I18n Expert

Goal

Deliver a safe, testable localization setup and audit for UI codebases while preserving user-visible behavior.

Guardrails

• Do not add new locales unless requested.
• Never show raw error messages to users; map to localized keys.
• Preserve existing keys and placeholders unless explicitly asked to rename.
• Keep descriptions, accessibility text, and metadata localized where user-facing.

Inputs (confirm if unclear)

• Framework and routing style.
• Current i18n state (none, partial, legacy).
• Target locales (default: en-US + zh-CN).
• Translation quality requirements (AI vs professional vs manual).
• Locale file format (JSON, YAML, PO, XLIFF).

Workflow (short)

1. Establish baseline.
   • Identify current i18n framework and locale file layout.
2. Audit strings and key parity.
   • Use scripts/i18n_audit.py if available.
3. Replace hard-coded strings.
   • Convert UI text, accessibility labels, and metadata to keys.
4. Validate and test.
   • Re-run audits, verify pluralization, and update tests.

Common Moves

• Replace inline strings with t('namespace.key').
• Introduce plural forms with { count } handling.
• Group keys by feature and keep locale files aligned.
• Add language switching and persistence when needed.

References (load when needed)

• i18n-expert/references/workflow.md: full audit-to-fix process.
• i18n-expert/references/audit.md: search patterns and audit commands.
• i18n-expert/references/architecture.md: key structure, routing, SEO, RTL, perf.
• i18n-expert/references/validation.md: checklists and failure modes.