r/androiddev • u/StevdzaSan • 1d ago

Strings.xml Localization (Free Plugin)

I've built a Free plugin for Android Studio, that helps you localize and maintain large number of localized strings.xml files with ease. I'm using Google Translate API + Gemini. Use your own API keys. Work directly from Android Studio. Save a ton of time.

Website: https://localyze.app
Jetbrains marketplace: https://plugins.jetbrains.com/plugin/30802-localyze

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u/shlusiak 4h ago

I just tell Claude "yo, translate all my new strings to all other languages", let it rip, then go to the beach to think about what I'm doing with my life.

Why a plugin?

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u/StevdzaSan 3h ago

Good question.

Because translating strings isn't the hard part. Getting them back into your project safely is.

  • A wrong character breaks the app. Strings often carry codes like %s or %1$s, a slot where a name or number drops in at runtime. Translation tools often turn %1$s into %s, and the app crashes the moment that screen opens.
  • You want to see only the changes. When a model rewrites your file, it also moves things around, drops comments, changes spacing. Your review turns into checking 500 lines instead of 50. Localyze changes the words and nothing else.
  • Some strings must not move. A URL, a font name, a key that isn't text at all, usually marked "don't translate". Play Console's free translation has translated those anyway. Localyze reads the marker and leaves them alone.
  • Words need context. "Live" on a streaming badge means "Uživo" in Croatian. Without a hint, machine translation gives you "Živjeti", "to live", the verb. You tell Localyze what the word means once, and it gets it right.
  • You need the same result twice. Ask a chat model again and you get a different file. Localyze gives identical output for identical input, so you can trust what you commit.
  • It's fewer steps. Pick your languages inside Android Studio, press translate, review, commit. No copying strings into a chat, no pasting files back, no hoping nothing got lost.
  • Your code stays yours. Only the visible text is sent to Google or Gemini, over an encrypted connection. Your project files never leave your computer.
  • You pay Google, not us. Bring your own key. No credits, no subscription.

It's especially useful when having a large number of localized strings.xml files, and needs a long term maintenance. I've found that AI can mess things up easily, when you have a large number of large localized strings.xml files.

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u/borninbronx 2h ago

please don't use AI to answer messages... use your own voice