The easiest "storage" plugin for inlang

The Inlang Message Format is a simple storage plugin for the Inlang ecosystem. It allows you to store simple messages in a JSON file per language.

The message files contain key-value pairs of the message ID and the translation. You can add variables in your message by using curly braces.

//messages/en.json
{
  "hello_world": "Hello World!",
  "greeting": "Good morning {name}!"
}

//messages/de.json
{
  //the $schema key is automatically ignored
  "hello_world": "Hallo Welt!",
  "greeting": "Guten Tag {name}!"
}

Installation

Install the plugin in your Inlang Project by adding it to your "modules" in project.inlang/settings.json. You will also need to provide a pathPattern for the plugin.

// project.inlang/settings.json
{
  "modules" : [
+    "https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/@inlang/plugin-message-format@latest/dist/index.js"
  ],
+ "plugin.inlang.messageFormat": {
+   "pathPattern": "./messages/{locale}.json"
+ }
}

Configuration

Configuration happens in project.inlang/settings.json under the "plugin.inlang.messageFormat" key.

pathPattern

You can define a single pathPattern or provide an array of patterns to split your messages across multiple JSON files. Messages from all matching files will be merged, and if the same message key appears in multiple files, the value from the last file in the array will override earlier ones.

This allows for patterns like having a shared base file and extending or overriding it with domain- or customer-specific files.

Single path pattern example

{
  "plugin.inlang.messageFormat": {
    "pathPattern": "./messages/{locale}.json"
  }
}

Multiple path patterns example

{
  "plugin.inlang.messageFormat": {
    "pathPattern": ["./defaults/{locale}.json", "./clothing/{locale}.json"]
  }
}

Given the following files:

// ./defaults/en.json
{
  "hello": "Hello!",
  "cart": {
    "title": "Your cart"
  },
  "size": "Size"
}

// ./clothing/en.json
{
  "size": "Clothing size",
  "fit": "Fit"
}

The merged result for locale en will be:

{
  "hello": "Hello!",
  "cart": {
    "title": "Your cart"
  },
  "size": "Clothing size", // Overridden
  "fit": "Fit"              // Added
}

This lets you modularize and override translations while keeping a shared base.

Messages

You can organize your messages in a nested structure for better organization of your translations. There are two types of messages:

Simple Messages

Simple messages are string values, either directly at the root level or nested within objects:

{
	"hello": "world",
	"navigation": {
		"home": "Home",
		"about": "About",
		"contact": {
			"email": "Email",
			"phone": "Phone"
		}
	}
}

Complex Messages (with variants, pluralization, etc.)

For complex messages with variants, wrap the message object in an array to differentiate it from nested simple messages:

{
	"simple": "This is a simple message",
  "count": [
    {
      "declarations": ["input count", "local countPlural = count: plural"],
      "selectors": ["countPlural"],
      "match": {
        "countPlural=one": "There is one item",
        "countPlural=other": "There are {count} items"
      }
    }
  ]
}

When accessing this complex message, use dot notation: navigation.items.count

Variants (pluralization, gendering, A/B testing)

The message below will match the following conditions:

{
	"jojo_mountain_day": [
		{
			"match": {
				"platform=android, userGender=male": "{username} has to download the app on his phone from the Google Play Store.",
				"platform=ios, userGender=female": "{username} has to download the app on her iPhone from the App Store.",
				"platform=*, userGender=*": "The person has to download the app."
			}
		}
	]
}

Pluralization is also supported. You can define a variable in your message and then use it in the selector.

{
	"some_happy_cat": [
		{
			"declarations": ["input count", "local countPlural = count: plural"],
			"selectors": ["countPlural"],
			"match": {
				"countPlural=one": "There is one cat.",
				"countPlural=other": "There are many cats."
			}
		}
	]
}