JSON Localization Guide

LRM provides full support for JSON-based localization files, making it a universal tool for any project - React, Vue, Angular, Node.js, .NET, or any framework using JSON resources.

Why LRM?

Feature	LRM	i18next-cli	Tolgee	i18n-ally	Locize
Translation Providers	10 (incl. free)	Via Locize only	3	2	Cloud only
Free Translation	Lingva, MyMemory, Ollama	No	No	No	No
Self-Contained Binary	Yes	Needs Node.js	Needs Docker	VS Code only	Cloud
Offline Capable	Yes (Ollama)	No	No	No	No
CLI	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes
Terminal UI (TUI)	Yes	No	No	No	No
Web UI	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
VS Code Extension	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
REST API	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
i18next Support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
RESX Support	Yes	No	No	No	No
Pluralization (CLDR)	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Open Source	MIT	MIT	MIT	MIT	Commercial
No Cloud Required	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No

LRM is the only tool that combines: 10 translation providers (including free options), complete offline capability, and a full toolset (CLI + TUI + Web + VS Code + API) in a single, self-contained binary.

Quick Start

For React/Vue/Angular (i18next)

# Install LRM
curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nickprotop/LocalizationManager/main/install-lrm.sh | bash

# Navigate to your locales folder
cd my-react-app/public/locales

# View translation statistics
lrm stats

# Auto-translate to multiple languages
lrm translate --provider google --to fr,de,es,ja --only-missing

# Launch visual editor
lrm edit

For Standard JSON Projects

# Initialize a new JSON localization project
lrm init --format json --default-lang en --languages en,fr,de,es

# Validate resources
lrm validate

# View all keys
lrm view "*"

Supported Formats

LRM auto-detects your JSON format based on file naming patterns:

1. i18next Format

File structure: {locale}.json (e.g., en.json, fr.json)

locales/
├── en.json      # English (default)
├── fr.json      # French
├── de.json      # German
└── es.json      # Spanish

Plural syntax: Suffix-based (_zero, _one, _two, _few, _many, _other)

{
  "welcome": "Welcome!",
  "items_one": "{{count}} item",
  "items_other": "{{count}} items",
  "cart": {
    "empty": "Your cart is empty",
    "items_one": "{{count}} item in cart",
    "items_other": "{{count}} items in cart"
  }
}

Frameworks: react-i18next, vue-i18n, angular-i18next, i18next (Node.js)

2. Standard JSON Format

File structure: {basename}.{locale}.json (e.g., strings.json, strings.fr.json)

Resources/
├── strings.json      # Default language
├── strings.fr.json   # French
├── strings.de.json   # German
└── strings.es.json   # Spanish

Plural syntax: CLDR object with _plural: true marker

{
  "Welcome": "Welcome!",
  "Greeting": "Hello, {0}!",
  "Navigation": {
    "Home": "Home",
    "About": "About Us"
  },
  "Items": {
    "_plural": true,
    "one": "{0} item",
    "other": "{0} items"
  }
}

Frameworks: .NET (with LocalizationManager.JsonLocalization NuGet), custom implementations

Common Workflows

Auto-Translate Missing Keys

# Translate all missing values to French, German, Spanish
lrm translate --to fr,de,es --only-missing

# Use a specific provider
lrm translate --provider deepl --to fr,de --only-missing

# Preview without saving (dry-run)
lrm translate --to fr,de,es --only-missing --dry-run

Validate Resources

# Check for missing translations, duplicates, placeholder mismatches
lrm validate

# JSON output for CI/CD
lrm validate --format json

View and Search Keys

# View all keys
lrm view "*"

# Search for specific patterns
lrm view "cart.*"

# View only untranslated keys
lrm view "*" --status untranslated

# Search in values (find keys by their translations)
lrm view "Bienvenue" --search-in values --cultures fr

Add/Update/Delete Keys

# Add a new key
lrm add "NewFeature.Title" --lang default:"New Feature" --lang fr:"Nouvelle Fonctionnalité"

# Update an existing key
lrm update "NewFeature.Title" --lang de:"Neue Funktion"

# Delete a key
lrm delete "OldKey" -y

Export/Import for Translators

# Export to CSV for external translation
lrm export -o translations.csv

# Export to JSON
lrm export --format json -o translations.json

# Import translated CSV
lrm import translations.csv

Translation Providers

LRM supports 10 translation providers:

