Glossary
The names that x18n uses in its code, docs and UI.
x18n uses one name for each idea, in code, docs and UI. The "Not" column lists names that x18n avoids for the same idea. Concepts explains the most important ones with examples.
| Term | Meaning | Not |
|---|---|---|
| Project | One i18n setup with one root, one config and one set of locales. A monorepo can have many. | workspace (that is the editor's word), app |
| Host | The object that gives a project file access, globbing, watching and caching. | adapter, driver, fs |
| Locale | A locale code exactly as written in paths and files (en, zh_CN). Never normalized. | language, lang (except in i18n-ally migration text) |
| Source locale | The locale that is the source of truth for checks and prompts. | base, default language |
| Display locale | The locale shown in annotations and hovers. Per user. | |
| Resource | A file, or a block inside a file, that holds messages for one locale and one namespace. | locale file (fine in prose for users), dictionary |
| Namespace | A named group of keys, usually from a file name. | scope (that is a code region) |
| Key | The canonical id of a message: namespace plus path. String form ns:a.b.c. | keypath, id |
| Message | The value of one key in one locale. | translation (fine for non-source locales in prose), string |
| Usage | One occurrence of a key in source code. | reference, occurrence |
| Prefix usage | A dynamic usage with a static prefix (t(pages.${id}.title)). It makes every key under the prefix "possibly" used. | partial key |
| Callee set | The names that count as translate calls in a file: declared names, same-file aliases, wrappers, typed params. | |
| Subtree rename | Renaming a parent node, which renames every key under it. | prefix rename (fine in UI labels) |
| Scope | A region of source code with a default namespace or key prefix. | |
| Hard string | Text in source code that should probably be a message. | |
| Plugin | An object that contributes capabilities through the plugin API. | framework, extension |
| Preset | A detected or listed group of plugins for one library. | framework |
| Capability | One kind of contribution: manifest reader, locale finder, format, scanner, extractor, check, reporter, placeholder syntax, history provider, review store. | |
| Format | Reads and writes one file format. | parser (only for the read half) |
| Locale finder | Finds resources. | loader |
| Scanner | Finds usages in source files. | detector |
| Extractor | Finds hard strings and builds replacements. | |
| Check | Produces diagnostics from project state. x18n check runs all checks. | rule (fine inside extraction scoring), lint |
| History provider | Reports when each message last changed, for stale translations. Git is the built-in one. | blame, freshness source |
| Stale translation | A target message that last changed before its source message did. | outdated key (fine in UI labels) |
| Reporter | Turns diagnostics and analysis into text output. | formatter |
| Diagnostic | One reported issue with a code, severity and optional fixes. | problem, error (unless severity is error) |
| Plan | The side-effect-free result of planning edits: file changes plus decisions. | patch, diff |
| Decision | A question in a plan that a surface must answer before apply. | prompt (that word is for LLM prompts) |
| In-place annotation | Editor decoration that hides a key and shows its display-locale value. | inline translation |
| Surface | A user-facing layer on the core: CLI, LSP, extension, UI, MCP. | client, frontend |
| Translate prompt | The text that describes translation work for an agent or LLM. | |
| Review thread | Comments and votes on one message. |