# Translate Keys > Translate newly added keys in messages/en.json to all other locales (de, es, fr, pt, ru, zh-CN, it, pl, sv, nl, ja, no, da). Use after adding keys to en.json. Use when this capability is needed. - Skill: `tomevault-io/translate-keys` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add tomevault-io/translate-keys` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/tomevault-io/translate-keys/raw - Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS) - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: tomevault-io (https://skillmd.com/u/tomevault-io) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/tomevault-io/translate-keys --- # translate-keys Translate keys that exist in `messages/en.json` but are missing from one or more of the other locale files, writing the translations inline. ## Locales English is the source of truth: `messages/en.json`. Target locales to update: - `messages/de.json` (German) - `messages/es.json` (Spanish) - `messages/fr.json` (French) - `messages/pt.json` (Portuguese) - `messages/ru.json` (Russian) - `messages/zh-CN.json` (Simplified Chinese) - `messages/it.json` (Italian) - `messages/pl.json` (Polish) - `messages/sv.json` (Swedish) - `messages/nl.json` (Dutch) - `messages/ja.json` (Japanese) - `messages/no.json` (Norwegian Bokmål) - `messages/da.json` (Danish) ## Procedure 1. Read `messages/en.json` and get the list of keys in order. 2. **Remove duplicate translations** — run `pnpm deduplicate-translations`. - This finds keys with identical English values, picks the most-used key as canonical (by `git grep` count in `src/`), rewrites all `src/` references, and removes the duplicate keys from every locale file. - Run with `--dry-run` first if you want to preview changes before applying. - Skip this step if you only added new keys and didn't touch existing ones. 3. For each target locale file: 1. Read the file. 2. Identify missing keys — any key that is in en.json but **absent, `null`, or empty string** in the target. 3. If zero missing keys, skip this locale and report "up to date". 4. Otherwise translate each missing value from English into the target language, following the preservation rules below. 5. Build the final object by iterating **en.json's key order**: for each en.json key, use the target file's existing value if present, otherwise use the translated value. This preserves key order. 6. Write the file as JSON with **tab indentation**, UTF-8, with a single trailing newline. Equivalent to `JSON.stringify(obj, null, '\t') + '\n'`. 4. Report a one-line summary per locale. ## Preservation rules (do NOT translate these) - **Placeholders**: curly-brace tokens like `{emailAddress}`, `{number}`, `{amount}`, `{link}` — keep verbatim, same position within the sentence. - **Markdown syntax**: preserve `**bold**`, `[link-text](/url)`, `` `inline` ``. Translate the visible text inside brackets; keep URLs, bold markers, and backticks exact. - **HTML**: preserve tags like `…`. Translate the text between the tags only; never alter attributes or tag names. - **Escape sequences**: `\n`, `\t`, `\"` — keep exact, same positions. - **Brand names and technical terms**: keep as-is — `scrt.link`, `scrt`, `Secret Request` / `Secret Requests` (product name), `AES-256`, `AES-256-GCM`, `RSA-2048`, `RSA-OAEP`, `PBKDF2`, `Stripe`, `Google`, `Resend`, `Paraglide`, `Vercel`, `GDPR`, `CCPA`. - **Currency codes / ISO codes**: `USD`, `EUR`, `CHF`, etc. ## Translation style - Match the tone of existing translations already in the same locale file. Before translating, scan a few existing entries to calibrate formality (French `tu` vs. `vous`, Spanish `tú` vs. `usted`). Default to the register already used in that file. - **German**: always use informal address — `du`/`dich`/`dein` (never `Sie`/`Ihnen`/`Ihr`). - Prefer concise, UI-natural phrasings over literal translations. UI strings should read like the product speaks the user's language natively. - Keep punctuation consistent with the target language (French thin-space before `:`/`!`/`?`, Spanish inverted `¿¡`, German `ß` where appropriate, CJK full-width punctuation). ## Never touch - The `$schema` key at the top of each file — preserve as-is. - Any non-empty value that already exists in a target locale — leave it alone. - `messages/en.json` itself — it is read-only input. ## After running Run `pnpm lint` to confirm JSON formatting still passes Prettier. Fix any drift before committing. Run `pnpm cleanup-translation-keys` to remove any keys from locale files that are no longer referenced in `src/`. Do this periodically or after deleting features. --- > Source: [stophecom/scrt-link-v2](https://github.com/stophecom/scrt-link-v2) — distributed by [TomeVault](https://tomevault.io).