# General Translation React SDKs (gt-react, gt-next): loadTranslations
URL: https://generaltranslation.com/en-GB/docs/react/reference/functions/load-translations.mdx
---

title: loadTranslations
description: Customise how translations are loaded in production with General Translation gt-react. API reference for loadTranslations.

---

`loadTranslations` is a loader function you define to customise where `gt-react` reads translations from in production. Pass it to the [initialisation call](/docs/react/reference/config#initialization) to load translations from a source other than the default General Translation CDN.

*Applies to `gt-react`, `gt-next`, `gt-tanstack-start`, and `gt-react-native`, but the setup differs. `loadTranslations` is a loader you define, not an exported symbol. In `gt-react` and `gt-tanstack-start`, pass it to the initialisation call (below). `gt-next` resolves it through the `withGTConfig` plugin (documented in the Next.js section), and `gt-react-native` loads translations through its provider setup. The loader contract on this page is the same everywhere.*

## Overview [#overview]

Define a function that takes a locale and returns its translations, then pass it as the `loadTranslations` option to [`initializeGT`](/docs/react/reference/config#initialize). Single-page apps pass it to [`initializeGTSPA`](/docs/react/reference/config#initialize-spa) instead.

```tsx
const loadTranslations = (locale: string) =>
  import(`./_gt/${locale}.json`).then((m) => m.default);

initializeGT({ ...gtConfig, loadTranslations });
```

*Note: in `gt-react`, `loadTranslations` is a configuration option on the initialisation call, not a prop on [`<GTProvider>`](/docs/react/reference/components/gt-provider). By default, translations load from the General Translation CDN.*

## How it works [#how-it-works]

In production, your translations must be stored somewhere they can be read at runtime. By default, they come from the General Translation CDN. Provide `loadTranslations` to load them from another source, such as:

* Your app&#39;s bundle (most common).
* A database.
* An API.
* A different CDN.

`gt-react` has built-in support for loading translations from local files in your bundle. See [Storing translations locally](/docs/react/guides/storing-translations).

## Parameters [#parameters]

| Parameter           | Description                          | Type     | Optional | Default |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------------ | -------- | -------- | ------- |
| [`locale`](#locale) | The locale to load translations for. | `string` | No       | —       |

### `locale` [#locale]

**Type** `string` · **Required**

The locale for which translations should be loaded.

## Returns [#returns]

**Type** `Promise<unknown>`

A promise that resolves to the translations for the given locale.

## Examples [#examples]

```js title="loadTranslations.js"
export default async function loadTranslations(locale) {
  const translations = await import(`./_gt/${locale}.json`);
  return translations.default;
}
```

```js title="loadTranslations.js"
export default async function loadTranslations(locale) {
  try {
    const response = await fetch(`https://your-cdn.com/translations/${locale}.json`);
    return await response.json();
  } catch (e) {
    console.error(e);
    return {};
  }
}
```

## Notes [#notes]

* `loadTranslations` customises how translations are loaded in production; its most common use is [local translations](/docs/react/guides/storing-translations).
* To use your own human-authored translations as a standalone i18n library, use [`loadDictionary`](/docs/react/reference/functions/load-dictionary) instead.