i18n Validator Pre-Commit Hook

A pre-commit hook for validating i18next translation JSON files. This hook helps maintain translation quality by detecting common issues before they get committed.

What It Checks

This hook validates your i18next translation files for two critical issues:

1. Empty Translation Strings

Detects translation keys that have been created but not filled in (empty strings).

Example of what gets flagged:

{
  "welcome": "Welcome",
  "goodbye": "",  // ❌ Empty translation
  "thank_you": "Thank you"
}

2. Plural Suffixes in Values

Catches plural suffixes (_one, _other, _few, _many, _zero, _two) that appear at the end of translation values instead of in the keys. In i18next, plural forms should be separate keys with the suffix in the key name, not in the value.

Example of what gets flagged:

{
  "{{count}} items_one": "{{count}} item",
  "{{count}} items_other": "{{count}} items_other"  // ❌ Suffix at end of value
}

Correct format:

{
  "{{count}} items_one": "{{count}} item",
  "{{count}} items_other": "{{count}} items"  // ✅ No suffix in value
}

Note: The hook only flags suffixes that appear at the end of the translation value. Words like "one" or "other" in the middle of a sentence are not flagged.

Installation

Add this to your .pre-commit-config.yaml:

repos:
  - repo: https://github.com/stoneburnerj/i18n-pre-commit
    rev: v0.1.0  # Use the latest release version
    hooks:
      - id: validate-i18n
        types: [json]
        args: [--translation-dir, locales/]

Then install the pre-commit hooks:

pre-commit install

Configuration

Specifying Translation Directory

Use the --translation-dir argument to specify a directory containing your translation files. This ensures the hook only runs on relevant JSON files.

- id: validate-i18n
  types: [json]
  args: [--translation-dir, locales/]

All JSON files (not recommended):

- id: validate-i18n
  # No args - will check all JSON files

Manual Execution

Run the hook manually on all files:

pre-commit run validate-i18n --all-files

Run on specific files:

pre-commit run validate-i18n --files locales/en/common.json

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request (ensure all tests pass before submitting).

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.