How to Bulk-Translate a Locale

Bulk translation sends all missing (or all) keys in a locale to your AI provider sequentially. It's the fastest way to get a new locale from empty to complete.

Requirements#

Configure an AI provider in Settings → App → AI Providers first. See Set Up AI Translation in 5 Minutes.

Starting a bulk translation#

Click ✨ Translate… in the sidebar footer, next to + Key. The popover has two groups:

• Missing keys — one row per locale that still has gaps, with the count (fr · 2 missing). Translates only those keys and leaves existing values alone.
• Re-translate all — one row per non-base locale, with the total key count. Overwrites every existing value, and says so.

Pick a row to open the bulk translate dialog.

Tip: prefer the Command Palette's Translate all missing with AI when you want to fill gaps across every non-base locale in one pass — see How to Translate All Missing Cells at Once. The Translate… popover is the right tool for a single-locale focused pass.

The bulk translate dialog#

The dialog shows:

• The target locale and provider you're using
• The number of keys that will be translated
• A confirmation button to start

Click Translate to begin. A progress bar tracks the current key number.

Cancelling#

Click Cancel at any time. The current in-flight translation finishes (it can't be interrupted), then the run stops. All translations completed before you cancelled are saved.

Results summary#

When the run completes (or is cancelled), a summary shows:

• How many keys were translated successfully
• How many failed (with the key names listed)
• Option to close or retry failed keys individually

Failed keys typically happen due to transient API errors. Retry them individually with ✨ or start another bulk pass. StringLane retries each failed key up to two times before marking it as failed.

Tips for best results#

• Add product context first. Bulk runs use the same prompt as single-key translation. Better context = better results across all keys. See Configure Guarded Words and Product Context.
• Raise reasoning effort for hard targets. For Ukrainian, Polish or Czech, set Reasoning effort to Balanced or High in Settings → App → AI Providers before a bulk run — plural agreement is where cheap models fail most often across a whole locale at once.
• Use Missing keys on the first pass. Re-translate all is useful for refreshing translations after changing your product context or guarded words, but it will overwrite any manual corrections you have made.
• Check for Param and ICU badges after the run. Bulk translation sometimes produces placeholder mismatches on strings with variables. Fix these manually or re-translate individual keys.