GitHub - i18n-actions/ai-i18n: ai-i18n is a GitHub Action that translates your app's i18n files using LLMs. It extracts strings, translates only what's changed, and commits the results back to your repo. Works with your LLM provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, Ollama) and multiple i18n formats (XLIFF, JSON). A drop-in replacement for Lokalise, Phrase, and Crowdin.

i18n Translate Action

A GitHub Action that automatically translates i18n files using LLM providers (Anthropic Claude, OpenAI GPT, or Ollama).

Features

Multiple LLM Providers: Support for Anthropic Claude, OpenAI GPT, and local Ollama models
Multiple Formats: XLIFF 1.2, XLIFF 2.0, JSON (flat and nested)
ICU Message Format: Intelligent handling of plurals with CLDR rules for 20+ languages
Change Detection: Only translates new or modified strings using content hashing
Rate Limiting: Built-in rate limiting and retry logic for API calls
Batch Processing: Efficient batching of translation requests
Git Integration: Automatic commits of translated files

Quick Start

name: Translate i18n files

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
    paths:
      - 'locales/en/**'

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

      - name: Translate
        uses: your-org/i18n-translate-action@v1
        with:
          provider: anthropic
          api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}
          source-language: en
          target-languages: de,fr,es
          files: 'locales/en/**/*.json'

Inputs

Input	Description	Required	Default
`provider`	LLM provider (`anthropic`, `openai`, `ollama`)	Yes	`anthropic`
`api-key`	API key for the provider	No*	-
`model`	Model to use	No	Provider default
`source-language`	Source language code	Yes	`en`
`target-languages`	Comma-separated target language codes	Yes	-
`files`	Glob pattern for translation files	Yes	`*/.xliff`
`format`	File format (`xliff-1.2`, `xliff-2.0`, `json-flat`, `json-nested`, `auto`)	No	`auto`
`config-file`	Path to configuration file	No	`.i18n-translate.yml`
`commit`	Whether to commit changes	No	`true`
`commit-message`	Commit message	No	`chore(i18n): update translations`
`batch-size`	Strings per API call	No	`10`
`max-retries`	Maximum retry attempts	No	`3`
`ollama-url`	Ollama server URL	No	`http://localhost:11434`
`dry-run`	Run without making changes	No	`false`
`context`	Additional context for translations	No	-

*API key is required for Anthropic and OpenAI providers.

Outputs

Output	Description
`translated-count`	Number of strings translated
`files-updated`	Number of files updated
`report`	Translation report in markdown
`commit-sha`	SHA of the commit (if committed)

Configuration File

You can use a .i18n-translate.yml file for configuration:

provider:
  name: anthropic
  model: claude-3-haiku-20240307
  temperature: 0.3

translation:
  batchSize: 15
  maxRetries: 3
  context: "Mobile app UI translations"
  preserveFormatting: true
  preservePlaceholders: true

git:
  enabled: true
  commitMessage: "chore(i18n): update translations"

files:
  pattern: "locales/**/*.json"
  format: json-nested
  sourceLanguage: en
  targetLanguages:
    - de
    - fr
    - es
    - ja
  exclude:
    - "**/node_modules/**"

Supported File Formats

XLIFF 1.2

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xliff version="1.2" xmlns="urn:oasis:names:tc:xliff:document:1.2">
  <file source-language="en" target-language="de">
    <body>
      <trans-unit id="greeting">
        <source>Hello, World!</source>
        <target></target>
      </trans-unit>
    </body>
  </file>
</xliff>

XLIFF 2.0

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xliff version="2.0" srcLang="en" trgLang="de" xmlns="urn:oasis:names:tc:xliff:document:2.0">
  <file id="messages">
    <unit id="greeting">
      <segment>
        <source>Hello, World!</source>
        <target></target>
      </segment>
    </unit>
  </file>
</xliff>

JSON (Flat)

{
  "greeting": "Hello, World!",
  "button.save": "Save"
}

JSON (Nested)

{
  "greeting": "Hello, World!",
  "button": {
    "save": "Save",
    "cancel": "Cancel"
  }
}

ICU Message Format Support

The action intelligently handles ICU MessageFormat patterns, including plurals:

{
  "items_count": "{count, plural, one {# item} other {# items}}"
}

When translating to languages with different plural rules (like Russian, Arabic, or Polish), the action automatically generates the correct plural forms based on CLDR rules.

Supported Plural Rules

Simple (one/other): English, German, Spanish, etc.
Complex (one/few/many/other): Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, Czech
Full (zero/one/two/few/many/other): Arabic
None (other only): Japanese, Chinese, Korean

Provider Configuration

Anthropic Claude

- uses: your-org/i18n-translate-action@v1
  with:
    provider: anthropic
    api-key: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}
    model: claude-3-haiku-20240307  # or claude-3-sonnet, claude-3-opus

OpenAI GPT

- uses: your-org/i18n-translate-action@v1
  with:
    provider: openai
    api-key: ${{ secrets.OPENAI_API_KEY }}
    model: gpt-4o-mini  # or gpt-4o, gpt-4-turbo

Ollama (Self-hosted)

- uses: your-org/i18n-translate-action@v1
  with:
    provider: ollama
    model: llama3.2
    ollama-url: http://localhost:11434

Preventing Infinite Loops

The action automatically detects and skips runs triggered by its own commits. You can also use skip markers:

commit-message: "chore(i18n): update translations [skip i18n]"