Provider	Type	API Key Required	Best For
Google	NMT	Yes	General purpose, 100+ languages
DeepL	NMT	Yes	European languages, high quality
Azure Translator	NMT	Yes	Enterprise, Microsoft ecosystem
OpenAI	AI/LLM	Yes	Context-aware, nuanced translations
Claude	AI/LLM	Yes	Context-aware, nuanced translations
Azure OpenAI	AI/LLM	Yes	Enterprise AI with Azure compliance
Ollama	AI/LLM	No (local)	Privacy, offline, no costs
LibreTranslate	NMT	Optional	Self-hosted, privacy-focused
Lingva	Proxy	No	Free Google Translate proxy
MyMemory	NMT	No	Free tier (5K chars/day)

Configure API Keys

# Set API key
lrm config set-api-key --provider google --key YOUR_API_KEY

# Or use environment variables
export LRM_GOOGLE_API_KEY=your_key
export LRM_DEEPL_API_KEY=your_key
export LRM_OPENAI_API_KEY=your_key

# List configured providers
lrm config list-providers

Free Translation (No API Key)

# Use Lingva (Google Translate proxy)
lrm translate --provider lingva --to fr,de,es --only-missing

# Use MyMemory (5K chars/day free)
lrm translate --provider mymemory --to fr,de --only-missing

# Use Ollama (local, private)
lrm translate --provider ollama --to fr,de --only-missing

Pluralization

LRM supports full CLDR plural rules for 30+ languages.

i18next Plural Forms

{
  "items_zero": "No items",
  "items_one": "{{count}} item",
  "items_two": "{{count}} items",
  "items_few": "{{count}} items",
  "items_many": "{{count}} items",
  "items_other": "{{count}} items"
}

Standard JSON Plural Forms

{
  "Items": {
    "_plural": true,
    "zero": "No items",
    "one": "{0} item",
    "two": "{0} items",
    "few": "{0} items",
    "many": "{0} items",
    "other": "{0} items"
  }
}

Language-Specific Plural Rules

Language	Forms Used
English	one, other
French	one, many, other
Russian	one, few, many, other
Arabic	zero, one, two, few, many, other
Japanese	other (no grammatical number)

LRM automatically uses the correct plural categories when translating.

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions

name: Validate & Translate

on:
  push:
    paths: ['locales/**/*.json']

jobs:
  localization:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Install LRM
        run: |
          curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nickprotop/LocalizationManager/main/install-lrm.sh | bash
          echo "$HOME/.local/bin" >> $GITHUB_PATH

      - name: Validate
        run: lrm validate --path ./locales

      - name: Auto-translate missing
        env:
          LRM_GOOGLE_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.GOOGLE_TRANSLATE_KEY }}
        run: lrm translate --path ./locales --to fr,de,es --only-missing

      - name: Commit changes
        run: |
          git add locales/
          git commit -m "Auto-translate missing keys" || true
          git push

GitLab CI

localization:
  image: mcr.microsoft.com/dotnet/sdk:9.0
  script:
    - curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nickprotop/LocalizationManager/main/install-lrm.sh | bash
    - export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
    - lrm validate --path ./locales
    - lrm translate --path ./locales --to fr,de,es --only-missing
  only:
    changes:
      - locales/**/*.json

Visual Editors

Terminal UI (TUI)

lrm edit --path ./locales

Features:

Side-by-side multi-language editing
In-app translation (Ctrl+T)
Real-time search and filtering
Keyboard-driven workflow

Web UI

lrm web --path ./locales --port 5000

Features:

Browser-based editor
Dashboard with statistics
Translation status overview
REST API for automation

VS Code Extension

Install from VS Code Marketplace:

ext install nickprotop.localization-manager

Features:

Resource tree view
Inline editing
Real-time diagnostics
One-click translation

Framework Integration

React (react-i18next)

