diff --git a/bin/rig b/bin/rig
index 690432e..70d2513 100755
--- a/bin/rig
+++ b/bin/rig
@@ -95,6 +95,12 @@ commands:
       Shut root SSH on a class=human box once an admin key works. Refuses
       on class=server — root there is the control plane's automation door —
       and while no admin holds a key. Run as root.
+  template-lint <role-dir>...
+      Validate tenant-role definitions (the heavy-duty/rig-templates
+      shape): template.env against the allowlist (data, never sourced),
+      install.sh present with a shebang, creds.md non-blank. Every refusal
+      names the failing key. The registry repo's CI runs this on every PR;
+      no root, no network, no writes.
   manifest [<key>]
       Print /etc/rig/manifest — which rig converged this machine and when
       (bootstrapped_by/_at pin the FIRST convergence forever; converged_by/_at
@@ -455,6 +461,10 @@ case "$cmd" in
         ;;
     esac
     ;;
+  template-lint)
+    shift
+    exec "$ROOT/commands/template-lint.sh" "$@"
+    ;;
   manifest)
     shift
     exec "$ROOT/commands/manifest.sh" "$@"
diff --git a/commands/template-lint.sh b/commands/template-lint.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..3350130
--- /dev/null
+++ b/commands/template-lint.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,52 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bash
+# rig template-lint <role-dir>... — is this a valid tenant-role definition?
+#
+# rig defines what a valid template is (the schema lives in
+# lib/templates.sh, beside the mint-time parser that enforces it); the
+# heavy-duty/rig-templates repo's CI runs this on every definition on every
+# PR, so a broken definition is refused before it can ever reach a mint
+# (#110). The two gates are deliberate: CI protects the registry, the
+# mint-time parse protects a mint served through RIG_TEMPLATES_REPO/_DIR
+# that CI never saw.
+#
+# Pure read: no root, no network, no writes — lintable anywhere, including
+# the registry repo's checkout, where rig's tree is only a fetched tool.
+set -euo pipefail
+
+HERE="$(cd "$(dirname "$(readlink -f "${BASH_SOURCE[0]}")")" && pwd)"
+# shellcheck source=SCRIPTDIR/lib/templates.sh
+. "$HERE/lib/templates.sh"   # template_lint (and the schema it enforces)
+
+die() { printf 'rig-template-lint: ERROR: %s\n' "$1" >&2; exit "${2:-1}"; }
+
+usage() {
+  cat <<'EOF'
+usage: rig template-lint <role-dir>...
+
+Validate tenant-role definitions (the heavy-duty/rig-templates shape):
+each <role-dir> must carry a family-suffixed name (rig#76), a template.env
+that parses against the allowlist (KEY="value" only — the file is data,
+never sourced), an install.sh with a shebang, and a non-blank creds.md.
+Every refusal names the failing key or file. Exits non-zero if any
+definition fails; nothing is written.
+EOF
+}
+
+case "${1:-}" in
+  -h|--help) usage; exit 0 ;;
+  "") usage >&2; die "at least one role directory required" 2 ;;
+esac
+
+fail=0
+for dir in "$@"; do
+  case "$dir" in
+    -*) usage >&2; die "unknown flag: $dir" 2 ;;
+  esac
+  if template_lint "$dir"; then
+    printf 'rig-template-lint: OK: %s\n' "$dir"
+  else
+    printf 'rig-template-lint: FAIL: %s\n' "$dir" >&2
+    fail=1
+  fi
+done
+exit "$fail"