Getting started
react-i18next can be added to your project using npm:
# npm
$ npm install react-i18next i18next --save
In the
/dist folder you find specific builds for commonjs, es6 modules,...The module is optimized to load by webpack, rollup, ... The correct entry points are already configured in the package.json. There should be no extra setup needed to get the best build option.
You can also add a script tag to load react-i18next from one of the CDNs providing it, eg.:
unpkg.com
You should read the i18next documentation at some point as we do not repeat all the configuration options and translation functionalities like plurals, formatting, interpolation, ... here.
You have two options to translate your content:
Simple content can easily be translated using the provided
t function.Before:
<div>Just simple content</div>
After:
<div>{t('simpleContent')}</div>
Sometimes you might want to include html formatting or components like links into your translations. (Always try to get the best result for your translators - the final string to translate should be a complete sentence).
Before: Your react code would have looked something like:
<div>
Hello <strong title="this is your name">{name}</strong>, you have {count} unread message(s). <Link to="/msgs">Go to messages</Link>.
</div>
After: With the trans component just change it to:
<Trans i18nKey="userMessagesUnread" count={count}>
Hello <strong title={t('nameTitle')}>{{name}}</strong>, you have {{count}} unread message. <Link to="/msgs">Go to messages</Link>.
</Trans>
This basic sample tries to add i18n in a one file sample.
import React from "react";
import { createRoot } from 'react-dom/client';
import i18n from "i18next";
import { useTranslation, initReactI18next } from "react-i18next";
i18n
.use(initReactI18next) // passes i18n down to react-i18next
.init({
// the translations
// (tip move them in a JSON file and import them,
// or even better, manage them via a UI: https://react.i18next.com/guides/multiple-translation-files#manage-your-translations-with-a-management-gui)
resources: {
en: {
translation: {
"Welcome to React": "Welcome to React and react-i18next"
}
}
},
lng: "en", // if you're using a language detector, do not define the lng option
fallbackLng: "en",
interpolation: {
escapeValue: false // react already safes from xss => https://www.i18next.com/translation-function/interpolation#unescape
}
});
function App() {
const { t } = useTranslation();
return <h2>{t('Welcome to React')}</h2>;
}
// append app to dom
const root = createRoot(document.getElementById('root'));
root.render(
<App />
);
Preview of content
This sample while very simple does come with some drawbacks to getting the full potential from using react-i18next you should read the extended step by step guide.
Last modified 6mo ago