Lingo.dev + .properties (Java)

Lingo.dev CLI translates Java .properties files while preserving key-value structure, escape sequences, and Java localization conventions. The CLI works seamlessly with Java's ResourceBundle system, maintains properties file format exactly, handles Unicode and special character escaping correctly, preserves {0}, {1} placeholders for MessageFormat, and integrates with Maven and Gradle build processes.

Quick Setup

Configure for Java properties files:

{
  "locale": {
    "source": "en",
    "targets": ["es", "fr", "de"]
  },
  "buckets": {
    "properties": {
      "include": ["src/main/resources/messages_[locale].properties"]
    }
  }
}

Reminder: [locale] is a placeholder that should remain in the config literally, as it's replaced with the actual locale during CLI run.

Translate Properties Files

npx lingo.dev@latest i18n

Preserves properties file format, escape sequences, and Java-specific conventions while translating values.

Properties File Structure

Basic Key-Value Pairs

welcome.message=Welcome to our application
login.button=Log In
logout.button=Log Out
error.invalid.credentials=Invalid username or password

Namespace Organization

# Authentication messages
auth.login.title=Sign In
auth.login.subtitle=Enter your credentials
auth.register.title=Create Account
auth.forgot.password=Forgot Password?

# Navigation items
nav.home=Home
nav.dashboard=Dashboard
nav.settings=Settings

MessageFormat Placeholders

welcome.user=Welcome back, {0}!
items.count=You have {0} items in your cart
validation.min.length=Field must be at least {0} characters long
date.format=Today is {0,date,short}

Java-Specific Features

Unicode Escape Sequences

japanese.greeting=\u3053\u3093\u306b\u3061\u306f
euro.symbol=Price: 100\u20ac

Unicode escapes are preserved during translation.

Line Continuation

long.message=This is a very long message that \
    spans multiple lines for better \
    readability in the source file

Special Character Escaping

file.path=C:\\Users\\Documents\\file.txt
key.with.spaces=key\ with\ spaces=value with spaces
special.chars=Contains \= equals and \: colons

Advanced Configuration

Multiple Properties Files

"properties": {
  "include": [
    "src/main/resources/messages_[locale].properties",
    "src/main/resources/validation_[locale].properties"
  ]
}

Lock Configuration Keys

"properties": {
  "include": ["src/main/resources/messages_[locale].properties"],
  "lockedKeys": ["app.version", "build.timestamp", "api.endpoint"]
}