Translation guide

ashim ships with English by default. The i18n system is designed so adding a new language is straightforward.

How translations work

All UI strings live in packages/shared/src/i18n/. The reference file is en.ts, which exports a typed object with every string the app uses. Other languages are separate files (e.g., de.ts, fr.ts) that export the same shape.

The TranslationKeys type is derived from the English file, so TypeScript will catch any missing keys in any translation file.

Requesting a translation

To request a new language or report a mistranslation, open a GitHub Issue with:

• The language name and locale code (e.g., German / de)
• Any specific strings or sections you want translated
• If you have a translation ready, paste the translated strings directly in the issue

We do not accept pull requests. Submitting translations via issues is the right path.

How to create a translation (for your own fork)

If you are running a fork and want to add a language yourself:

1. Copy the reference file

cp packages/shared/src/i18n/en.ts packages/shared/src/i18n/de.ts

2. Translate the strings

Open your new file and translate every string value. Keep the object structure and keys exactly the same - only change the values.

// packages/shared/src/i18n/de.ts
export const de = {
  common: {
    upload: "Vom Computer hochladen",
    process: "Verarbeiten",
    download: "Herunterladen",
    cancel: "Abbrechen",
    // ... translate all entries
  },
  tools: {
    resize: {
      name: "Grosse andern",
      description: "Grosse nach Pixeln, Prozent oder Social-Media-Vorgaben andern",
    },
    // ... translate all tool entries
  },
  // ... translate all sections: settings, auth, pipeline, nav
} as const;

Things to keep in mind:

• Do not translate object keys, only values.
• Keep the as const assertion at the end.
• If a string is the same in your language (technical terms, proper nouns), leave the English value.

3. Export the new language

Edit packages/shared/src/i18n/index.ts to include your language:

export type { TranslationKeys } from "./en.js";
export { en } from "./en.js";
export { de } from "./de.js";

4. Verify

pnpm typecheck    # catches missing or mistyped keys
pnpm dev          # manually verify strings appear correctly

Adding new translation keys

When adding a new feature that needs new UI strings:

1. Add the new keys to packages/shared/src/i18n/en.ts first. This is the reference file.
2. Run pnpm typecheck to make sure all language files still satisfy the TranslationKeys type.

File reference

File	Purpose
packages/shared/src/i18n/en.ts	English strings (reference locale)
packages/shared/src/i18n/index.ts	Exports all locales and the TranslationKeys type
packages/shared/src/constants.ts	Tool registry (names/descriptions also live here)