obsidian-copilot icon indicating copy to clipboard operation
obsidian-copilot copied to clipboard
verified publisher icon logancyang

Have you considered adding i18n functionality?

Open lianxin255 opened this issue 1 month ago • 1 comments

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe. Yes. The project currently lacks internationalization (i18n) support, meaning all UI text is hardcoded in a single language. This creates a significant barrier for non-native speakers, limiting adoption and accessibility for global users who may struggle to navigate and use the interface effectively. As a result, many potential users and contributors are excluded simply due to language barriers.

Describe the solution you'd like I would like to see a comprehensive i18n system implemented that includes:

  1. i18n Framework Integration: Adopt a standard i18n library (e.g., react-i18next, vue-i18n, or similar based on the project's tech stack) to manage translations
  2. Extract all UI strings: Move all user-facing text to locale files (JSON/YAML format) for easy translation
  3. Language Switcher: Add a UI component allowing users to dynamically switch languages with persistence across sessions
  4. Community Translation Support: Set up a clear structure for contributors to add new languages via pull requests
  5. Documentation: Provide guidelines for translators and maintainers on how to contribute translations
  6. Initial Language Support: Start with at least one additional major language (e.g., Chinese, Spanish) as a proof of concept

Describe alternatives you've considered

  • Browser auto-translate: This provides poor UX, often breaks UI layouts, and doesn't work for dynamic content or technical terminology
  • Maintaining language-specific forks: This is unsustainable, fragments the community, and creates maintenance overhead
  • Manual text replacement: Not scalable and gets overwritten with each update

Additional context

  • This would significantly expand the project's global reach and user base
  • Many similar projects (e.g., [example-project]) have successfully implemented i18n with community support
  • I'm particularly interested in contributing Chinese (zh-CN) translations once the framework is in place
  • Consider using platforms like Crowdin or Weblate to streamline community translation efforts

lianxin255 avatar Nov 21 '25 11:11 lianxin255

If you are interested, you can take up this and contribute!

This is our guideline: https://github.com/logancyang/obsidian-copilot?tab=contributing-ov-file#readme

ichts avatar Nov 21 '25 18:11 ichts