Skill i18n
Translate skill documentation files (SKILL.md, README.md) into multiple languages, making it easier to share skills with international users.
Usage
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
/skill-i18n | Translate files in current skill directory |
/skill-i18n <skill-name> | Translate files for specified skill |
/skill-i18n config | Configure default languages and file types |
/skill-i18n --lang zh-CN,ja | Translate to specified languages (for integration) |
/skill-i18n --files SKILL.md,README.md | Translate specified files |
Supported Languages
| Language | Code | Output File |
|---|---|---|
| 简体中文 | zh-CN | SKILL.zh-CN.md |
| 日本語 | ja | SKILL.ja.md |
| 한국어 | ko | SKILL.ko.md |
| Español | es | SKILL.es.md |
| Custom | User-defined | SKILL.<code>.md |
Configuration
All settings are stored in ~/.claude/skill-i18n-config.json:
{
"default_languages": ["zh-CN", "ja"],
"default_files": ["SKILL.md"],
"skills_config": {
"port-allocator": {
"languages": ["zh-CN", "ja", "ko"],
"files": ["SKILL.md", "README.md"]
}
}
}
Configuration Fields:
| Field | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
default_languages | Languages to translate by default | ["zh-CN", "ja"] |
default_files | Files to translate by default | ["SKILL.md"] |
skills_config | Per-skill configuration | {} |
Execution Steps
Command: /skill-i18n
Translate files in current skill directory:
- •
Detect current directory
bash# Check if current directory contains SKILL.md if [ ! -f SKILL.md ]; then echo "Error: SKILL.md not found in current directory" exit 1 fi
- •
Load configuration
bash# Read config file CONFIG=$(cat ~/.claude/skill-i18n-config.json 2>/dev/null || echo '{}') # Get skill name from directory SKILL_NAME=$(basename "$(pwd)") # Check for skill-specific config SKILL_CONFIG=$(echo "$CONFIG" | jq -r ".skills_config[\"$SKILL_NAME\"] // null") - •
First-run selection (if no config)
If no configuration exists for this skill, show TUI selection:
json{ "questions": [ { "question": "Which languages should be generated?", "header": "Languages", "multiSelect": true, "options": [ { "label": "简体中文 (zh-CN)", "description": "Simplified Chinese" }, { "label": "日本語 (ja)", "description": "Japanese" }, { "label": "한국어 (ko)", "description": "Korean" }, { "label": "Español (es)", "description": "Spanish" } ] }, { "question": "Which files should be translated?", "header": "Files", "multiSelect": true, "options": [ { "label": "SKILL.md", "description": "Skill documentation (recommended)" }, { "label": "README.md", "description": "Repository readme" } ] } ] } - •
Save configuration
bash# Save selection to config for future runs jq --arg skill "$SKILL_NAME" \ --argjson langs '["zh-CN", "ja"]' \ --argjson files '["SKILL.md"]' \ '.skills_config[$skill] = {"languages": $langs, "files": $files}' \ ~/.claude/skill-i18n-config.json > tmp.json && mv tmp.json ~/.claude/skill-i18n-config.json - •
Execute translation
- •For each selected file and language, generate translation
- •See "Translation Rules" section below
Command: /skill-i18n <skill-name>
Translate files for specified skill:
- •
Search skill location
bash# Search in common locations SKILL_PATH="" # Check ~/.claude/skills/ if [ -d ~/.claude/skills/"$SKILL_NAME" ]; then SKILL_PATH=~/.claude/skills/"$SKILL_NAME" fi # Check code repository (if configured) if [ -z "$SKILL_PATH" ] && [ -d ~/Codes/skills/"$SKILL_NAME" ]; then SKILL_PATH=~/Codes/skills/"$SKILL_NAME" fi if [ -z "$SKILL_PATH" ]; then echo "Error: Skill '$SKILL_NAME' not found" exit 1 fi
- •
Execute translation (same as default command)
Command: /skill-i18n config
Configure default settings:
- •
Show current configuration
bashecho "Current configuration:" cat ~/.claude/skill-i18n-config.json | jq .
