Help translate WhatCable into your language

[darrylmorley]

Want to help translate WhatCable? Fork the repo, copy the English .strings files into a new <lang>.lproj/ folder, translate the values, and open a PR. Partial translations are welcome. See the full steps below.

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WhatCable supports localisation via standard Apple .strings and .stringsdict files. All user-facing strings are ready for translation.

What needs translating

Two directories of .strings files, one per module:

• Sources/WhatCableCore/Resources/<lang>.lproj/Localizable.strings - cable diagnostics, port summaries, charging labels, trust signals (~280 keys)
• Sources/WhatCable/Resources/<lang>.lproj/Localizable.strings - menu bar app UI, settings, notifications (~75 keys)

Some strings have plural variants. These live in a separate .stringsdict file alongside Localizable.strings. See the English version at Sources/WhatCable/Resources/en.lproj/Localizable.stringsdict for the format.

The CLI stays English-only.

How to contribute a translation

1. Fork the repo and create a branch (e.g. locale/fr, locale/de).
2. Create a new folder for your language under each Resources/ directory, e.g. fr.lproj/.
3. Copy the English Localizable.strings into your new folder and translate the right-hand side of each line. The format is:

"Nothing connected" = "Rien de connecte";

The left side (the key) stays in English. Only change the value on the right.

4. For plural strings, copy the English Localizable.stringsdict into your folder and add the appropriate CLDR plural categories for your language. English uses one/other, but your language may need zero, two, few, many, or other.
5. Open a PR. Partial translations are welcome. You don't need to cover every key in one go.

Tips

• Technical labels like "USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps)" and "Thunderbolt / USB4" generally stay untranslated. They appear as interpolated values, not as keys.
• Strings with %@, %lld, %1$@ etc. are placeholders. Keep them in the same order.
• Keep wording conversational and plain. Short sentences, no jargon.
• If you're not sure how to phrase something, open a draft PR and ask.

Languages wanted

Any and all. If you're a native speaker and use a Mac, your contribution is welcome. Comment below to claim a language so work doesn't overlap.

Language	Code	Status	Contributor
English	en	Done (source)	-
Simplified Chinese	zh-Hans	Done	@JimmFly
Italian	it	Done	@bovirus
Armenian	hy	Done	@Vardan933
Polish	pl	Done	@nicram

Thanks for helping make WhatCable more accessible.

[newnight]

I'm really glad to see such a helpful open-source project.

Maybe you could first generate multilingual translation drafts using AI, and then have native speakers proofread them for accuracy.

[Andrewzhang00GH]

I might be able to help with simplified-Chinese. But it is my first time doing so, I'm super sure what to do

[darrylmorley]

Thanks for offering to help! Here's what's involved.

WhatCable already has its English strings extracted into two .xcstrings files (Apple's JSON-based translation format). To contribute simplified Chinese, you'd translate the English values in those files and submit a pull request.

Step by step:

1. Fork the repo and clone your fork locally.
2. Open these two files in a text editor (they're JSON):
   • Sources/WhatCable/Resources/Localizable.xcstrings (74 strings, menu items and settings UI)
   • Sources/WhatCableCore/Resources/Localizable.xcstrings (112 strings, cable/charger descriptions)
3. In each file, find the "strings" object. Each key is an English string. To add simplified Chinese, add a "zh-Hans" entry under "localizations" for each key. The structure looks like:

   "Refresh": {
     "localizations": {
       "zh-Hans": {
         "stringUnit": {
           "state": "translated",
           "value": "刷新"
         }
       }
     }
   }

4. Some strings have placeholders like %@ or %lld. Keep those in the same order in your translation.
5. You don't need to translate every single string in one go. A partial PR is fine, we can iterate.
6. Open a pull request against main when you're ready.

If you'd rather not wrestle with the JSON format, you can also just paste translations in a simpler format here on the issue (English on one line, Chinese on the next) and I'll wire them into the files myself.

If you have Xcode installed, you can also open the .xcstrings files directly in Xcode's string catalog editor, which gives you a nice table UI. But a text editor works just as well.

Let me know if you have questions!

[darrylmorley]

Update: simplified Chinese translations have landed on main (commit e098a3f), contributed by @JimmFly. The app now shows Chinese UI when the system locale is set to zh-Hans.

If anyone wants to contribute another language, the process is straightforward: add translations to the two .xcstrings files in the repo:

• Sources/WhatCable/Resources/Localizable.xcstrings (74 strings, menu/settings UI)
• Sources/WhatCableCore/Resources/Localizable.xcstrings (112 strings, cable/charger descriptions)

Each string needs a localization entry like:

"Refresh": {
  "localizations": {
    "your-locale": {
      "stringUnit": {
        "state": "translated",
        "value": "Your translation here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or just paste your translations in a simple two-column format (English / your language) on this issue and I'll wire them in.

[jamesgmorgan]

@darrylmorley - great utility, I'm just about to add a report! Just a thought: maybe use Transifex for localization (abstract the l10n from the code to make it easy for any translator)? It's free for open source projects and used by Bitcoin, Disqus, MATE Desktop and others: https://explore.transifex.com/

[Vardan933]

Hi, I'd like to contribute the Armenian (hy) translation

[bovirus]

@darrylmorley

Add base instructions in a specifc section in README.md in home page.
Useful for all users that want to start a new translation.

Could be an diea to have separate language file for each languages.

Localizable.en.xcstrings (English)
Localizable.zh-hans.en.xcstrings (Chinese)
Localizable.fr.xcstrings (French)

It help to avoid errors during translation,

[darrylmorley]

WhatCable v0.11.1 ships German, Spanish, French, Hindi, Japanese and Norwegian Bokmål, alongside the existing English, Italian, Polish, Armenian and Simplified Chinese. Pick one under Settings > Language.

The app now has solid language coverage. More languages and corrections are still very welcome: open a fresh PR with a new <lang>.lproj/ and we'll pull it in.

Release: https://github.com/darrylmorley/whatcable/releases/tag/v0.11.1

[shpokas]

Hi,
Latvian (lv) localization created.
#184

[dohun0310]

Hello, I’ve submitted a PR to add the Korean translation. #247

I would appreciate it if you could review it when you have a chance. Thank you!

[MVittiS]

I'd like to work on the Portuguese (Brazil) translation. Locale code is pt-BR.