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awesome-i18n

A curated list of i18n tools, i18n libraries, localization software, localization programs and translation management systems.

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Contents

• 👩‍🎓 Acronyms and keywords
• 📦 Libraries
• 🖥 Desktop apps for translation management
• 📅 Utility libraries
• 📚 Resources
• 💭 Community Tips & tricks
• 🦾 Automated translations
• 🍿 Videos

👩‍🎓 Acronyms and keywords

🧐 Acronyms

• i18n - internationalization
• l10n - localization
• xl8 - group of translation management systems
• t9n - translation
• g11n - globalization
• m17n - multilingualization
• ICU - International Components for Unicode
• TMS - translation management system
• GMS - globalization translation system (same thing as TMS)

🔑 Keywords

• translation key - element in source code which is used by i18n library to replace it with translation message
• translation - translated text or message

📦 Libraries

JavaScript / TypeScript

• airbnb.io/polyglot.js - tiny i18n helper library written in JavaScript, made to work both in the browser and in CommonJS environments
• VoerkaI18n - Internationalization solution for Javascript/Typescript/Vue/React/Solidjs/SvelteJs/ReactNative
• eo-locale - elegant lightweight library based on Internationalization API
• MDN: Intl object - documentation for standard intl object from JavaScript
• MDN: i18n - internationalize your browser extension. APIs to get localized strings from locale files
• facebook/fbt - internationalization framework for JavaScript designed to be not just powerful and flexible, but also simple and intuitive
• FormatJS - internationalize your web apps on the client & server
• FormatJS CLI - extract messages from project with FormatJS library
• i18next - internationalization framework for browser or any other JavaScript environment
• i18n-ally - extension for VSCode, all in one about i18n
• intljulep - super lightweight yet powerful i18n library
• jquery/globalize - library for i18n that leverages the official Unicode CLDR JSON data
• Jed - Gettext style i18n library
• lisan.js - fast and small i18n library
• js-lingui - readable, automated, and optimized internationalization
• npm i18n - lightweight simple translation module with dynamic JSON storage
• ttag - library for translations based on ES6 template literals
• typesafe-i18n - type-safe, lightweight localization library for TypeScript with no external dependencies
• schummar-translate - TypeScript powered translation library for React and Node.js
• messageformat - ICU MessageFormat for Javascript - i18n Plural and Gender Capable Messages
• rosetta - A general purpose internationalization library in ~300 bytes (including dependencies)
• Intl.js (UNMAINTAINED) - implementation of the ECMAScript Internationalization API
• ParaglideJS - synchronous, typesafe and lightweight i18n library

React / React Native

React apps and react localization is so popular so we decided to add a special section for it. Here is the list of react localization libraries:

• next-translate - easy i18n for NextJS, ~1kb of size
• next-intl - a minimal, but complete solution for internationalization in Next.js apps works with SSR and SSG
• react-translate - internationalization for React
• react-native-localize - toolbox for your React Native app localization
• react-localization - simple module to localize the React interface using the same syntax used in the ReactNativeLocalization module
• react-intl - internationalize your web apps with react-intl library
• react-intl (CLI) - extract messages from project with FormatJS library
• react-intl-hooks - small and fast library that you can use to replace FormatJS components
• react-i18nify - simple i18n translation and localization components and helpers for React
• react-i18next - internationalization framework for React and React Native which is based on i18next
• react-i18n-mini - A tiny (~2.39 kB) internationalisation library for React
• react-persian - set of react components for Persian localization
• react-translated - dead simple way to add complex translations
• react-localize-redux - localization library for handling translations
• react-translate-component - component for React that utilizes the Counterpart module and the Interpolate component to provide multi-lingual/localized text content
• react-littera - lightweight library for robust translations using hooks. Some of the key features are dynamic templates, missing reports, auto-locale detection and more
• talkr - lightest i18n provider for React applications (< 1kb). Supports Typescript, provides smart autocompletion based on your own json translation files, handles complex plural rules, 0 dependencies.

VueJS

• vue i18n - vue i18n is internationalization plugin for Vue.js
• sweet-i18n - automatic extraction and conversion of Chinese characters in Vue and JS files based on Babel

Angular

• NGX Translate - translation library for Angular

Svelte

• svelte-i18n - internationalization for Svelte

Quasar.dev

• Quasar i18n - official Quasar framework document page about internationalization

Java

• Thymeleaf - modern server-side Java template engine for both web and standalone environments
• Thymeleaf i18n docs - How to use th:texts for translations
• Spring Messages - Spring Boot internationalization. LocaleResolver & LocaleChangeInterceptor example usage
• Spring Boot localization - Baeldun post about using Spring Messages
• i18n in Spring Boot - Stackoverflow thread about i18n in Spring Boot
• Java Time Classes - Stackoverflow thread about time and timezones in Java.

