cmux Localization
Use this skill for any user-facing string change.
Hard rules
- All user-facing strings must be localized.
- Use
String(localized: "key.name", defaultValue: "English text") for Swift/AppKit/SwiftUI strings.
- Keys go in
Resources/Localizable.xcstrings with translations for all supported languages, currently English and Japanese.
- Never use bare string literals in SwiftUI
Text(), Button(), alert titles, tooltips, menus, or dialogs.
- Localization audit is required for every user-facing change.
defaultValue, English fallback text, schema descriptions, or copied English strings do not count as localization.- For localized web/docs content, update every supported message catalog, currently
web/messages/en.json and web/messages/ja.json, plus any localized data structures carrying inline translations.
Audit checklist
Before finishing a task that changes UI, Settings rows, menus, shortcut metadata, schema/config text, docs, command/help text, alerts, or tooltips:
- Enumerate the changed user-facing surfaces.
- Verify each surface has entries for every supported locale.
- Parse touched localization files.
- Compare changed message keys across locales.
- Use
rg over changed Swift/TS/TSX/docs files for newly introduced bare English.
- State the localization audit in the final handoff, or explicitly say what could not be verified.
Related shortcut rule
Every new cmux-owned keyboard shortcut must be added to KeyboardShortcutSettings, visible/editable in Settings, supported in ~/.config/cmux/cmux.json, and documented in the keyboard shortcut and configuration docs.
Detailed reference
- Read references/audit-workflow.md for a deeper audit process, common false positives, and examples of surfaces that count as user-facing.
1---2name: cmux-localization3description: Localization rules and audit workflow for cmux UI strings, settings rows, menus, shortcuts, schema/config text, docs, command/help text, alerts, tooltips, and web messages. Use whenever changing user-facing text.4---5
6# cmux Localization
7
8Use this skill for any user-facing string change.
9
10## Hard rules
11
12- All user-facing strings must be localized.
13- Use `String(localized: "key.name", defaultValue: "English text")` for Swift/AppKit/SwiftUI strings.
14- Keys go in `Resources/Localizable.xcstrings` with translations for all supported languages, currently English and Japanese.
15- Never use bare string literals in SwiftUI `Text()`, `Button()`, alert titles, tooltips, menus, or dialogs.
16- Localization audit is required for every user-facing change.
17- `defaultValue`, English fallback text, schema descriptions, or copied English strings do not count as localization.
18- For localized web/docs content, update every supported message catalog, currently `web/messages/en.json` and `web/messages/ja.json`, plus any localized data structures carrying inline translations.
19
20## Audit checklist
21
22Before finishing a task that changes UI, Settings rows, menus, shortcut metadata, schema/config text, docs, command/help text, alerts, or tooltips:
23
241. Enumerate the changed user-facing surfaces.
252. Verify each surface has entries for every supported locale.
263. Parse touched localization files.
274. Compare changed message keys across locales.
285. Use `rg` over changed Swift/TS/TSX/docs files for newly introduced bare English.
296. State the localization audit in the final handoff, or explicitly say what could not be verified.
30
31## Related shortcut rule
32
33Every new cmux-owned keyboard shortcut must be added to `KeyboardShortcutSettings`, visible/editable in Settings, supported in `~/.config/cmux/cmux.json`, and documented in the keyboard shortcut and configuration docs.
34
35## Detailed reference
36
37- Read [references/audit-workflow.md](references/audit-workflow.md) for a deeper audit process, common false positives, and examples of surfaces that count as user-facing.
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