Q: Localazy CLI is not working on macOS Big Sur and later

After upgrading to macOS Big Sur, there’s a chance you may run into an issue with executing Localazy CLI. This is usually caused by incorrect configuration of <code>brew</code> package manager. (Note that this doesn’t apply to binaries downloaded directly from our website, they should be working fine.) The symptoms look like this, the process is killed without any further output. <img src="https://directus.localazy.com/_/assets/Screenshot_cli_inner_3.png" alt=""> To resolve the issue, go to App Store -&gt; Updates and make sure, there’s no update available for Xcode. If yes, click “UPDATE” and wait for it to finish. <img src="https://directus.localazy.com/_/assets/Screenshot_cli_inner_2.png" alt=""> After the update, try to run <code>brew doctor</code> and read the output carefully. There could be a warning about outdated CLT and suggested fix. <img src="https://directus.localazy.com/_/assets/Screenshot_cli_inner_1.png" alt=""> Let’s run the commands in the specified order and confirm all dialogues that might appear. <ul> <li><code>softwareupdate --all --install --force</code>,</li> <li><code>sudo rm -rf /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools</code></li> <li><code>sudo xcode-select --install</code></li> </ul> Upgrade Localazy CLI to the latest version by running <code>brew upgrade localazy/tools</code> And that’s all! You can now verify that Localazy CLI is working again with the <code>localazy -h</code> command.

Question 1

Is it possible to download the files to their original locations?

Accepted Answer

To download translations to their original locations, you can follow these steps. First, in the localazy.json configuration file and go to the download section. In this section, configure where you want to download your translations.

For a smoother process, ensure that you include the “path” parameter during the upload and use the same variable in the download section. Here’s an example of how to do it:

"upload": {
  "files": [
    {
      "pattern": "src/**/locale/en.ts",
      "lang": "inherited",
      "path": "${path}"
    }
  ]
},

"download": {
  "files": [
    {
      "output": "${path}/${lang}.ts"
    }
  ]
}

By setting the “path” parameter correctly, the translations will be downloaded to the respective locations specified in your localazy.json configuration file.

Question 2

Localazy CLI is not working on macOS Big Sur and later

Accepted Answer

After upgrading to macOS Big Sur, there’s a chance you may run into an issue with executing Localazy CLI. This is usually caused by incorrect configuration of brew package manager. (Note that this doesn’t apply to binaries downloaded directly from our website, they should be working fine.)

The symptoms look like this, the process is killed without any further output.

To resolve the issue, go to App Store -> Updates and make sure, there’s no update available for Xcode. If yes, click “UPDATE” and wait for it to finish.

After the update, try to run brew doctor and read the output carefully. There could be a warning about outdated CLT and suggested fix.

Let’s run the commands in the specified order and confirm all dialogues that might appear.

softwareupdate --all --install --force,
sudo rm -rf /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools
sudo xcode-select --install

Upgrade Localazy CLI to the latest version by running brew upgrade localazy/tools

And that’s all! You can now verify that Localazy CLI is working again with the localazy -h command.

Question 3

How can I convert different localization file formats?

Accepted Answer

In the File Management section of Localazy, when downloading your files, you can select the desired format and download your strings in any of the available file formats.

Format Conversions feature is also an integral part of the Localazy CLI tool, so if you want to automate format conversions, you will need to install Localazy CLI on your preferred platform.

Read the article: How to convert localization files into different formats?

Note: Format Conversions are available only as a part of the Professional plan

Question 4

What is the maximum possible length of translation text?

Accepted Answer

There is no hard limit at the moment, but it’s recommended to keep the size of each individual item under 4kB. This corresponds to 4,000 characters encoded as UTF-8 and 2,000 characters encoded as UTF-16. Uploading longer texts won’t yield any errors, but might get refused by some external translation engines integrated in Localazy.

Question 5

Why are the recent changes or new translations not downloaded?

Accepted Answer

If you come across this issue, it is likely because you have exceeded your account’s source key limit or the changes you made haven’t been published yet. To resolve this, please go to the Billing section of your account to check your source key limit and consider upgrading if necessary. Additionally, you can visit your Project Activity Stream to verify if the project has been published.

Question 6

How can I upload POT and download PO files with Localazy CLI?

Accepted Answer

When using Localazy CLI, setting up a comfortable POT/PO workflow requires some special settings, but is completely possible. Usually the source language file has a different format (POT) than files with translated strings in your project (PO).

We recommend setting two different rules for uploading:

Upload your messages.pot file with "type": "pot" and also provide the file attribute to be sure that the filename is, in ideal case, something like messages.po to properly link your POT file to a PO file that is used for your source language internally by Localazy.
To upload existing translations inside PO files, use "type": "po" and provide the same file attribute again.

