Autoglot GitHub Action

Automatically translate your Xcode String Catalogs (.xcstrings) and web localization files (JSON, YAML) and create a PR with the results.

How It Works

YOUR REPO                                    AUTOGLOT
─────────────────────────────────────────    ────────────────────────────────────

1. Push translation file changes
        │
        ▼
2. GitHub Action runs ─────────────────────▶ 3. Receives files & queues translation
   (this workflow)                                      │
        │                                               ▼
        ▼                                    4. Translates your strings
3. Action exits                                 (typically minutes)
   (no CI cost)                                         │
                                                        ▼
                                             5. Creates PR or commits to branch
                                                (using GitHub App or PAT)
                                                        │
                                                        ▼
                                             6. You review & merge

Key points:

• This workflow triggers the translation (you need to add it to your repo)
• The GitHub App creates the PR (install it, or provide a PAT)
• Translation happens asynchronously on our servers (no CI minutes wasted)

Setup

Step 1: Get an API Key

1. Sign up at autoglot.app
2. Go to Dashboard → API Keys
3. Create a key and add it to your repo secrets as AUTOGLOT_API_KEY

Step 2: Enable PR Creation

Option A: Install GitHub App (Recommended)

1. Go to Dashboard → GitHub
2. Click "Install GitHub App"
3. Select your repository
4. Done! No tokens to manage.

Option B: Use a Personal Access Token

1. Create a Fine-Grained PAT with:
   • Repository access: your repo
   • Permissions: Contents: write, Pull requests: write
2. Add it to your repo secrets as AUTOGLOT_PAT
3. Add github-token: ${{ secrets.AUTOGLOT_PAT }} to your workflow

Step 3: Add the Workflow

Create .github/workflows/translate.yml in your repo:

name: Translate

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
    paths:
      - '**/*.xcstrings'
  workflow_dispatch:  # Allows manual trigger

jobs:
  translate:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - uses: autoglot/action@v2
        with:
          api-key: ${{ secrets.AUTOGLOT_API_KEY }}
          languages: "de,fr,ja,es,zh-Hans"
          # github-token: ${{ secrets.AUTOGLOT_PAT }}  # Only if not using GitHub App

That's it! Push a change to any .xcstrings file and a PR will appear within minutes.

Inputs

Input	Required	Default	Description
api-key	Yes	-	Your Autoglot API key
languages	Yes	-	Comma-separated target languages (e.g., de,fr,ja)
github-token	No	-	PAT for PR creation. Not needed if GitHub App is installed
paths	No	""	Paths to search for translation files. Finds all .xcstrings if empty
output-mode	No	create-pr	create-pr creates a new PR, commit-to-branch commits to existing PR branch
head-branch	No	PR branch	Branch to commit to (auto-detected in PR context)
branch-name	No	autoglot/translations	Branch name for new PRs
base-branch	No	main	Base branch for the PR
commit-message	No	chore(i18n): update translations	Commit message
pull-request-title	No	chore(i18n): update translations	PR title

Outputs

Output	Description
job-id	Job ID for tracking progress

Supported File Formats

Format	Extension	Notes
Xcode String Catalog	.xcstrings	Native iOS/macOS localization
JSON	.json	Web apps (i18next, etc.)
YAML	.yml, .yaml	Rails i18n, etc.
PO/POT	.po, .pot	GNU gettext

For web formats, autoglot automatically finds source language files (en.json, en.yml) and generates translations for each target language.

Supported Languages

Code	Language	Code	Language
de	German	ja	Japanese
fr	French	ko	Korean
es	Spanish	zh-Hans	Simplified Chinese
it	Italian	zh-Hant	Traditional Chinese
pt	Portuguese	ar	Arabic
pt-BR	Brazilian Portuguese	he	Hebrew
nl	Dutch	hi	Hindi
pl	Polish	th	Thai
ru	Russian	vi	Vietnamese
uk	Ukrainian	id	Indonesian
tr	Turkish	ms	Malay
sv	Swedish	cs	Czech
da	Danish	hu	Hungarian
fi	Finnish	ro	Romanian
nb	Norwegian	sk	Slovak
el	Greek	bg	Bulgarian

Examples

iOS: Translate on Push to Main

name: Translate

on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
    paths:
      - '**/*.xcstrings'

jobs:
  translate:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: autoglot/action@v2
        with:
          api-key: ${{ secrets.AUTOGLOT_API_KEY }}
          languages: "de,fr,ja"

Web: Translate JSON on PR

Translate web localization files and commit directly to the PR branch:

name: Translate Web

on:
  pull_request:
    paths:
      - "src/locales/**"

jobs:
  translate:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: autoglot/action@v2
        with:
          api-key: ${{ secrets.AUTOGLOT_API_KEY }}
          paths: "src/locales"
          languages: "de,fr,es,ja"
          output-mode: commit-to-branch
          commit-message: "chore(i18n): update translations"

Weekly Translation Sync

name: Weekly Translation Sync

on:
  schedule:
    - cron: '0 9 * * 1'  # Every Monday at 9 AM UTC
  workflow_dispatch:

jobs:
  translate:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: autoglot/action@v2
        with:
          api-key: ${{ secrets.AUTOGLOT_API_KEY }}
          languages: "de,fr,es,ja,ko,zh-Hans"

Custom Branch and PR Settings

- uses: autoglot/action@v2
  with:
    api-key: ${{ secrets.AUTOGLOT_API_KEY }}
    languages: "de,fr,ja"
    branch-name: "i18n/translations"
    base-branch: "develop"
    commit-message: "feat(i18n): add translations"
    pull-request-title: "Add German, French, and Japanese translations"

FAQ

How long does translation take?

Typically minutes. The action submits the job and exits immediately - no CI minutes wasted waiting.

Will it overwrite my existing translations?

No. Autoglot only translates strings that don't have translations yet. Existing translations are preserved.

Why can't I use GITHUB_TOKEN?

The default GITHUB_TOKEN only works within the GitHub Actions runner. Since Autoglot creates PRs asynchronously from our servers (after the action completes), we need either:

• The Autoglot GitHub App (recommended)
• A Personal Access Token

What if the job fails?

Check the job status at autoglot.app/dashboard/activity. Failed jobs include error messages.

Can I trigger translation manually?

Yes! Add workflow_dispatch to your workflow triggers, then use the "Run workflow" button in GitHub Actions.

Links

• Autoglot Dashboard
• Get API Key
• Install GitHub App
• Report Issues