@mmstack/translate

Type-Safe & modular localization for Modern Angular.

@mmstack/translate is an opinionated internationalization (i18n) library for Angular applications built with three core priorities:

1. Maximum Type Safety: Catch errors related to missing keys or incorrect/missing parameters at compile time.
2. Simplified Build Process: Lazily load translations at runtime, requiring only a single application build regardless of the number of supported locales.
3. Scalable Modularity: Organize translations into namespaces (typically aligned with feature libraries) and load them on demand.

It uses the robust FormatJS Intl runtime (@formatjs/intl) for ICU message formatting, and integrates with Angular's dependency injection and routing.

Features

• ✅ End-to-End Type Safety: Compile-time checks for:
  • Translation key existence (within a namespace).
  • Correct parameter names and types.
  • Required vs. optional parameters based on ICU message.
  • Structural consistency check when defining non-default locales.
• 🚀 Single Build Artifact: Runtime translation loading.
• 📦 Namespacing: Organize translations by feature/library (e.g., 'quotes', 'userProfile', 'common').
• ⏳ Lazy Loading: Load namespaced translations on demand using Route Resolvers.
• ✨ Reactive API: Includes t.asSignal() for creating computed translation signals based on signal parameters.
• 🌍 ICU Message Syntax: Uses FormatJS runtime for robust support of variables ({name}), plural, select, and selectordinal. (Note: Complex inline date/number formats are not the focus; use Angular's built in Pipes/format functions & use the result as variables in your translation.)
• 🔗 Shared Namespace Support: Define common translations (e.g., 'Save', 'Cancel') in one namespace and make them type-safely accessible from others.
• 🛠️ Template Helpers: Includes abstract BaseTranslatePipe and BaseTranslateDirective for easy, type-safe templating.

Comparison

While Angular offers excellent i18n solutions like @angular/localize and transloco, @mmstack/translate aims to fill a specific niche.

Feature	@mmstack/translate	@angular/localize	transloco	ngx-translate
Build Process	✅ Single Build	❌ Multi-Build (Typical)	✅ Single Build	✅ Single Build
Translation Timing	Runtime	Compile Time	Runtime	Runtime
Type Safety (Keys)	✅ Strong (Inferred from structure)	🟡 via extraction	🟡 Tooling/TS Files	🟡 OK Manual/Tooling
Type Safety (Params)	✅ Strong (Inferred from ICU)	❌ None	🟡 Manual	🟡 Manual
Locale Switching	🔄 Page Refresh Required	🔄 Page Refresh Required	✅ Dynamic (Runtime)	✅ Dynamic (Runtime)
Lazy Loading	✅ Built-in (Namespaces/Resolvers)	N/A (Compile Time)	✅ Built-in (Scopes)	✅ Yes (Custom Loaders)
Namespacing/Scopes	✅ Built-in	❌ None	✅ Built-in (Scopes)	🟡 Manual (File Structure)
ICU Support	✅ Subset (via FormatJS Runtime)	✅ Yes (Compile Time)	✅ Yes (Runtime Intl/Plugins)	🟡 Via Extensions
Signal Integration	✅ Good (t.asSignal())	N/A	✅ Good (translateSignal())	❌ Minimal/None
Maturity / Community	✨ New	Core Angular	✅ Mature / Active	✅ Mature

Installation & Configuration

Install the library & its peer dependency, @formatjs/intl.

npm install @mmstack/translate @formatjs/intl

If you'd like to setup @formatjs with custom properties & setup a different default locale then 'en-US' you can define these options at the root of your application.

import { provideIntlConfig } from '@mmstack/translate';

const appConfig: Providers = [
  provideIntlConfig({
    defaultLocale: 'fr-FR', // defaults to 'en-US' if nothing is provided
  }),
];

import { Component, LOCALE_ID } from '@angular/core';
import { ActivatedRoute } from '@angular/router';

const KNOWN_LOCALES = ['en-US', 'sl-SI'];

@Component({
  selector: 'app-locale-shell',
  providers: [
    {
      provide: LOCALE_ID,
      useFactory: (route: ActivatedRoute) => {
        const locale = route.snapshot.paramMap.get('locale') || 'en-US';
        if (KNOWN_LOCALES.includes(locale)) return locale;
        return 'en-US';
      },
      deps: [ActivatedRoute],
    },
  ],
  template: `<ng-content />`,
})
export class LocaleShellComponent {}

Note: @mmstack/translate relies on Angular's LOCALE_ID provider. You must provide a value for it. How you determine this value (e.g., hardcoded, from server config, from URL segment via a factory provider) is up to your application's architecture. The library assumes this LOCALE_ID is static for the duration of the application session and requires a page refresh to change.

Usage

The core workflow involves defining namespaces, registering them (often via lazy loading), and then using the injected translation function (t), pipe, or directive.

1. Define Namespace & Translations

Define your default locale translations (e.g., 'en-US') as a const TypeScript object. Use createNamespace to process it and generate helpers.

