Odoo i18n Skill

Provides deep expertise in Odoo internationalization (i18n) and localization (l10n) across Odoo 14-19.

Critical Translation Rules

1. NEVER use f-strings inside _() -- use % formatting: _('Record %s') % name
2. NEVER concatenate strings inside _() -- give the translator the full sentence
3. Use _lt() for class-level strings (selection values, class attributes)
4. NEVER wrap string= field attributes in _() -- they are auto-translated by Odoo
5. Save .po files as UTF-8 without BOM
6. Arabic .po files must have nplurals=6 in Plural-Forms header
7. Always update the module after editing .po files: -u module --stop-after-init

Workflow 1: Extract Translatable Strings

Scans an Odoo module for all translatable strings and generates .pot (template) and .po (language) files.

Usage

python ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/odoo-i18n/scripts/i18n_extractor.py --module <path> --lang <code> [--output <dir>] [--no-pot] [--verbose]

What Gets Extracted

Python (*.py) -- _('...') and _lt('...'):

# Extracted:
raise UserError(_('Record %s not found') % name)
state = fields.Selection([('draft', _lt('Draft'))])
# NOT extracted: _(variable), _(f'Hello {name}')

XML (*.xml) -- string=, help=, placeholder= attributes; name= on menus/actions; HTML text:

<field name="state" string="Status"/>      <!-- extracted -->
<h1>Welcome to our website</h1>            <!-- extracted -->
<record id="view_my_form" model="ir.ui.view">  <!-- NOT extracted -->

JavaScript (*.js) -- _t('...') and _lt('...'):

const msg = _t("Save Changes");   // extracted
const msg = _t(someVariable);     // NOT extracted

Generated File Structure

# Translation template for my_module
msgid ""
msgstr ""
"Project-Id-Version: Odoo Module my_module\n"
"Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8\n"

#: models/my_model.py:45
#, python-format
msgid "Record %s not found"
msgstr ""

Alternative: Odoo's Built-in Extractor

python odoo-bin -c conf/myproject.conf -d mydb \
    --i18n-export --modules=my_module --language=ar \
    --output=my_module/i18n/ar.po --stop-after-init

The Odoo CLI extractor includes database strings (model names, action names) that the plugin extractor does not. For production, the built-in extractor is more complete.

After Extraction

1. Open the .po file in a translation editor (Poedit, Virtaal, or text editor)
2. Fill in all msgstr entries
3. Validate: run i18n_validator.py --po-file path/to/ar.po
4. Check coverage: run i18n_reporter.py --module path/ --lang ar
5. Load into Odoo: update module or use export/import workflow

Workflow 2: Validate .po Files

Validates a .po file for syntax errors, encoding issues, empty translations, fuzzy entries, format specifier mismatches, and Arabic/RTL-specific problems.

Usage

python ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/odoo-i18n/scripts/i18n_validator.py --po-file <path> [--lang <code>] [--strict] [--output <file>]

What is Validated

Syntax: UTF-8 encoding (no BOM/Latin-1), header with Content-Type/charset/Language/MIME-Version, properly quoted strings, no parse errors.

Translations: Empty msgstr (untranslated), fuzzy flags needing review, duplicate msgid, obsolete (#~) entries.

Format Specifiers: %s/%d/%f count must match; %(name)s named specifiers must all appear:

# WRONG - missing second %s:
msgid "Invoice %s due on %s"
msgstr "fatura %s"
# CORRECT:
msgid "Invoice %s due on %s"
msgstr "fatura %s vadesi %s"

Arabic-Specific (--lang ar): Arabic characters present, encoding artifacts from Latin-1, direction control chars, nplurals=6 required, BIDI overrides flagged.

Common Errors and Fixes

"Charset must be UTF-8":

python ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/odoo-i18n/scripts/i18n_converter.py --action convert --po ar.po --output ar_fixed.po

"Fuzzy translation (needs review)" -- remove the fuzzy flag after verifying:

# Before:                          # After:
#, fuzzy, python-format            #, python-format
msgid "Record %s not found"        msgid "Record %s not found"
msgstr "record not found"          msgstr "record not found"

"Arabic should have nplurals=6":

"Plural-Forms: nplurals=6; plural=n==0 ? 0 : n==1 ? 1 : n==2 ? 2 : n%100>=3 && n%100<=10 ? 3 : n%100>=11 && n%100<=99 ? 4 : 5;\n"

CI/CD Integration

- name: Validate Arabic translations
  run: python odoo-i18n/scripts/i18n_validator.py --po-file my_module/i18n/ar.po --lang ar --strict

Exit code 0 = passed (may have warnings), 1 = failed (errors found).

Workflow 3: Find Missing Translations

Compares translatable strings from a module's source files against an existing .po file to report what is missing or incomplete.