Jekyll

• jekyll-multiple-languages-plugin - Jekyll Multiple Languages is an internationalization plugin for Jekyll.
• jekyll-i18n - Jekyll i18n is a plugin that enables simplistic multi-language site designs using Jekyll. (not maintained)

Swift (iOS & macOS)

• SwiftGoogleTranslate - framework to use cloud translation API by Google in Swift

Ruby

• Twitter/CLDR - implementation of the ICU that uses the Common Locale Data Repository to format dates, plurals
• Ruby i18n - official internationalization API document page

Python

• Python-i18n - internationalization package
• deep-translator - library to translate between different languages in a simple way using multiple translators

🔦 Message and key extraction

Tools used to search translation key usage in project files. Usually they extract translation keys to some file which can be imported later to translation management system

• FormatJS CLI - extract messages from project with FormatJS library
• simplelocalize-cli - extract translation keys and messages from various different libraries
• IntelliJ plugin for extracting i18n keys - IntelliJ IDEA plugin for extracing i18n keys

🖥 Desktop apps for translation management

• Argos Translate - open source offline translation app based on OpenNMT
• GNU gettext - tool for adding native language support to applications
• RTranslator - simultaneous translator app for Android based on Google's API
• Crow Translate - lightweight desktop translator, uses Google, Yandex and Bing translate API.
• Copy Translator - cross-platform app that automatically translate texts when copied in the clipboard
• ElectronJS i18n - cross-platform i18n manager
• OmegaT - free translation memory application that works on all popular operating systems
• LibreTranslate - self-hosted web application to translate texts
• POEditor - tool for managing PO language files
• Fink - git-based editor in the browser that connects to your repo

📅 Utility libraries

• Luxon - powerful, modern, and friendly wrapper for JavaScript dates and times (replaces momentjs)
• date-fns - JS library for dates
• fakenumber.org - fake phone number generator
• googlei18n/libphonenumber - Google's common Java, C++ and JavaScript library for parsing, formatting, and validating international phone numbers
• intl-tel-input.com - JS library for entering and validating international phone numbers

📚 Resources

• Stackoverflow: Localization vs Internationalization - Localization and internationalization, what's the difference?
• Stackoverflow: Daylight saving time and time-zone best practices
• Blog post: Top 12 libraries for React localization - Blog post on dev.to about top 12 libraries for react localization
• Blog post: Building a minimal i18n library
• Blog post: Generating images with multi-language texts - article about images localization and i18n in blog post banners
• Blog post: Language vs Locale - what is the difference between language and locale
• Blog post: Development/Production parity for Rails i18n - blog post with a warning on using different i18n backends in development/production
• Blog post: What is 'hreflang' attribute - hreflang FAQ and explanation how to use it and why it is important for SEO
• Blog post: i18n with React Intl and SimpleLocalize - article demonstrates how to set up and manage translations with autogenerated translation keys with FormatJS
• Github: FormatJS example project - example project built with React-intl and React
• Github: i18next example project - example project built with i18next and React
• Guide: Google Developers - Internationalization - official Google document page
• Guide: Angular i18n - official Angular i18n document page
• Guide: W3C i18n standards
• Guide: Common Language Data Repository - the Unicode CLDR provides key building blocks for software to support the world's languages, with the largest and most extensive standard repository of locale data available
• ICU: International Components for Unicode - ICU is a mature and widely used providing Unicode and Globalization support for software applications
• Extract messages and translation keys from project files - extracting translation keys from project files. JavaScript, Android, iOS/macOS

💭 Community tips & tricks

• If you have tight layouts, my rough rule of thumb is to double the English text and make sure it fits. Then you will usually have enough space for translations.
• Russian and German tend to have the longest translations, and the longest words. Get familiar with the shy-hyphen ­ character. You put it in the word's html and it will only break the word/show the hyphen when necessary. Google “online hyphenation tool” so you know the appropriate places to break the word.
• You need to translate numbers with decimals and commas because they are reversed in some languages (period appears as a comma, comma as a period).
• Same goes for percent signs. Sometimes the % shows before the number, and not after. There might be a space between the number and %. It might show as %-KAL in Hungarian.
• Greek question marks look like a semicolon.
• Always keep datetimes in database in UTC. Always return datatimes from backend in UTC. Adjust datetimes on UI layer using timezone information from user or web browser. Accept datetimes in backend with any timezone.

🦾 Automated translation

• Gengo - translation is made by real people but you can make an order using API
• Google Translate
• Microsoft Translator
• DeepL

🍿 Videos

Internationalis(z)ing Code - Computerphile

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0j74jcxSunY

The Problem with Time & Timezones - Computerphile

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5wpm-gesOY

📢 Contribute

Feel free to add or update the content!