Example configuration #️⃣

Your upload configuration should then look like this:

"files": [
  {
    "type": "pot",
    "pattern": "source/messages.pot",
    "file": "message.po"
  },
  {
    "group": "existing-translations"
    "type": "po",
    "pattern": "translations/*/messages.pot",
    "file": "message.po"
  }
]

Question 7

I have trouble with my CLI configuration. Can you help me?

Accepted Answer

The Localazy CLI is a powerful tool designed to automate the process of uploading and downloading translation files in almost any project. If you encounter any issues or questions that are not addressed in the documentation, there’s no need to worry as we’re happy to help you to overcome these challenges.

Simply reach out to us through our chat, and we’ll make every effort to assist you promptly. Alternatively, you can send an email to team@localazy.com, providing your configuration details and a clear description of your goal. We will respond as quickly as possible to ensure your seamless experience with Localazy.

Question 8

How to get rid of quotation marks after conversion from JSON to Android XML?

Accepted Answer

Suppose you have a project where the source file is a JSON file with a row in the format:

"about.moreButton": "Learn more on our website",

When using the Localazy CLI to import to Android with Format Conversions (or when you just try to export the JSON file to Android XML inside the Localazy web platform), you might notice that the format is:

<string name="about_moreButton">"Learn more on our website"</string>

Now, you might think you should delete those start and end quotation marks in the body of the XML row to achieve this result:

<string name="about_moreButton">Learn more on our website</string>

However, you can keep the quotation marks in the Android XML file because it’s a supported construct used to correctly encode white characters that would otherwise be lost in all cases. Quotation marks ensure that the exact form of your strings is preserved after conversion.

In actual use, the text will render correctly on the device.

More information can be found on the Android Developers website: String Resources

Question 9

Where can I find my access keys?

Accepted Answer

As a developer, connecting to your Localazy project via Localazy CLI requires you to provide your unique readKey and writeKeyto authorize upload and download operations.

You need to have the Owner role in the project to access your unique access keys. Then, navigate to the project and open the left menu to find Settings ->Access Keys

Learn more in the Localazy CLI: Authorization

Question 10

Is it possible to manage multiple folders in one Localazy project?

Accepted Answer

Yes, absolutely. You can have multiple files in different folders uploaded to the same project.

You can include files by their exact path or by using standard path wildcards ? (single character), * (anything except path separator), ** (anything including path separators).

You can control files you want to upload with exclusion rules and conditions.

Example:

"upload": {
    "type": "json",
    "files": "modules/**/en.json"
  }
 
}

The above configuration will scan for files named en.json in all subfolders of the modules folder.

Question 11

What exactly is Localazy CLI and what are its core capabilities?

Accepted Answer

Localazy CLI is a robust command-line interface tool designed for handling software localization workflows. It serves as a bridge between your development environment and Localazy’s translation platform.

The CLI handles both uploading source files for translation and downloading completed translations back into your project structure. It supports complex localization scenarios like plurals, string arrays, and nested key structures.

Beyond basic file operations, it provides features for versioning (through Release Tags), project branching, and format conversions. The CLI integrates with CI/CD pipelines and can be automated as part of your build process, making it particularly valuable for teams practicing continuous deployment.

Question 12

How do I set up my Localazy CLI configuration?

Accepted Answer

The configuration process centers around the localazy.json file in your project root.

An example configuration includes:

{
    "writeKey": "your-write-key",
    "readKey": "your-read-key",
    "upload": {
        "type": "json",
        "files": {
            "pattern": "src/**/locales/*.json",
            "path": "${path}",
            "file": "${file}"
        }
    },
    "download": {
        "files": "src/locales/${lang}/${file}"
    }
}

The configuration supports variables, conditions, transformations, and format-specific features. You can also include group definitions for organizing different sets of files and rules for handling special cases.

Question 13

What&#x27;s the best way to handle existing translations with Localazy CLI?

Accepted Answer

Localazy CLI provides several methods for importing existing translations:

Use autodetectLang variable to automatically detect language from file paths/names
Explicitly specify languages in your configuration
Use groups to separate source language uploads from existing translations

Basic configuration can look like this:

{
    "upload": {
        "files": [
            {
                "pattern": "src/locales/en/*.json",
                "lang": "inherited"
            },
            {
                "group": "existing",
                "pattern": "src/locales/*/*.json",
                "excludes": ["src/locales/en/*.json"],
                "lang": "${autodetectLang}"
            }
        ]
    }
}

This setup lets you run localazy upload for regular source updates and localazy upload existing for one-time import of existing translations.

CLI

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