Convert ARB to iOS .strings online
Upload a Flutter ARB file and download it as iOS Localizable.strings. Translation keys, plurals and placeholders are preserved. Free, no account needed.
Pick the source format or let the converter detect it from the file.
Used when the source format holds one language per file. Also used as the source language for XLIFF output.
Choose the format you want to download.
The classic Apple format: one "key" = "value"; line per string inside an .lproj folder. Still widely used in UIKit, SwiftUI and macOS projects that have not moved to String Catalogs.
Need it the other way round? Convert iOS .strings to ARB.
From: Flutter ARB
Application Resource Bundle files are JSON documents with ICU message syntax and optional @metadata entries. Flutter's gen_l10n tool turns them into typed Dart localization classes.
Used by: Flutter, Dart intl, gen_l10n. One language per file. Read the ARB format guide.
{
"@@locale": "en",
"hello.world": "Hello World!",
"@hello.world": {
"description": "Hello world message"
}
"my_address": "Address",
}To: iOS Localizable.strings
The classic Apple format: one "key" = "value"; line per string inside an .lproj folder. Still widely used in UIKit, SwiftUI and macOS projects that have not moved to String Catalogs.
Used by: iOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS. One language per file. Read the iOS .strings format guide.
"hello_world" = "Hello World!";
"my_address" = "My address";How to convert ARB to iOS .strings
- Drop your .arb file into the converter above, or paste its content.
- Confirm the language of the file. It is guessed from the file name, for example
de.jsonormessages_pt-BR.properties. - Click Convert. You get one .strings file per language.
- Preview the result, copy it or download the files.
What changes between ARB and iOS .strings
- Plural messages cannot be expressed in .strings files. Convert plurals to .stringsdict or a String Catalog instead.
Convert and translate in one place
If you need the iOS .strings file in more languages, the fastest route is a free SimpleLocalize project: import the ARB file, add languages, run auto-translation with DeepL, Google Translate, OpenAI, Claude or Gemini, and download the result as iOS .strings. The CLI does the same from CI with upload and download commands, so the conversion becomes part of your build. See also translating ARB files.
Frequently asked questions
Is the converter free?
Yes. There is no signup and no limit on the number of conversions beyond a few requests per second.
Are my files stored?
No. The file is parsed in memory, converted and returned in the same request. Nothing is written to disk or a database.
What about plurals and placeholders?
Plural forms are normalized to ICU message syntax and written back in the native form of iOS .strings. Placeholders are kept, and Apple and Android specific syntax is translated between platforms. Read more in the pluralization guide.
Convert ARB to other formats
Translate your iOS .strings files
- Import ARB or iOS .strings files into a free project
- Auto-translate with DeepL, Google, OpenAI, Claude or Gemini
- Download in any of the supported formats or publish to the CDN