diff --git a/hive-forge/src/verbs/lint.rs b/hive-forge/src/verbs/lint.rs
index e1b170b5..21685b4c 100644
--- a/hive-forge/src/verbs/lint.rs
+++ b/hive-forge/src/verbs/lint.rs
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@
 //! - `assignments [--user NAME]`
 //! - `unlabeled --scope NAME [--type issues|pulls|all] [--state open|closed|all]`
 
-use std::collections::BTreeMap;
+use std::collections::{BTreeMap, BTreeSet};
 
 use anyhow::{Result, bail};
 use clap::{Args as ClapArgs, Subcommand, ValueEnum};
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ use serde_json::{Value, json};
 use time::OffsetDateTime;
 
 use crate::client::Client;
+use crate::verbs::labels;
 use crate::verbs::{print_json, rfc3339};
 
 /// Safety cap on paginated walks: 20 pages × 50 items = 1000.
@@ -444,6 +445,7 @@ fn run_unlabeled(client: &Client, args: UnlabeledArgs) -> Result<()> {
     if args.scope.trim().is_empty() {
         bail!("hive-forge lint unlabeled: --scope must not be empty");
     }
+    ensure_scope_resolves(client, &args.scope)?;
     let prefix = format!("{}/", args.scope);
     let items = fetch_issues(client, args.r#type.query_type(), args.state.issue_state())?;
     let filtered: Vec<Value> = items
@@ -456,6 +458,49 @@ fn run_unlabeled(client: &Client, args: UnlabeledArgs) -> Result<()> {
     })
 }
 
+/// Check `--scope` names a real scope — one an exclusive label on the
+/// repo actually uses — before the pagination walk even starts.
+///
+/// Reuses `labels::repo_labels` (the same paginated fetch `list --label`
+/// validates against) rather than a second fetch-and-check helper. The
+/// scope taxonomy isn't fetched anywhere else, so this derives it here:
+/// the distinct prefixes before `/` on the repo's *exclusive* labels,
+/// matching `has_scoped_label`'s own definition of what counts as
+/// scoped. Left unvalidated, a typo'd scope matches nothing, and
+/// "matches nothing" is exactly what `unlabeled` reports as "missing
+/// this label" — so every open item comes back flagged, the wrong
+/// direction for a filter that fails.
+fn ensure_scope_resolves(client: &Client, scope: &str) -> Result<()> {
+    let all = labels::repo_labels(client)?;
+    resolve_scope(&all, scope)
+}
+
+/// The scope-checking half of `ensure_scope_resolves`, split out so it's
+/// testable against a fixture `Label` slice without a live `Client`
+/// (mirrors `labels::resolve_ids`, which does the same split for the
+/// same reason).
+fn resolve_scope(all: &[forgejo_api::structs::Label], scope: &str) -> Result<()> {
+    let scopes: BTreeSet<&str> = all
+        .iter()
+        .filter(|l| l.exclusive == Some(true))
+        .filter_map(|l| l.name.as_deref())
+        .filter_map(|n| n.split_once('/').map(|(s, _)| s))
+        .collect();
+    if !scopes.contains(scope) {
+        let available: Vec<&str> = scopes.into_iter().collect();
+        bail!(
+            "unresolved label scope: {} — available scopes: {}",
+            crate::verbs::with_suggestions(&[scope], &available),
+            if available.is_empty() {
+                "(none)".to_owned()
+            } else {
+                available.join(", ")
+            }
+        );
+    }
+    Ok(())
+}
+
 /// True if `it` carries an *exclusive* scoped label whose name starts
 /// with `prefix` (e.g. `"type/"`). Exclusivity is Forgejo's actual
 /// scoped-label marker — a plain label that merely happens to contain
@@ -543,6 +588,42 @@ mod tests {
         serde_json::from_value(v).expect("fixture is a valid PullRequest")
     }
 
+    fn label(name: &str, exclusive: bool) -> forgejo_api::structs::Label {
+        serde_json::from_value(json!({ "name": name, "exclusive": exclusive }))
+            .expect("fixture is a valid Label")
+    }
+
+    /// A real scope in the repo's exclusive-label taxonomy resolves with
+    /// no error — the unchanged behaviour a fix must not break.
+    #[test]
+    fn a_real_scope_resolves() {
+        let all = vec![label("type/bug", true), label("area/ops", true)];
+        assert!(resolve_scope(&all, "type").is_ok());
+    }
+
+    /// A scope with no exclusive label using it errors, naming the typo
+    /// and every scope that does exist — the bug this fixes: an unknown
+    /// `--scope` used to match nothing and so report every open item as
+    /// "missing" it instead of failing.
+    #[test]
+    fn an_unknown_scope_errors_listing_available_scopes() {
+        let all = vec![label("type/bug", true), label("area/ops", true)];
+        let err = resolve_scope(&all, "zzqqxx").unwrap_err();
+        let msg = err.to_string();
+        assert!(msg.contains("zzqqxx"), "missing typo'd scope: {msg}");
+        assert!(msg.contains("type"), "missing available scope: {msg}");
+        assert!(msg.contains("area"), "missing available scope: {msg}");
+    }
+
+    /// A non-exclusive label with a slash in its name isn't a real scoped
+    /// label (matches `has_scoped_label`'s own definition), so it must not
+    /// count as an available scope either.
+    #[test]
+    fn a_non_exclusive_lookalike_label_is_not_a_scope() {
+        let all = vec![label("area/ops", false)];
+        assert!(resolve_scope(&all, "area").is_err());
+    }
+
     /// `exclusive` is Forgejo's real scoped-label marker. A label that
     /// merely *looks* scoped (a `/` in a plain label's name) must not
     /// count, or `lint unlabeled` silently stops reporting an item that