# gt-next: General Translation Next.js SDK: getDefaultLocale
URL: https://generaltranslation.com/en-GB/docs/next/api/helpers/get-default-locale.mdx
---
title: getDefaultLocale
description: API reference for the getDefaultLocale server-side method
---

## Overview

The `getDefaultLocale` function retrieves the application's default locale.
This locale is determined when the server starts and is used as the fallback language for translations.
It returns a [locale code](/docs/core/locales), for example `'en'`.

<Callout>
  `getDefaultLocale` is a server-side method and can only be used on server-side
  components.
</Callout>

See [`withGTConfig`](/docs/next/api/config/with-gt-config) for configuration.
If no default locale is specified in [`withGTConfig`](/docs/next/api/config/with-gt-config), it defaults to `'en'`.
For client-side use, see [`useDefaultLocale`](/docs/next/api/helpers/use-default-locale).

## Reference

### Returns

A string representing the application&#39;s default locale, e.g. `'en'`.

***

## Examples

### Basic usage

Retrieve the application&#39;s default locale and use it in your server-side logic.

```jsx title="GetDefaultLocale.jsx" copy
import { getDefaultLocale } from 'gt-next/server';

export default function GetDefaultLocale() {
  const defaultLocale = getDefaultLocale(); // [!code highlight]
  return <p>Default locale: {defaultLocale}</p>;
}
```

***


## Notes

* `getDefaultLocale` returns the default locale set in [`withGTConfig`](/docs/next/api/config/with-gt-config).
* `getDefaultLocale` is server-side only.
* The returned locale adheres to the [locale code](/docs/core/locales) format.

## Next steps

* See [`useLocale`](/docs/next/api/helpers/use-locale) and [`getLocale`](/docs/next/api/helpers/get-locale) to retrieve the user&#39;s locale.