Translate

How to translate your project

Usage

Run this in your CI pipeline before you build your app for production.

npx gtx-cli translate

Note: This command requires a production API key! Get one on the platform.

Overview

The gtx-cli translate command translates your project by first reading your gt.config.json file to determine which files to translate.

If you are using gt-next, gt-react, or gt-react-native, it will also search your project's source code for inline content (such as <T> components and useGT hooks) and generate the necessary translation files for you. Additionally, it includes content from the dictionary file (if one is provided).

This command is the primary way of using the General Translation API and related services.

For Production Use Only!

This command is meant for production builds and should not be used in development. Before running this command, please make sure you are on the branch that will be used for production. Remember to also specify your production API key (GT_API_KEY) and Project ID (GT_PROJECT_ID) in your environment variables.

Usage

There are 2 primary ways to use the translate command. The first method requires a production API key.

We recommend running the setup wizard: npx gtx-cli configure to help configure your project before running the translate command. Depending on how your project is configured, the behavior of the translate command may change.

Method 1: Translate your project

npx gtx-cli translate

The translate command will read your gt.config.json file to determine which files to translate, as well as search your project's source code for translatable content, before generating the necessary translation files for you.

Translations will be automatically saved to your codebase.

See the CLI config docs for more details.

If you are using next-intl, react-i18next, or next-i18next, the CLI tool will automatically detect your i18n library by reading your package.json file, and will translate your JSONs while respecting your i18n library's syntax.

Method 2: Validate your project's <T> components and dictionary file.

npx gtx-cli translate --dry-run

If you are using gt-next, gt-react, or gt-react-native, you can use this method to validate your project's <T> components and dictionary file.

This ensures that your project is correctly configured and that the translations will be valid and accurate.

No translations will be generated if the --dry-run flag is provided.


Flags

ParameterDescriptionTypeOptionalDefault
--api-keySpecify a production API keystringtrue
--project-idSpecify the project IDstringtrue
--version-idSpecify a version ID (by default, a hash of the content)stringtrue
--config <path>Specify a path to the GT config filestringtrue"gt.config.json"
--tsconfig, --jsconfig <path>Specify a path to the TS or JS config filestringtrue
--src <paths>Space-separated list of glob patterns to match source files. Should be relative to root directory.[string]true[ 'src/**/*.{js,jsx,ts,tsx}', 'app/**/*.{js,jsx,ts,tsx}', 'pages/**/*.{js,jsx,ts,tsx}', 'components/**/*.{js,jsx,ts,tsx}', ]
--dictionary <path>Specify a path to the dictionary filestringtrue
--inlineInclude inline <T> tags in addition to the dictionarybooleantruetrue
--timeoutThe timeout for the translation request in secondsnumbertrue600
--new, --locales <locales>Locales to translate your project into[string]true
--default-locale <locale>The source locale for the projectstringtrueen
--ignore-errorsIgnore errors and force translation for valid contentflagtruefalse
--dry-runDry run the commandflagtruefalse
--forceForce a retranslation of your projectflagtruefalse
--force-downloadForce a download of all translations for the projectflagtruefalse
--save-localDetect and save local edits before enqueuing translationsflagtruefalse

All of these parameters are optional.

Do not add your API key to the gt.config.json file! You should set it as an environment variable instead. The CLI will automatically read GT_API_KEY if it is set.

There are a few key parameters:

ParameterDescription
--dry-runThis flag will cause the CLI to parse and validate your project, but will not communicate with the GT API. This is useful for validating your codebase.
--api-keyUnless you are using --dry-run, you must provide a production API key.
--project-idSimilarly, unless you are using --dry-run, you must provide a project ID.
--new, --locales <locales>Locales to translate your project into. These will be appended to the locales specified in your gt.config.json file.
--forceThis flag will force a retranslation of your project and will overwrite all existing translations.
--force-downloadThis flag will force a download of all translations and will overwrite any changes you have made to the translations locally.
--save-localDetect and save any local edits to translation files before enqueuing translations. See save-local for more details.

Configuration file

When running the CLI tool for the first time, it will attempt to create a gt.config.json file in the root of your project. This file contains metadata about your project that is used to translate your content.

Read more about the gt.config.json file here.

Important tips

Content sources

The translate command will recursively search for translatable content in your project.

By default, it searches in the following directories:

  • ./src
  • ./app
  • ./pages
  • ./components

You can specify alternate directories to search by using the --src flag, or by modifying the src property in your gt.config.json file.

Overwriting translations

By default, the CLI tool will not overwrite any changes you have made to translations locally unless the source content has changed.

If you would like to retranslate project content that has already been translated, you can use the --force flag.

Using --force will overwrite all existing translations and generate new ones. Any changes you have made to the translations locally will be lost. You will be charged for all new translations.

If you have already fetched the most recent project translations and would like to download them again, you can use the --force-download flag.

Using --force-download will overwrite any changes you have made to the translations locally and will fetch the most recent translations. It will not retranslate any content.

Dictionary file

The translate command will automatically detect the dictionary file in your project.

By default, it looks for a file named dictionary.[json|ts|js] in the following directories:

  • ./src
  • ./

You can specify an alternate dictionary file by using the --dictionary flag, or by modifying the dictionary property in your gt.config.json file.

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