Flutter ARB Translator

A command line tool which simplifies translation of Flutter ARB files. You can simply choose a service from supported list: Azure Cognitive Services, Yandex, Google Cloud, DeepL and flexibly adjust translation options. Get it on pub.dev

Installing

Add flutter_arb_translator to your dev_dependencies:

dev_dependencies:
  flutter_arb_translator: ^1.0.15

Example

Using this package you can translate ARB files which contain annotations, plurals and placeholders. For example, translation of this file:

{
  "appName" : "Demo app",

  "pageHomeTitle" : "Welcome {firstName}",
  "@pageHomeTitle" : {
    "description" : "Welcome message on the Home screen",
    "placeholders": {
      "firstName": {
        "type": "String",
        "example": "John Doe"
      }
    }
  },

  "pageHomeInboxCount" : "{count, plural, zero{You have no new messages} one{You have 1 new message} other{You have {count} new messages}}",
  "@pageHomeInboxCount" : {
    "description" : "New messages count on the Home screen",
    "placeholders": {
      "count": {}
    }
  },

  "pageHomeBirthday": "{sex, select, male{His birthday} female{Her birthday} other{Their birthday}}",
  "@pageHomeBirthday": {
    "description": "Birthday message on the Home screen",
    "placeholders": {
      "sex": {}
    }
  }
}

to Spanish will look like this (exact text depends on selected translation API):

{
  "appName": "Aplicación de demostración",

  "pageHomeTitle": "Bienvenidos {firstName}",
  "@pageHomeTitle": {
    "description": "Welcome message on the Home screen",
    "placeholders": {
      "firstName": {
        "type": "String",
        "example": "John Doe"
      }
    }
  },

  "pageHomeInboxCount": "{count, plural, zero{No tienes mensajes nuevos} one{Tienes 1 mensaje nuevo} other{Has {count} nuevos mensajes}}",
  "@pageHomeInboxCount": {
    "description": "New messages count on the Home screen",
    "placeholders": {
      "count": {}
    }
  },

  "pageHomeBirthday": "{sex, select, male{Su cumpleaños} female{Su cumpleaños} other{Su cumpleaños}}",
  "@pageHomeBirthday": {
    "description": "Birthday message on the Home screen",
    "placeholders": {
      "sex": {}
    }
  }
}

Guide

1. Set up the configuration file

In your project root directory create a dev_assets folder and create flutter_arb_translator_config.json there. The content of file contains optional JSON objects, see the full file example:

{
  "AzureCognitiveServices": {
    "SubscriptionKey": "<required>",
    "Region": "<optional>"
  },
  "YandexCloud": {
    "APIKey": "<required>"
  },
  "GoogleCloud": {
    "ProjectId": "<required>",
    "PrivateKey": "<required>",
    "ClientEmail": "<required>"
  },
  "DeepL": {
    "Url": "https://api.deepl.com",
    "ApiKey": "<required>"
  },
  "AmazonTranslate": {
    "AccessKeyId": "<required>",
    "SecretAccessKey": "<required>",
    "Region": "<required>"
  }
}

Optional JSON objects means that if you are going to use Azure translation service - only AzureCognitiveServices block is required in configuration file while YandexCloud, GoogleCloud, AmazonTranslate and DeepL objects can be dismissed.

2. Set up translation service configuration

• Azure

Azure Cognitive Services translation service uses Subscription Key for authorization in Azure API. See how to create or find your Subscription key here. Once you got it, put it into dev_assets/flutter_arb_translator_config.json AzureCognitiveServices JSON object so it looks like:

{
  "AzureCognitiveServices": {
    "SubscriptionKey": "*********************************",
    "Region": "your_region"
  }
}

• Yandex

Yandex translation service uses API key for authorization in Yandex API. See here how to create an API key. Once you got it, put it into dev_assets/flutter_arb_translator_config.json YandexCloud JSON object so it looks like:

{
  "YandexCloud": {
    "APIKey": "********************"
  }
}

• Google Cloud

Google Cloud translation service uses Service Account for authorization in Google Cloud API. You will need to create a new account or use existing one and export it's Private Key in JSON format. Then put project_id, private_key and client_email into dev_assets/flutter_arb_translator_config.json GoogleCloud object so it looks like:

{
  "GoogleCloud": {
    "ProjectId": "your_project_id",
    "PrivateKey": "-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----\n****private_key_content*****\n-----END PRIVATE KEY-----\n",
    "ClientEmail": "your_client_email"
  }
}

The only Google Cloud API scope used by this project is https://www.googleapis.com/auth/cloud-translation

• DeepL

DeepL translation service uses Api Key for authorization in DeepL API. You will need to create a new DeepL account here or use existing one. Once you got it, put API key into dev_assets/flutter_arb_translator_config.json DeepL JSON object so it looks like:

{
  "DeepL": {
    "Url": "https://api.deepl.com",
    "ApiKey": "********-****-****-****-************"
  }
}

If you are going to use free DeepL API key update the Url value of DeepL configuration.

• Amazon Translate

Amazon Translate translation service uses access keys for authorization in Amazon API. See here how to create an access key. Once you got it, put it into dev_assets/flutter_arb_translator_config.json AmazonTranslate JSON object so it looks like:

{
  "AmazonTranslate": {
    "AccessKeyId": "<required>",
    "SecretAccessKey": "<required>",
    "Region": "<required>"
  }
}

Usage

Assuming you store ARB files in lib/l10n folder and want to translate app_en.arb into Spanish and Italian using Azure Cognitive Services translator. Run the following command:

flutter pub run flutter_arb_translator:main --from en --to es --to it --service azure

When command will complete, it will write lib/l10n/app_es.arb and lib/l10n/app_it.arb files containing translation. That's it, if you want to see all available options type flutter pub run flutter_arb_translator:main -h

Command Line Options

Option	Description
dir	(optional) Directory containing .arb files. By default it is set to lib/l10n
service	(required) Translation service which will be used. [azure, yandex, google, deepl, amazon]
from	(required) Main language, ARB will be translated from this language to targets. Example usage: --from en
to	(required) List of languages to which ARB should be translated. At least 1 language required. Example usage: --to es,pt or --to es --to pt
key	(optional) If defined, only items with given keys will be translated. Example usage: -k key1 -k key2
ignore	(optional) If defined, items with given keys will be skipped from translation. Example usage: --ignore key1,key2
override	(optional) If true and if ARB file with defined target language already exist all items will be replaced with new translation. Otherwise, they will be not modified. By default it is set to false
interactive	(optional) You will be prompted before applying translation. By default it is set to false
translate-equal	(optional) If true and if ARB file with defined target language contains entry which is equal to source ARB file entry it will be translated. By default it is set to false
prefix	(optional) The file prefix to be used to find the file. By default it is set to app