Usage

python ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/odoo-i18n/scripts/i18n_reporter.py --module <path> --lang <code> [--format text|json|csv] [--output <file>] [--min-pct <N>]

Understanding the Report

• Missing: String in source code but NO entry in .po
• Empty in .po: Entry exists but msgstr is "" (not yet translated)
• Fuzzy: Auto-matched, needs human review; NOT shown to users (Odoo falls back to source)
• Completion % = Translated / Total Active Strings * 100 (non-empty, non-fuzzy, non-obsolete)

Workflow: Fixing Missing Translations

1. Run i18n_reporter.py to identify gaps
2. Open .po in Poedit, Virtaal, or text editor
3. Fill in missing msgstr entries
4. If strings are entirely absent from .po, run i18n_extractor.py first
5. Validate with i18n_validator.py
6. Re-run i18n_reporter.py to confirm coverage

Updating .po After Source Changes

# 1. Re-extract new strings
python ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/odoo-i18n/scripts/i18n_extractor.py --module /path/ --lang ar --no-pot
# 2. Merge (preserves existing translations)
python ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/odoo-i18n/scripts/i18n_converter.py \
    --action merge --base /path/i18n/ar.po --new /path/i18n/ar.po --output /path/i18n/ar_merged.po
# 3. Check remaining gaps
python ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/odoo-i18n/scripts/i18n_reporter.py --module /path/ --lang ar

Workflow 4: Export/Import via Odoo CLI

Requires PostgreSQL and a valid database.

Exporting Translations

# Single module
python odoo-bin -c conf/myproject.conf -d mydb \
    --i18n-export --modules=my_module --language=ar \
    --output=my_module/i18n/ar.po --stop-after-init

# Export .pot template (no --language = empty msgstr)
python odoo-bin -c conf/myproject.conf -d mydb \
    --i18n-export --modules=my_module \
    --output=my_module/i18n/my_module.pot --stop-after-init

# Multiple modules / all installed
python odoo-bin -c conf/myproject.conf -d mydb \
    --i18n-export --modules=mod1,mod2 --language=ar --output=combined_ar.po --stop-after-init

Importing Translations

# Import .po
python odoo-bin -c conf/myproject.conf -d mydb \
    --i18n-import=my_module/i18n/ar.po --language=ar --modules=my_module --stop-after-init

# Import and overwrite existing
python odoo-bin -c conf/myproject.conf -d mydb \
    --i18n-import=my_module/i18n/ar.po --language=ar \
    --modules=my_module --i18n-overwrite --stop-after-init

# Multiple languages
for lang in ar fr tr; do
    python odoo-bin -c conf/myproject.conf -d mydb \
        --i18n-import=my_module/i18n/${lang}.po --language=${lang} \
        --modules=my_module --stop-after-init
done

Loading Languages

python odoo-bin -c conf/myproject.conf -d mydb --load-language=ar --stop-after-init
python odoo-bin -c conf/myproject.conf -d mydb --load-language=ar,fr,tr --stop-after-init

Check/activate via shell:

# python odoo-bin shell -d mydb
langs = self.env['res.lang'].with_context(active_test=False).search([])
for lang in langs:
    print(f"[{'ACTIVE' if lang.active else 'inactive'}] {lang.code}: {lang.name}")

# Activate
lang = self.env['res.lang'].with_context(active_test=False).search([('code', '=', 'ar')])
lang.active = True
self.env.cr.commit()

Module Update (Simplest Reload)

python -m odoo -c conf/myproject.conf -d mydb -u my_module --stop-after-init

Odoo 17+ Specifics

Translations stored as JSON terms internally; export format still .po. Clear cache:

# python odoo-bin shell -d mydb
self.env['ir.translation'].clear_caches()
self.env.cr.commit()

Website Translations

python odoo-bin -c conf/myproject.conf -d mydb \
    --i18n-export --modules=website,my_theme_module --language=ar \
    --output=website_ar.po --stop-after-init

Translation File Locations

module/i18n/
  module.pot    <- Template (not loaded by Odoo)
  ar.po         <- Arabic
  ar_SA.po      <- Saudi variant (overrides ar.po entries)
  fr.po         <- French
  tr.po         <- Turkish

Utility: Merge and Clean .po Files

python ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/odoo-i18n/scripts/i18n_converter.py --action merge --base ar.po --new ar_new.po --output ar_merged.po
python ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/odoo-i18n/scripts/i18n_converter.py --action clean --po ar.po
python ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/odoo-i18n/scripts/i18n_converter.py --action stats --po ar.po
python ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/odoo-i18n/scripts/i18n_converter.py --action convert --po ar.po --output ar_fixed.po

Supported Languages Quick Reference

Odoo Version Differences

Common Issues

Translations not showing: Update the module with -u module --stop-after-init, then clear browser cache.

Arabic text garbled (mojibake): File saved as Latin-1. Run i18n_converter.py --action convert to fix encoding.

Format specifier error: Ensure %s/%d/%(name)s count matches between msgid and msgstr.

Website shows English for Arabic users: Check (1) Arabic language installed, (2) user language set, (3) module updated after adding translations.

Fuzzy entries: Open .po, verify translation, remove #, fuzzy flag from approved entries.

Configurable Branding

Generated .pot/.po files use configurable author/email. Set environment variables:

export ODOO_I18N_COPYRIGHT="Your Company"
export ODOO_I18N_BUGS_EMAIL="you@example.com"

Detailed Reference (Memory Files)

For comprehensive patterns beyond this skill summary, the plugin includes memory files:

• memories/translation_patterns.md -- Python _() / _lt() patterns, XML attribute translation, JS _t() patterns, .po file structure, email template translation
• memories/rtl_patterns.md -- RTL activation, Bootstrap RTL, CSS logical properties, SCSS overrides, Flexbox in RTL, JS RTL detection, QWeb report RTL, common RTL fixes
• memories/language_codes.md -- Language codes, date/time formats, number formats, currency display, Hijri calendar notes, timezone reference