Key Context and Metadata
Beyond its values, each key can carry metadata that improves translation quality and helps reviewers. Edit it in the Editor’s per-key detail panel.
| Field | What it’s for |
|---|---|
| Context | A note for humans and the AI explaining where/how the string is used. The single highest-leverage field for good machine translation. |
| Notes | Timestamped freeform notes — a running comment thread on the key. |
| Tags | Labels for grouping and filtering (e.g. auth, cta, email). Analytics reports coverage per tag. |
| Max length | A character budget. AI translations that exceed it are rejected, and the max-length check flags any value over the limit. |
| Screenshot | An image showing where the string appears. Sent to vision-capable models for context. See Screenshots. |
| Skip translate | Marks a key to be excluded from translation runs (e.g. a code-like token that should never change). |
Why context matters most
Translators — human or AI — can’t see your UI. A bare string like "Open" could be a verb (open a file) or an adjective (the store is open), and they translate differently. A one-line context removes the ambiguity:
Example: Key
store.status.open→ context: “Adjective. Shown on a badge when the shop is currently accepting orders.”
AI translation sends the context, the relevant Glossary terms, any max length, and the screenshot along with each string.
A note on description
The state file also reserves a description field on keys. It is not yet editable in the UI — prefer context (which feeds the AI) and notes (for human discussion) today.
Related
- Glossary · Screenshots · How Translation Works · Checks and Validation