i18n & l10n CLI

Localization automation is, at its core, the process of making the localization process faster and more agile by automating specific tasks (i.e., string management and translation, format conversions, delivery of localized files etc.) that otherwise would consume a lot of time to complete.

Localazy is here to help product teams and single developers automate the localization of their projects.

You might be interested in:

• How to prepare your application for i18n & l10n
• Localization automation - language as a product or service?

Localazy will streamline your localization process, serve as a source of truth for your translations, and facilitate collaboration with your team and translators.

The main benefits of Localazy for product managers include:

• Less back and forth between team member tasks
• Simply defined process, clear visibility of the progress, and the definition of done
• Automated distribution and change management
• Less time spent on managing translators

Localazy offers over 50 integration options, including native plugins for Figma, Strapi & Zapier. You can also integrate your product with Localazy via API, CLI, and mobile SDKs for Android and iOS.

You can use Localazy to offload the translation work from your team completely. Thanks to the built-in Continuous Localization services, you can get your project translated by professionals and don’t have to worry about any task handling.

Learn how proactive professional translation services by Localazy work.

Localazy CLI delivers advanced capabilities that go beyond basic translation management:

• Format conversion and type remapping let you migrate between file formats or maintain different output formats without writing custom scripts
• Full branching support with conflict resolution helps you maintain translations across feature branches, white-label variants, and product versions
• Dynamic configuration with runtime variables enables flexible workflows across different environments and build configurations
• Built-in validation prevents localization issues from reaching production by catching missing translations, invalid formats, and plural form mismatches
• Advanced plural form handling automatically manages complex language rules without requiring custom handling code
• Incremental updates and CDN integration ensure efficient delivery of translations at scale
• Integration with CI/CD platforms like GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket lets you automate localization as part of your existing workflow
• Simulation mode helps you validate changes before execution

Whether you’re working on a small app or a complex enterprise system, Localazy CLI provides the tools you need to handle localization efficiently while maintaining code quality.

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.

Localazy CLI supports an extensive range of file formats commonly used in software development:

• Mobile: Android XML, iOS strings/stringsdict, Flutter ARB
• Web: JSON, YAML, JavaScript, PHP
• Desktop: Qt TS, RESX, Java Properties
• Generic: XLIFF, PO/POT, CSV, Excel, OpenOffice
• Documentation: Plain text, Markdown

Each format support includes advanced features like:

• Plural form handling appropriate to the format
• Array support where applicable
• Structured data preservation
• Format-specific metadata handling

Most formats also support custom features that can be enabled via configuration flags.

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.

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.

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.

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

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 [email protected], 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.