Lingo Dev

What is Lingo Dev about?

Lingo Dev offers a suite of tools that enable developers to make React, Next.js, React‑Native and other JavaScript/TypeScript projects multilingual at build time or runtime. It leverages large language models (LLMs) to generate translations automatically, allowing you to bring your own LLM or use the hosted Lingo.dev Translation Engine.

How to use Lingo Dev?

1. Install the package:

   npx -y lingo.dev
   

2. Compiler (build‑time) – integrate into your Next.js config:

   import lingoCompiler from "lingo.dev/compiler";
   const nextConfig = {};
   export default lingoCompiler.next({
     sourceLocale: "en",
     targetLocales: ["es", "fr"]
   })(nextConfig);
   

   Run next build to generate locale bundles.
3. CLI (one‑command translation):

   npx lingo.dev@latest run
   

   The CLI fingerprints strings, caches results, and only re‑translates changed content.
4. CI/CD – add a GitHub Action to translate on every push:

   name: Lingo.dev i18n
   on: [push]
   jobs:
     i18n:
       runs-on: ubuntu-latest
       steps:
         - uses: actions/checkout@v4
         - uses: lingodotdev/lingo.dev@main
           with:
             api-key: ${{ secrets.LINGODOTDEV_API_KEY }}
   

5. SDK (real‑time translation):

   import { LingoDotDevEngine } from "lingo.dev/sdk";
   const lingo = new LingoDotDevEngine({ apiKey: "your-api-key-here" });
   const result = await lingo.localizeObject({ greeting: "Hello" }, { sourceLocale: "en", targetLocale: "es" });
   // result => { greeting: "Hola" }
   

Key features of Lingo Dev

• Build‑time compiler: No code changes required; locales are emitted during the build.
• One‑click CLI: Translate code, JSON, YAML, Markdown, etc., directly from the terminal.
• CI/CD integration: Automated translation on pushes with optional PR creation.
• SDK: Per‑request translation for dynamic user‑generated content.
• LLM agnostic: Use your own LLM or the hosted Lingo.dev engine.
• Multi‑platform support: Works with React, Next.js, React‑Native, and generic JavaScript/TypeScript projects.

Use cases of Lingo Dev

• Internationalizing a Next.js website without touching component code.
• Localizing mobile apps built with React‑Native during CI pipelines.
• Translating documentation, markdown blogs, or config files.
• Providing real‑time chat/message translation in SaaS platforms.
• Rapid prototyping of multilingual MVPs by leveraging LLMs.

FAQ from Lingo Dev

Q: Do I need to modify my React components? A: No. The compiler extracts strings and replaces them with locale bundles automatically.

Q: Can I use a custom LLM? A: Yes. Configure the SDK or CLI with your own API endpoint and key.

Q: Is there a free tier? A: The compiler and CLI are open‑source and free; the hosted translation engine offers a free quota.

Q: How does caching work? A: The CLI fingerprints each string and only re‑translates when the source changes, reducing API calls.

Q: What languages are supported? A: Any language supported by your LLM or the Lingo.dev engine; examples include Spanish, French, German, Japanese, etc.

---

Meet the Compiler 🆕

Lingo.dev Compiler is a free, open-source compiler middleware, designed to make any React app multilingual at build time without requiring any changes to the existing React components.

Install once:

npm install lingo.dev

Enable in your build config:

import lingoCompiler from "lingo.dev/compiler";

const existingNextConfig = {};

export default lingoCompiler.next({
  sourceLocale: "en",
  targetLocales: ["es", "fr"],
})(existingNextConfig);

Run next build and watch Spanish and French bundles pop out ✨

Read the docs → for the full guide, and Join our Discord to get help with your setup.

---

What's inside this repo?

Tool	TL;DR	Docs
Compiler	Build-time React localization	/compiler
CLI	One-command localization for web and mobile apps, JSON, YAML, markdown, + more	/cli
CI/CD	Auto-commit translations on every push + create pull requests if needed	/ci
SDK	Realtime translation for user-generated content	/sdk

Below are the quick hits for each 👇

---

⚡️ Lingo.dev CLI

Translate code & content straight from your terminal.

npx lingo.dev@latest run

It fingerprints every string, caches results, and only re-translates what changed.

Follow the docs → to learn how to set it up.

---

🔄 Lingo.dev CI/CD

Ship perfect translations automatically.

# .github/workflows/i18n.yml
name: Lingo.dev i18n
on: [push]

jobs:
  i18n:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: lingodotdev/lingo.dev@main
        with:
          api-key: ${{ secrets.LINGODOTDEV_API_KEY }}

Keeps your repo green and your product multilingual without the manual steps.

Read the docs →

---

🧩 Lingo.dev SDK

Instant per-request translation for dynamic content.

import { LingoDotDevEngine } from "lingo.dev/sdk";

const lingoDotDev = new LingoDotDevEngine({
  apiKey: "your-api-key-here",
});

const content = {
  greeting: "Hello",
  farewell: "Goodbye",
  message: "Welcome to our platform",
};

const translated = await lingoDotDev.localizeObject(content, {
  sourceLocale: "en",
  targetLocale: "es",
});
// Returns: { greeting: "Hola", farewell: "Adiós", message: "Bienvenido a nuestra plataforma" }

Perfect for chat, user comments, and other real-time flows.

Read the docs →

---

🤝 Community

We're community-driven and love contributions!

• Got an idea? Open an issue
• Want to fix something? Send a PR
• Need help? Join our Discord

⭐ Star History

If you like what we're doing, give us a ⭐ and help us reach 3,000 stars! 🌟

🌐 Readme in other languages

English • 中文 • 日本語 • 한국어 • Español • Français • Русский • Українська • Deutsch • Italiano • العربية • עברית • हिन्दी • বাংলা • فارسی

Don't see your language? Add it to i18n.json and open a PR!