Software and app localization

Software and app localization is translation that has to keep up with code. The text in an app lives as keys in resource files, such as JSON, YAML, XLIFF, Android XML or iOS strings files, and those keys change with every release. A localization platform for software pulls new and changed keys from the code base, gets them translated, and pushes the translations back, ideally without a developer copying files by hand.

The tools in this category share that loop but differ in where they fit. Lokalise, Crowdin, Transifex, Lingohub and Phrase's software product connect to GitHub, GitLab and other code hosts and open pull requests with finished translations. Localazy and SimpleLocalize lean on a command line tool that developers run in their build. Tolgee and Weblate are open source and can be self-hosted, which suits teams that want localization inside their own infrastructure. POEditor is a lighter online editor for string files. Gridly organizes content in a spreadsheet-like grid, which fits games and apps with a lot of dialogue and asset text.

Context is the biggest quality problem in software translation. A translator who sees the string "Open" alone cannot know whether it is a verb on a button or an adjective describing a ticket. Good platforms attach screenshots, descriptions and character limits to keys, and some offer in-context editing, where translators change text inside a running copy of the app. Machine translation and AI suggestions have the same blind spot, so context helps both people and models.

Check how the platform handles placeholders, plurals and gender. Strings like "{count} files selected" need different forms in many languages, and a translation that breaks a placeholder can crash a screen. Look for QA checks that catch broken variables, missing plural forms and text that is too long for its space.