Translate

How to translate your project

Usage

Run this in your CI pipeline before you build your Next.js 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. It traverses your project's file tree and translates any content wrapped in a <T> component.

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 four ways to use the translate command. Methods 1 and 2 require 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's JSON files.

If you are using other i18n libraries such as next-intl, react-i18next, or next-i18next, you can use this method to translate your project's JSON files.

Translations will be automatically saved to your codebase.

To use the CLI tool to translate your project's JSON files, modify your gt.config.json file to include json in the files property. See the CLI config docs for more details.

npx gtx-cli translate

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: Translate your GT project.

If your project is using gt-next or gt-react, you can use this method to generate translations for your project.

npx gtx-cli translate

By default, translations are saved to the GT CDN.

However, if you would like to save the translations to your codebase, add the gt property to the files object in the gt.config.json file.

gt-next and gt-react support serving translations locally, as well as using General Translation's public CDN. We recommend using the CDN for reduced latency, better performance, and smaller bundle sizes.

See the CLI config docs for more details.

Method 3: Validate your project's <T> components and dictionary file.

This method is useful for validating 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.

npx gtx-cli translate --dry-run

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>Specify the source directory(s) to scan[string]true./src && ./app && ./pages && ./components
--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
--no-waitDo not wait for the translations to complete before exitingflagtruefalse
--publishPublish the translations to the CDNflagtruefalse

All of these parameters are optional and can be alternatively provided in the gt.config.json file.

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.
--publishIf you are using local translations, and want to make your translations publicly available on the GT CDN, you can use this flag.
--new, --locales <locales>Locales to translate your project into. These will be appended to the locales specified in your gt.config.json file.

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.

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