I18n

Deep internationalization workflow—string extraction, ICU messages, formats, pseudolocale testing, and developer workflow. Use when preparing software for tr...

Security Scan

This is an instruction-only i18n workflow guide (no code, no installs, no credentials) and its requirements and instructions are consistent with its stated purpose.

Purpose & Capability

Name and description match the content: a deep internationalization engineering workflow. The skill requests no binaries, env vars, or config paths—appropriate for a documentation/guide skill.

Instruction Scope

SKILL.md contains purely prescriptive guidance (stages, checklist, tips) and does not instruct the agent to read files, access environment variables, call external endpoints, or run commands. No scope creep detected.

Install Mechanism

No install spec or code files are present; this is instruction-only so nothing is written to disk and no third-party packages are fetched.

Credentials

The skill declares no required environment variables or credentials and the instructions do not reference any secrets—requested access is minimal and proportionate.

Persistence & Privilege

always is false and the skill does not request persistent/system-level privileges or modify other skills or system configuration.

Assessment

This skill is a documentation-only i18n workflow—safe to read and use as guidance. Before installing/using in an automated agent: confirm you understand it contains no executable automation (if you expected tools, you'll need a different skill), verify the skill source/owner if you want provenance, and if you plan to integrate it with your CI/TMS, ensure any automation code you add follows your org's security rules (credentials, network access, and build agents should be scoped appropriately).

Internationalization (i18n) (Deep Workflow)

i18n is engineering readiness for multiple languages: extractable strings, ICU messages, locale-aware formatting, and tests—before full localization (translator workflow).

When to Offer This Workflow

Trigger conditions:

• Planning first non-English locales
• Hard-coded UI strings across the codebase
• Incorrect date/number formatting outside default locale

Initial offer:

Use six stages: (1) inventory & scope, (2) extraction pipeline, (3) ICU & placeholders, (4) formatting APIs, (5) layout & overflow, (6) QA hooks). Confirm framework (i18next, FormatJS, rails-i18n, etc.).

---

Stage 1: Inventory & Scope

Goal: Which surfaces ship first; pilot locales; avoid translating everything on day one.

---

Stage 2: Extraction Pipeline

Goal: Stable message keys; CI lint to block new user-visible literals where policy requires; namespaces per feature.

---

Stage 3: ICU & Placeholders

Goal: Plural and select rules; named variables; no string concatenation across translated fragments.

---

Stage 4: Formatting APIs

Goal: Intl (or platform equivalent) for dates, numbers, currency; explicit timezone policy (UTC vs user local).

---

Stage 5: Layout & Overflow

Goal: Flexible layouts for longer translations; pseudolocale in CI to catch truncation (e.g., xx-ACME).

---

Stage 6: QA Hooks

Goal: Easy locale switching in staging; optional screenshot/visual tests for critical screens.

---

Final Review Checklist

• Scope and pilot locales defined
• Extraction and linting in place
• ICU for plurals; no unsafe concatenation
• Intl formatting for numbers/dates
• Pseudolocale or stress language in QA

Tips for Effective Guidance

• Pair with localization skill for translator workflow and TMS integration.

Handling Deviations

• Games or marketing-heavy UIs: context comments for translators are critical.