gogs/docs/advancing/localization.mdx

---
title: "Localization"
description: "Configure interface languages and contribute translations to Gogs"
icon: "language"
---

Gogs has supported multiple languages since release `v0.5.0`. Users can change the interface language instantly with a single click from their settings page.

## Configuration

Available languages are configured in `custom/conf/app.ini` under the `[i18n]` section. All supported languages are enabled by default:

```ini
[i18n]
LANGS = en-US,zh-CN,zh-HK,de-DE,fr-FR,nl-NL,lv-LV,ru-RU,ja-JP,es-ES,pt-BR,pl-PL,bg-BG,it-IT
NAMES = English,简体中文,繁體中文,Deutsch,Français,Nederlands,Latviešu,Русский,日本語,Español,Português do Brasil,Polski,български,Italiano
```

| Option | Description |
|---|---|
| `LANGS` | A comma-separated list of locale codes to enable. Each entry corresponds to a locale file. |
| `NAMES` | A comma-separated list of display names for each language, in the same order as `LANGS`. |

<Tip>
  To restrict the available languages, simply remove entries from both `LANGS` and `NAMES`. Make sure the two lists remain in the same order and have the same number of entries.
</Tip>

## Contributing translations

Translations are managed through Crowdin. To contribute:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Sign up">
    Create an account on the [Gogs Crowdin project](https://crowdin.gogs.io/).
  </Step>
  <Step title="Translate">
    Browse the available strings and fill in untranslated entries for your language.
  </Step>
  <Step title="Review">
    Review existing translations and suggest improvements where needed.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Info>
  When translating, focus on conveying the meaning rather than producing a literal word-for-word translation. It is more important that the translation reads naturally in your language than that it matches the exact words of the English version.
</Info>

### Making corrections

If you find an incorrectly translated string, you can search for it efficiently on [Crowdin](https://crowdin.gogs.io/) by using its **key name** rather than the translated text.

For example:
- To fix the translation for "Home", search for the key `home` instead of searching for the word "Home".
- For keys under a section, search using the format `section:key_name`, such as `home:uname_holder`.

### Testing translations locally

If you want to test your translation without making changes to your Git history, place your locale file into:

```
custom/conf/locale/<file>
```

Then restart Gogs to load the updated translations.

## Custom locale files

If you are not satisfied with the official translation for your language, you can override individual fields by creating a custom locale file:

```
custom/conf/locale/locale_<lang>.ini
```

For example, to override specific English strings, create `custom/conf/locale/locale_en-US.ini` and add only the keys you want to change. Restart Gogs to apply the changes.

<Note>
  Custom locale files only need to contain the keys you want to override, not the entire locale file. Unspecified keys will fall back to the official translation.
</Note>