i18n editor for developers

An i18n editor (internationalization editor) is a web-based tool for managing translation files used in software projects. Instead of editing raw JSON, YAML, or PO files by hand — and risking syntax errors, missing keys, or merge conflicts — developers use an i18n editor to manage all translations in a structured, visual interface that understands file formats, namespaces, and languages.

SimpleLocalize provides an online translation editor designed specifically for developer workflows. Import your translation files directly from your repository using the CLI or REST API, edit translations in a collaborative editor, run auto-translations with DeepL, Google Translate, or OpenAI, and export back to any format your framework expects. It fits into your continuous localization pipeline as part of a complete software localization platform.

The SimpleLocalize i18n editor supports over 30 translation file formats out of the box. You can import JSON (single-language and multi-language), YAML, XLIFF, PO/POT, ARB (Flutter), Android XML, iOS Strings, Java Properties, PHP arrays, CSV, Excel, and many more. Import in one format and export in another — the editor normalizes everything internally so you can work with translations regardless of the source format.

This format flexibility means you can manage translations for a React frontend (JSON), an Android app (XML), and an iOS app (Strings) all in the same project, using namespaces to keep them organized.

SimpleLocalize integrates with the i18n libraries and frameworks developers already use. For React and Next.js, it works with i18next, react-intl (FormatJS), next-translate, and next-intl. For Flutter, it imports and exports ARB files used by Flutter's intl package. For iOS and macOS, it handles .strings and .stringsdict files. For Android, it manages strings.xml resource files. It also supports Angular (ngx-translate), Vue (vue-i18n), and Ruby on Rails (YAML locales).

Browse the full list of integrations to find setup guides for your stack. Each integration page explains how to configure the CLI, map file formats, and set up auto-syncing.

The most efficient way to use an i18n editor is as part of a continuous localization pipeline. After each build or merge, your CI job uses the SimpleLocalize CLI to upload new or changed translation keys. Translators and auto-translation fill in the strings. A subsequent pipeline step downloads the translated files and commits them back, or publishes them to the Translation Hosting CDN.

This works with GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Bitbucket Pipelines, or any runner that can execute shell commands. The CLI wraps the REST API into simple commands — upload, auto-translate, download, and publish — so integration takes minutes, not days.

As projects grow, flat key lists become unmanageable. The SimpleLocalize i18n editor supports namespaces — logical groupings that map to your codebase structure (e.g., common, dashboard, emails). You can filter, search, and bulk-edit keys within a namespace, and export each namespace as a separate file if your framework requires it.

Tags add another layer of organization. Tag keys by feature, release, or team to quickly find what you need. Combined with the editor's search, filters, and context actions, managing thousands of translation keys stays fast and predictable.

You can manage translations by editing JSON or YAML files in your IDE. But manual workflows break down as the project scales: keys go missing in some languages, merge conflicts pile up, and there is no visibility into translation status. An i18n editor solves this by providing a single source of truth where every language, key, and namespace is visible at a glance.

With SimpleLocalize, you also get built-in auto-translation, review workflows, comments, activity tracking, and CDN publishing — features that would require significant custom tooling to replicate.

Use the SimpleLocalize CLI in your GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, or Bitbucket Pipelines workflow. The CLI uploads new keys after each build, and downloads translated files before deployment. This keeps translations in sync with every release as part of a continuous localization workflow.

SimpleLocalize supports ICU message format, including plural rules for languages with multiple plural forms (like Polish or Arabic). You can edit ICU strings directly in the editor with syntax highlighting and preview."