// Example: packages/quote/src/lib/quote.namespace.ts
import { createNamespace } from '@mmstack/translate';

// Create the namespace definition object
const ns = createNamespace('quote', {
  pageTitle: 'Famous Quotes',
  greeting: 'Hello {name}!',
  detail: {
    authorLabel: 'Author',
  },
  errors: {
    minLength: 'Quote must be at least {min} characters long.',
  },
  stats: '{count, plural, one {# quote} other {# quotes}} available',
} as const); // Note the as const, without it variable inference won't work correctly

export default ns.translation;

export type QuoteLocale = (typeof ns)['translation'];

export const createQuoteTranslation = ns.createTranslation;

// Note the translations should be in separate files, if you are using import() to lazy load them.
// packages/quote/src/lib/quote-sl.translation.ts

import { createQuoteTranslation } from './quote.namespace';

// shape is typesafe (errors if you have missing or additional keys)
export default createQuoteTranslation({
  pageTitle: 'Znani Citati',
  greeting: 'Zdravo {name}!',
  detail: {
    authorLabel: 'Avtor',
  },
  errors: {
    minLength: 'Citat mora imeti vsaj {min} znakov.', // If original has variables, the translation must contain a subset of used variables (min 1)
  },
  stats: '{count, plural, =1 {# citat} =2 {# citata} few {# citati} other {# citatov}} na voljo', // also guarenteed for "complex" variables, so {count} must be used in this translation
});

2. Register the namespace & load

Use registerNamespace to prepare your namespace definition and obtain the injectNamespaceT function and the resolveNamespaceTranslation resolver function. Use the resolver in your Angular routes.

import q from './quote.namespace';

// Register the namespace
// Example: packages/quote/src/lib/quote.t.ts
const r = registerNamespace(
  q, // Default locale's compiled translation (functions as fallback if no locale of type provided)
  {
    // Map other locales to promise factories (dynamic imports)
    'sl-SI': () => import('./quote-sl.translation.ts').then((m) => m.default),
  },
);

export const injectQuoteT = r.injectNamespaceT;
export const resolveQuoteTranslations = r.resolveNamespaceTranslation;

// in the main quote route add the provided resolver

import { type Routes } from '@angular/router';
import { resolveQuoteTranslations } from './quote.t';

export const MODULE_ROUTES: Routes = [
  // ...
  {
    // ...
    resolve: {
      resolveQuoteTranslations,
    },
  },
];

2b. [OPTIONAL] Configure the translation pipe and/or directive

import { Pipe, Directive } from '@angular/core';
import { BaseTranslatePipe, BaseTranslateDirective } from '@mmstack/translate';
import { type QuoteLocale } from './quote.namespace';

@Pipe({
  name: 'translate',
})
export class QuoteTranslatePipe extends BaseTranslatePipe<QuoteLocale> {}

@Directive({
  selector: '[translate]', // input in BaseTranslateDirective is named 'translate'
})
// TInput is necessary to correctly infer the variables to the key
export class QuoteTranslateDirective<TInput extends string> extends BaseTranslateDirective<TInput, QuoteLocale> {}

3. Have fun :)

@Component({
  selector: 'app-quote',
  imports: [QuoteTranslatePipe, QuoteTranslateDirective],
  template: `
    <!-- Pipe validates key & variables match -->
    <h1>{{ 'quote.pageTitle' | translate }}</h1>
    <!-- Non pluralized params must be string -->
    <span>{{ 'quote.errors.minLength' | translate: { min: '5' } }}</span>

    <!-- Directive replaces innerHTML of el -->
    <h1 translate="quote.pageTitle"></h1>
    <span [translate]="['quote.errors.minLength', { min: '5' }]"></span>
  `,
})
export class QuoteComponent {
  protected readonly count = signal(0);
  private readonly t = injectQuoteT();

  private readonly author = this.t('quote.detail.authorLabel'); // static translation

  private readonly stats = this.t.asSignal('quote.stats', () => ({
    count: this.count(), // must be object with count parameter & type number
  }));
}

4. [OPTIONAL] - Creating a shared/common namespace

Note: A shared namespace allows you to use it within other t functions. You are however responsible for loading it before those t functions initialize, usually for a shared namespace that would be at the top route.

4a. Define a shared namespace

Same as quote example, but this time also export the createMergedNamespace function. This will be your new factory for other namespaces.

// Example: packages/common-locales/src/lib/common.namespace.ts
import { createNamespace } from '@mmstack/translate';

const ns = createNamespace('common', {
  yes: 'Yes',
  no: 'No',
} as const);

// ... rest

export const createAppNamespace = ns.createMergedNamespace;

4b. Use the common namespace factory instead of the library one

// Example: packages/quote/src/lib/quote.namespace.ts
import { createAppNamespace } from '@org/common/locale'; // replace with your library import path

// Create the namespace definition object
const ns = createAppNamespace('quote', {
  pageTitle: 'Famous Quotes',
} as const);

// registration & other stuff remains the same

4c. Have even more fun!

@Component({
  //...
})
export class QuoteComponent {
  private readonly t = injectQuoteT();

  // t function is now 'aware' of the common namespace & its translations
  private readonly yes = this.t('common.yes');

  // quote translations also work the same
  private readonly author = this.t('quote.detail.authorLabel');
}

Contributing

Contributions, issues, and feature requests are welcome!