msg()

Overview

The msg() function is a function that marks and encodes strings for translation.

const encodedString = msg('Hello, world!');

The encoded string should be passed to the useMessages() hook or getMessages() function to retrieve translations.

Decoding

To get back the original string, you need to decode it with decodeMsg()

import { msg, decodeMsg } from 'gt-next';
const encodedString = msg('Hello, world!');
const decodedString = decodeMsg(encodedString);
console.log(decodedString); // "Hello, world!"

Reference

Parameters

Returns

An encoded string, with interpolated variables (if any) replaced with their values.

Behavior

Production

During the CD process, any content inside of a msg() function will be translated before your application is deployed. This ensures fast load times for all locales, but it can only translate content known at build time.

Once generated, translations are either (1) stored in the CDN or (2) stored in your app's build output, according to your configuration. From there, the translated content is served to your users. If a translation is not found, it will fallback to the originial content.

Make sure to follow the deployment guide here.

Development

During development, the msg() function will translate content on demand. This is useful for prototyping what your app will look like in different languages. Remember to add a Dev API key to your environment to enable this behavior.

You will see a delay during on demand translation in development. This will not occur during for production builds unless content is explicitly being translated on demand, i.e., using tx() or <Tx>.

Example

Basic Usage

You can use msg() to mark strings for translation.

import { msg, useMessages } from 'gt-next';

const encodedString = msg('Hello, world!');

export default function TranslateGreeting() {
  const m = useMessages();
  return (
    <p>
      {m(encodedString)}
    </p>
  );
}

Note: "Hello, world!" will be translated to the user's preferred language.

Using variables

You can pass variables to dictionary translations.

import { msg, useMessages } from 'gt-next';

const encodedString = msg('Hello, {name}!', { name: 'Alice' });

export default function TranslateGreeting() {
  const m = useMessages();

  return (
    <p>
      {m(encodedString)}
    </p>
  );
}

Note: "Alice" will not translated to the user's preferred language because it is a variable.

Using ICU message format

gt-next supports ICU message format, which allows you to also format your variables.

import { msg, useMessages } from 'gt-next';

const encodedString = msg('There are {count, plural, =0 {no items} =1 {one item} other {{count} items}} in the cart', { count: 10 });

export default function TranslateGreeting() {
  const m = useMessages();
  return (
    <p>
      {m(encodedString)}
    </p>
  );
}

Notes

• The msg() function is a function that marks strings for translation.
• Translations strings with msg() happen before runtime, during the build process (unless in development).

Next steps

• See useMessages() for translating strings.
• See getMessages() for translating strings in async server-side components.
• See InlineTranslationOptions for more information on customizing translations.