Context & Glossary

Configuration

Lokalio provides two mechanisms to guide the AI and ensure consistent, high-quality translations.

AI Context

AI context is per-project information that enriches the translation prompt sent to the LLM.

Inline Context

Define context directly in .lokalio.yaml:

context:
  description: "SaaS analytics dashboard for logistics companies"
  tone: "professional, concise"
  instructions: "Keep technical terms like 'API', 'SDK', 'Webhook' in English"

External Context File

Reference a separate file (useful for version control or team collaboration):

context:
  path: ./context.yaml

The context.yaml format:

description: "E-commerce checkout flow"
tone: "friendly, helpful"
instructions: |
  - Product names and brand terms stay in English
  - Error messages should be clear and actionable
  - Use formal address for German (Sie)

Context is overridable per-run — the external file can be updated without touching .lokalio.yaml.

Glossary

A glossary defines approved translations for specific terms. The AI respects these when translating.

Inline Glossary

glossary:
  inline:
    - source_term: "Dashboard"
      target_term: "Tableau de bord"
      target_language: fr
    - source_term: "Dashboard"
      target_term: "Armaturenbrett"
      target_language: de
    - source_term: "Settings"
      target_term: "Paramètres"
      target_language: fr

External Glossary File

glossary:
  path: ./glossary.yaml

The glossary.yaml format:

- source_term: "Dashboard"
  target_term: "Tableau de bord"
  target_language: fr
- source_term: "Dashboard"
  target_term: "Armaturenbrett"
  target_language: de
- source_term: "Settings"
  target_term: "Paramètres"
  target_language: fr
- source_term: "Settings"
  target_term: "Einstellungen"
  target_language: de

Glossary terms are applied per target language — each target language gets its relevant glossary entries injected into the AI prompt.

Translation Modes

Understand diff mode and add-remove mode — when to use each, how they work, and how to override them.

CLI Reference

Complete reference for the Lokalio CLI — commands, flags, and environment variables.