# How to Translate Individual Keys

> Use the per-cell AI translate button to translate a single key in any locale.

Source: https://stringlane.app/docs/translate-individual-keys
Last updated: 2026-08-19

Individual key translation lets you translate one cell at a time using your configured AI provider. It's the right tool when you want to re-translate a specific key, check a translation for a critical string, or translate just a few new keys without running a full bulk pass.

## Requirements

You need an AI provider configured in **Settings → App → AI Providers** before the ✨ button appears. See [Set Up AI Translation in 5 Minutes](/docs/set-up-ai-translation).

## How to translate a single key

1. Select a key, then hover any non-base locale in the detail pane — a row in List mode, a card in Grid mode.

2. A ✨ sparkle button appears on cells that are **Missing** (no translation) or **Same** (identical to base locale). These are the most actionable candidates.

3. Click ✨. The cell shows a loading indicator.

4. The translation appears and is saved immediately.

![Detail pane in List mode: one row per locale with a ✨ translate button on each non-base row, MISSING badges on German and Japanese, and character-width bars on the right](/docs-screenshots/detail-pane-list.webp)

## Keyboard shortcut

With a locale field focused, press **⌘⇧T** (`Ctrl+Shift+T`) to translate, or re-translate, only that field. If the Ukrainian value is focused, only Ukrainian is (re)translated; the key's other locales stay untouched. It's the single-field counterpart to **⌘T**, which translates the active key into every non-base locale at once. Unlike the ✨ button, ⌘⇧T works even on cells that already have a translation.

## One at a time

Only one cell can be translating at any given moment. While a translation is in progress, ✨ buttons on other cells are disabled. Wait for the current translation to complete (or fail) before starting another.

## Error handling

**"Go to Settings" prompt:** your API key is missing, expired, or invalid. Click the prompt to open Settings, or press **⌘,** and re-enter your key under **App → AI Providers**.

**Banner with error message:** a network or API error occurred. The error message appears in a dismissible banner. Try clicking ✨ again: transient errors usually resolve on retry.

**Empty result written:** the model returned a response that couldn't be parsed as a translation. This is rare. Try a different model or rephrase the string to avoid edge-case model behavior.

## Supported cells

The ✨ button only appears on:
- **Missing** cells (key not present in this locale)
- **Same** cells (translation matches the base locale: likely untranslated)

It does not appear on cells with existing translations: to re-translate those, focus the cell and press **⌘⇧T**, clear the cell first, or use the **Re-translate all** group in the sidebar footer's ✨ Translate… popover.