon {
                 if state.feeds[index].warned && !was_warned {
                     replies.push((
                         address.to_owned(),
-                        "twtxt: feed at 90% of its size cap".into(),
-                        format!(
-                            "Your feed has reached 90% of the {}-byte cap.\n\n\
-                             In hard-limit mode (the default) a full feed rejects new records; \
-                             delete some with Twt-Delete, or choose FIFO pruning with \
-                             Twt-Prune: fifo, which drops the oldest records to make room.",
-                            self.cfg.cap_bytes
+                        crate::i18n::t("cap-warning-subject"),
+                        crate::i18n::t1(
+                            "cap-warning-body",
+                            "cap",
+                            self.cfg.cap_bytes.to_string(),
                         ),
                     ));
                 }
@@ -407,12 +405,13 @@ impl Daemon {
         let text = std::str::from_utf8(&incoming.body)
             .map(|t| t.chars().take(200).collect::<String>())
             .unwrap_or_default();
+        let mut args = fluent_bundle::FluentArgs::new();
+        args.set("reason", reason.to_owned());
+        args.set("quoted", text);
         replies.push((
             address.to_owned(),
-            format!("twtxt: {reason}"),
-            format!(
-                "Your mail could not be applied.\n\nReason: {reason}\n\nQuoted mail:\n{text}\n"
-            ),
+            crate::i18n::t1("reply-subject", "reason", reason.to_owned()),
+            crate::i18n::t_args("reply-body", Some(&args)),
         ));
     }
 
diff --git a/daemon/src/main.rs b/daemon/src/main.rs
index fb5089b..05bd9f2 100644
--- a/daemon/src/main.rs
+++ b/daemon/src/main.rs
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ mod config;
 mod dispatch;
 mod feedstore;
 mod http;
+mod i18n;
 mod mailloop;
 mod state;
 
@@ -191,18 +192,18 @@ fn admit(config: ConfigAndArg) -> Result<(), String> {
     // The welcome mail carries the Accept token (sec 5.8), which is what
     // moves the author's posts into the daemon's main tier; without it their
     // mail would stay in requests and never publish.
+    let welcome_subject = i18n::t("welcome-subject");
     let sent = client::send(
         &store,
         &account,
         &client::SendDraft {
             address: &addr,
-            text: format!(
-                "Your smolboid feed is live: {}/twtxt/{}.txt\n\n\
-                 Post by sending mail to this address with the twt as the body. Manage it with\n\
-                 Twt-Nick, Twt-Delete, Twt-Repost and Twt-Prune frontmatter fields (PLAN.md).",
-                cfg.base_url, addr.user
+            text: i18n::t1(
+                "welcome-body",
+                "url",
+                format!("{}/twtxt/{}.txt", cfg.base_url, addr.user),
             ),
-            subject: Some("twtxt: your feed is ready"),
+            subject: Some(&welcome_subject),
             reply_to: None,
             headers: &[],
             anonymous: false,