---
layout: page
title: "Backend Localization"
description: "Translating platforms in Home Assistant"
date: 2018-03-01 18:00
sidebar: true
comments: false
sharing: true
footer: true
ha_release: 0.64
---

## {% linkable_title Translation Strings %}
Platform translation strings are stored as JSON in the [home-assistant](https://github.com/home-assistant/home-assistant) repository. These files must be located adjacent to the component/platform they belong to. Components must have their own directory, and the file is simply named `strings.json` in that directory. For platforms, they are named `strings.<platform name>.json` in the platform directory. This file will contain the different strings that will be translatable.

In order to test changes to translation files, the translation strings must be compiled into Home Assistant’s translation directories by running the following script:

```bash
$ script/translations_develop
```

After the pull request with the strings file is merged into the `dev` branch, the strings will be automatically uploaded to Lokalise, where contributors can submit translations. The translated strings in Lokalise will be periodically pulled in to the home-assistant repository.

## {% linkable_title States Localization %}
The first step when localizing platform states is to ensure that the states defined in the actual platform code are defined in `snake_case`. The states should not contain capital letters or spaces. Next, the strings file needs to be created. The states should exist under the `state` key, and map the backend state keys to their English translations. [The season sensor localization](https://github.com/home-assistant/home-assistant/pull/12453/commits/bb2f328ce10c3867990e34a88da64e2f8dc7a5c4) is a good example.

## {% linkable_title Configuration Flow Localization %}
The translation strings for the configuration flow handler are defined under the `config` key. An example strings file below describes the different supported keys:

```json
{
  "config": {
    "title": "This title is shown in the integrations list",
    "step": {
      "init": {
        "title": "The user visible title of the `init` step.",
        "description": "Markdown that is shown with the step.",
        "data": {
          "api_key": "The label for the `api_key` input field"
        }
      }
    },
    "error": {
      "invalid_api_key": "This message will be displayed if `invalid_api_key` is returned as a flow error."
    },
    "abort": {
      "stale_api_key": "This message will be displayed if `stale_api_key` is returned as the abort reason."
    }
  }
}
```
