Contributing Translations

Help make Resonite modding accessible to everyone by contributing translations to this documentation. This guide explains how to add translations for new languages or improve existing ones.

Current Languages

The documentation currently supports:

• English (en) - Primary language
• Additional languages can be added through community contributions

English File Location

Currently, English documentation files are located in the root src/content/docs/ folder rather than in an en/ subfolder. This may change in the future to src/content/docs/en/ for consistency with other languages.

How Translations Work

This documentation uses Starlight’s built-in internationalization (i18n) system, which provides:

• Automatic language switching
• Fallback to English for untranslated pages
• Right-to-left (RTL) language support
• Localized UI elements

Contributing Translations

Getting Started

1. Fork the repository on GitHub

2. Check existing translations in src/content/docs/ to see which languages are already supported

3. Choose what to translate:

   • Full documentation pages
   • UI strings (buttons, navigation, etc.)
   • Or both!

Translating Documentation Pages

To translate documentation pages:

1. Create a language folder in src/content/docs/ if it doesn’t exist:

   • Directorysrc/

     • Directorycontent/

       • Directorydocs/

         • (English files currently in root)
         • Directoryfr/ (French - example)

           • …
         • Directoryes/ (Spanish - example)

           • …
         • Directoryja/ (Japanese - example)

           • …

2. Copy the English file you want to translate to your language folder, keeping the same file name:

   src/content/docs/getting-started/installation.mdx (current English location)
   → src/content/docs/fr/getting-started/installation.mdx

3. Translate the content while preserving:

   • File structure and names
   • Frontmatter fields (title, description)
   • Code blocks (keep code in English)
   • Component imports and usage

4. Test your translation locally by running:

   pnpm dev

Translating UI Strings

UI strings include navigation labels, buttons, and other interface elements.

1. Create a translation file in src/content/i18n/ for your language:

   • Directorysrc/

     • Directorycontent/

       • Directoryi18n/

         • fr.json (French)
         • es.json (Spanish)
         • ja.json (Japanese)

2. Add translations for UI strings. This project has custom UI strings for the disclaimer and footer. Here’s an example structure:

   src/content/i18n/fr.json

   {
     "disclaimer.title": "Bienvenue dans la documentation de modding Resonite!",
     "disclaimer.independence.prefix": "Ceci est un",
     "disclaimer.independence.type": "projet communautaire indépendant",
     "disclaimer.independence.suffix": "pour la communauté de modding Resonite. Nous ne sommes pas affiliés avec",
     "disclaimer.continue": "Continuer",
     "disclaimer.visitOfficial": "Visiter le site officiel de Resonite",
     "footer.independence": "Nous sommes un projet indépendant et ne sommes pas affiliés avec",
     "footer.resonite": "Resonite",
     "footer.or": "ou",
     "footer.yellowdog": "Yellow Dog Man Studios S.r.o.",
   
     // DocSearch strings
     "docsearch.searchBox.cancelButtonText": "Annuler",
     "docsearch.footer.selectText": "pour sélectionner",
     "docsearch.footer.navigateText": "pour naviguer",
     "docsearch.footer.closeText": "pour fermer"
   }

   Check the existing src/content/i18n/en.json file for the complete list of strings to translate.

3. Only translate the values, not the keys:

   • ✅ "search.label": "Rechercher"
   • ❌ "recherche.etiquette": "Rechercher"

Translation Guidelines

Best Practices

• Maintain technical accuracy - Don’t translate technical terms that are commonly used in English (API, mod, plugin, etc.)
• Keep code examples unchanged - Code should remain in English
• Preserve formatting - Maintain markdown formatting, links, and structure
• Use consistent terminology - Create a glossary for your language to ensure consistency
• Test your translations - Build the site locally to ensure everything displays correctly

What NOT to Translate

• File names and paths
• Code blocks and examples
• Configuration keys
• Package names (npm, BepInEx, etc.)
• URLs and links
• Technical identifiers (GUID, etc.)

Quality Standards

Before submitting translations:

1. Proofread for spelling and grammar
2. Verify technical accuracy
3. Check formatting is preserved
4. Test locally to ensure proper display
5. Review consistency across related pages

Submitting Your Translation

1. Commit your changes with a clear message:

   Add French translation for installation guide

2. Push to your fork on GitHub

3. Create a Pull Request with:

   • Language and pages translated
   • Any notes about terminology choices
   • Screenshots if helpful

4. Wait for review - Maintainers will review and provide feedback

Maintaining Translations

Keeping Translations Updated

When the English documentation changes:

1. Watch for updates to pages you’ve translated
2. Update translations to match new content
3. Mark outdated content if you can’t update immediately

Translation Status

You can check which pages need translation by:

• Looking for missing files in your language folder
• Checking for outdated translation notices on the site
• Reviewing recent commits to English pages

Getting Help

Translation Support

• Questions? Open a discussion on GitHub
• Need context? Ask in pull request comments
• Technical issues? Create an issue on GitHub

Resources

• Starlight i18n Documentation
• Markdown Guide
• MDX Documentation

Recognition

Contributors who provide significant translations will be:

• Listed in the project README
• Thanked in release notes

Thank you for helping make Resonite modding documentation accessible to more people around the world!