# Typical i18next structure
my-react-app/
├── public/
│   └── locales/
│       ├── en.json
│       ├── fr.json
│       └── de.json
└── src/
    └── i18n.ts

# Manage with LRM
cd my-react-app/public/locales
lrm stats
lrm translate --to fr,de --only-missing

Vue (vue-i18n)

# Typical vue-i18n structure
my-vue-app/
├── src/
│   └── locales/
│       ├── en.json
│       ├── fr.json
│       └── de.json
└── vue.config.js

# Manage with LRM
cd my-vue-app/src/locales
lrm edit

Angular (ngx-translate / angular-i18next)

# Typical structure
my-angular-app/
├── src/
│   └── assets/
│       └── i18n/
│           ├── en.json
│           ├── fr.json
│           └── de.json
└── angular.json

# Manage with LRM
cd my-angular-app/src/assets/i18n
lrm validate

Node.js (i18next)

# Typical structure
my-node-app/
├── locales/
│   ├── en.json
│   ├── fr.json
│   └── de.json
└── app.js

# Manage with LRM
cd my-node-app/locales
lrm translate --provider ollama --to fr,de --only-missing

.NET (LocalizationManager.JsonLocalization)

For .NET projects, use the LocalizationManager.JsonLocalization NuGet package:

dotnet add package LocalizationManager.JsonLocalization

See the .NET Integration Guide for detailed setup.

Best Practices

1. Use Consistent Key Naming

{
  "common.save": "Save",
  "common.cancel": "Cancel",
  "errors.notFound": "Not found",
  "pages.home.title": "Home"
}

2. Keep Default Language Complete

Always have 100% coverage in your default language. Use validation:

lrm validate --path ./locales

3. Use Placeholders Correctly

{
  "greeting": "Hello, {{name}}!",
  "items": "You have {{count}} items"
}

LRM validates placeholder consistency across languages.

4. Organize with Nesting

{
  "navigation": {
    "home": "Home",
    "about": "About",
    "contact": "Contact"
  },
  "forms": {
    "validation": {
      "required": "This field is required",
      "email": "Invalid email format"
    }
  }
}

5. Automate in CI/CD

Never commit untranslated keys. Validate and auto-translate in your pipeline.

Migration from Other Formats

From .resx to JSON

lrm convert --from resx --to json --path ./Resources --output ./locales

From Properties to JSON

# Export properties to CSV, then import to JSON project
# (Manual conversion may be needed)

Troubleshooting

Format Not Detected

LRM auto-detects format from file naming. Ensure your files follow one of:

i18next: en.json, fr.json, etc.
Standard: strings.json, strings.fr.json, etc.

Plurals Not Recognized

For i18next, use suffixes: key_one, key_other For standard JSON, use the _plural marker.

Translation API Errors

# Check provider configuration
lrm config list-providers

# Test with dry-run first
lrm translate --to fr --only-missing --dry-run

Uh oh!

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JSON.md

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File metadata and controls

JSON Localization Guide

Why LRM?

Quick Start

For React/Vue/Angular (i18next)

For Standard JSON Projects

Supported Formats

1. i18next Format

2. Standard JSON Format

Common Workflows

Auto-Translate Missing Keys

Validate Resources

View and Search Keys

Add/Update/Delete Keys

Export/Import for Translators

Translation Providers

Configure API Keys

Free Translation (No API Key)

Pluralization

i18next Plural Forms

Standard JSON Plural Forms

Language-Specific Plural Rules

CI/CD Integration

GitHub Actions

GitLab CI

Visual Editors

Terminal UI (TUI)

Web UI

VS Code Extension

Framework Integration

React (react-i18next)

Vue (vue-i18n)

Angular (ngx-translate / angular-i18next)

Node.js (i18next)

.NET (LocalizationManager.JsonLocalization)

Best Practices

1. Use Consistent Key Naming

2. Keep Default Language Complete

3. Use Placeholders Correctly

4. Organize with Nesting

5. Automate in CI/CD

Migration from Other Formats

From .resx to JSON

From Properties to JSON

Troubleshooting

Format Not Detected

Plurals Not Recognized

Translation API Errors

Related Documentation