# node: getMessages
URL: https://generaltranslation.com/en-US/docs/node/api/get-messages.mdx
---
title: getMessages
description: API reference for the getMessages function
---

## Overview

The `getMessages` function is an async function that returns a resolver for pre-registered messages.
Use it together with [`msg`](/docs/node/api/strings/msg) (imported from `gt-node`) to register strings at build time and resolve their translations at runtime.

```js
import { msg, getMessages } from 'gt-node';

// Register at build time (or module scope)
const greeting = msg('Hello, world!');

// Resolve at runtime
const m = await getMessages();
const translated = m(greeting);
```

<Callout>
  **Request Context Required:**
  `getMessages` must be called within a [`withGT`](/docs/node/api/with-gt) callback so it knows which locale to use.
</Callout>

## Reference

### Parameters

None.

### Returns

A promise that resolves to a message resolution function `m`:

```ts
Promise<(encodedMsg: string | null | undefined, options?: InlineResolveOptions) => string | null | undefined>
```

| Name | Type | Description |
| ---- | ---- | ----------- |
| `encodedMsg` | `string \| null \| undefined` | An encoded message string returned by `msg()`. Returns `null`/`undefined` if given `null`/`undefined`. |
| `options?` | `InlineResolveOptions` | Optional variable values to interpolate into the resolved message. |

---

## Examples

### Basic usage

```js title="messages.js"
import { msg } from 'gt-node';

// Register messages at module scope
export const GREETING = msg('Hello, world!');
export const WELCOME = msg('Welcome, {name}!');
```

```js title="handler.js"
import { withGT, getMessages } from 'gt-node';
import { GREETING, WELCOME } from './messages';

function handleRequest(locale: string) {
  return withGT(locale, async () => {
    const m = await getMessages();
    return {
      greeting: m(GREETING),
      welcome: m(WELCOME, { name: 'Alice' }),
    };
  });
}
```

### With variables

Pass variables as the second argument to interpolate values:

```js title="handler.js"
import { msg, getMessages, withGT } from 'gt-node';

const ORDER_STATUS = msg('Order {orderId} is {status}.');

function getOrderMessage(locale: string, orderId: string, status: string) {
  return withGT(locale, async () => {
    const m = await getMessages();
    return m(ORDER_STATUS, { orderId, status });
  });
}
```

---

## Notes

- `msg` registers a string for build-time translation. `getMessages` resolves it at runtime.
- This pattern is useful for strings defined at module scope (constants, enums, error messages) that need to be translated per-request.
- If `null` or `undefined` is passed to `m`, it returns `null` or `undefined` respectively.

## Next steps

- See [`getGT`](/docs/node/api/get-gt) for translating inline strings directly.
- See [`withGT`](/docs/node/api/with-gt) for setting up the locale context.