Guides

Keeping Translations Fresh

A translation is only correct relative to the source string it was made from. When you edit a source string, its translations may no longer match — Glotfile tracks this so nothing drifts silently.

How staleness is detected

Each translated value records the source string it was translated from (the source field on the value). When you change a source string, any translation whose recorded source no longer matches is flagged needs-review. See Review States.

Example: auth.signIn.button source "Sign in" → fr: "Se connecter" (reviewed, source "Sign in"). You change the source to "Log in". The French value is now marked needs-review — it was translated from text that no longer exists.

Finding stale translations

  • In the Editor, filter to needs-review.
  • Analytics counts needs-review per locale.

Fixing them

  1. Review the flagged value against the new source.
  2. Edit it directly and mark it reviewed, or
  3. Re-translate: a bare glotfile translate only fills empty values, so it won’t touch a needs-review value that still has text. To have the AI redo non-empty values, run glotfile translate --all (or clear the stale value first, then glotfile translate). Either way, a value still marked reviewed is protected — unmark it first to have the AI redo it.

Why not auto-overwrite?

Glotfile flags rather than silently re-translating because a source edit might be cosmetic (a typo fix that doesn’t change meaning) or substantive (a different action entirely). Only you know which — so it surfaces the change and lets you decide.

  • Review States · How Translation Works · Translation Workflow