diff --git a/library/components/search/FilterDropdown.vue b/library/components/search/FilterDropdown.vue
index 5478048a0..355c0cff8 100644
--- a/library/components/search/FilterDropdown.vue
+++ b/library/components/search/FilterDropdown.vue
@@ -38,7 +38,15 @@ const props = defineProps({
 // two visible strings — the clear button and the empty state — were English literals, and one of
 // them ('No options found') was ALREADY catalogued in eleven locales elsewhere in this repo, so
 // the translation existed and this component was ignoring it.
-const { t } = useI18n()
+//
+// ★ i18n IS OPTIONAL HERE, NOT REQUIRED. useI18n() THROWS ("Need to install with `app.use`
+// function") when the host element never installed vue-i18n — and people-groups-grid deliberately
+// doesn't (its labels arrive through its `t` prop). The unguarded call blanked the grid standalone,
+// in the studio and inside every composite that nests it (measured 2026-09-25: 2 DOM nodes, page
+// error on mount). Use the host's translations when it has them, English otherwise.
+const FALLBACK = { 'buttons.clearSelection': 'Clear selection', 'buttons.noOptions': 'No options found' }
+let t = (key) => FALLBACK[key] || key
+try { t = useI18n().t } catch (_) { /* no i18n on this host: keep the English fallback */ }
 
 const emit = defineEmits(['filter-change', 'filter-clear'])