- •
Interactive configuration via AskUserQuestion
json{ "questions": [ { "question": "Select default languages for new skills:", "header": "Defaults", "multiSelect": true, "options": [ { "label": "简体中文 (zh-CN)", "description": "Simplified Chinese" }, { "label": "日本語 (ja)", "description": "Japanese" }, { "label": "한국어 (ko)", "description": "Korean" }, { "label": "Español (es)", "description": "Spanish" } ] } ] } - •
Update configuration file
Command-Line Flags
For integration with other skills (e.g., share-skill):
| Flag | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
--lang <codes> | Comma-separated language codes | --lang zh-CN,ja,ko |
--files <names> | Comma-separated file names | --files SKILL.md,README.md |
--skill <name> | Target skill name | --skill port-allocator |
--no-prompt | Skip TUI, use flags/config directly | For automated workflows |
--overwrite | Overwrite existing translations | Skip confirmation |
Priority order:
- •Command-line flags (highest priority)
- •Skill-specific config in
skills_config - •Global
default_languagesanddefault_files - •Interactive TUI selection (if no config exists)
Example integration:
# share-skill calls skill-i18n internally /skill-i18n --lang zh-CN,ja --files SKILL.md --skill port-allocator --no-prompt
Translation Rules
Preserve Unchanged
These elements must NOT be translated:
- •Code blocks (
bash,json, etc.) - •File paths (
~/.claude/settings.json,~/Codes/skills/) - •Command names (
/port-allocator,/skill-i18n,git push) - •Technical identifiers (variable names, JSON keys)
- •URLs and links
Translate Naturally
- •Adapt sentence structure to target language
- •Use appropriate formality level:
- •Japanese: Polite form (です/ます)
- •Chinese: Standard written form
- •Korean: Polite form (합니다/습니다)
- •Spanish: Formal usted form
- •Localize examples where appropriate
Frontmatter Handling
--- name: port-allocator # Keep unchanged (identifier) description: Translate this # Translate to target language ---
Style Adaptation
Different languages may use different visual styles:
| Language | Emoji Usage | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Chinese (zh-CN) | Common | ✅ 正确 / ❌ 错误 |
| Japanese (ja) | Minimal | 正しい / 間違い |
| Korean (ko) | Moderate | ✅ 올바름 / ❌ 잘못됨 |
| Spanish (es) | Minimal | Correcto / Incorrecto |
Follow existing translation patterns in the project if available.
Output Format
Translation Success
Translation complete Skill: port-allocator Source: SKILL.md Generated: - SKILL.zh-CN.md (简体中文) - SKILL.ja.md (日本語) Config saved for: port-allocator Next run will auto-translate to: zh-CN, ja
Existing Files Detected
Existing translations detected: - SKILL.zh-CN.md (modified 2 days ago) - SKILL.ja.md (modified 2 days ago) Options: [ ] Overwrite all [ ] Skip existing [ ] Select individually
Configuration Saved
Configuration updated Default languages: zh-CN, ja Default files: SKILL.md Skill-specific config: port-allocator: zh-CN, ja, ko (SKILL.md, README.md) share-skill: zh-CN, ja (SKILL.md)
Integration with share-skill
skill-i18n integrates with share-skill for documentation generation:
# share-skill docs with i18n /share-skill docs --i18n # This internally calls: /skill-i18n --lang <configured-langs> --files SKILL.md --no-prompt
When share-skill detects --i18n flag:
- •Check if skill-i18n is available
- •Load language configuration
- •Call skill-i18n to generate translations
- •Include translated files in documentation site
Notes
- •Source file safety - Never overwrite the source
SKILL.mdfile - •First-run prompt - First translation requires language selection
- •Per-skill config - Different skills can have different language settings
- •Incremental updates - Only translate when source file is newer than translations
- •Integration-friendly - Command-line flags allow other skills to call skill-i18n