Install translate-toolkit with Homebrew, apt, dnf, MacPorts, pacman, zypper

Project links

• Homepage
• Repository
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• android2po
• arb2po
• asciidoc2po
• csv2po
• csv2tbx
• dtd2po
• flatxml2po
• fluent2po
• html2po
• ical2po
• idml2po
• ini2po
• json2po
• junitmsgfmt
• md2po
• mdx2po
• moz2po
• mozfunny2prop
• mozlang2po
• odf2xliff
• oo2po
• oo2xliff
• php2po
• phppo2pypo
• po2asciidoc
• po2csv
• po2dtd
• po2flatxml
• po2html
• po2ical
• po2idml
• po2ini

Project history

The official history says the toolkit was developed by David Fraser while working for Translate.org.za. It began after Translate.org.za moved from KDE translation work, which was PO based, to Mozilla translation work using DTD and `.properties` files; the initial tools, called mozpotools, converted those formats into PO so translators could keep using existing PO workflows.

As the project grew, pofilter was created to catch translation breakage around variables and accelerators, pomerge was created to merge fixes back, and pocount gave teams a better measure of translation volume. The toolkit then expanded to OpenOffice.org, TMX, Qt `.ts`, text, and OpenOffice.org SXW support, with the core idea that formats could be converted to PO for use with Gettext tools and existing translations.

The 2006 WordForge project funded deeper architectural changes, including base storage classes for PO and XLIFF, more consistent handling of encodings and plural forms, translation-memory and glossary tooling, and adaptation of Pootle to use XLIFF as well as PO. Later ANLoc work produced further format support and improvements across the translation tools.

Adoption history

Translate Toolkit has been adopted by localization engineers because it covers both command-line batch operations and reusable Python storage classes. The official README describes converters to common PO and XLIFF formats, QA tools, terminology tools, and storage support for DTD, properties, OpenOffice.org GSI/SDF, CSV, MO, Qt `.ts`, TMX, TBX, Gettext, Windows RC, PO, and XLIFF.

The toolkit also became infrastructure for related localization applications. The official history says Pootle became a web wrapper around the file-based toolkit and Pootling became a GUI wrapper in the same spirit, while the release notes explicitly tell users of Weblate, Pootle, Virtaal, and other applications that use the toolkit to watch toolkit changes.

How it is used

Users install the toolkit through Python packaging or distribution packages, then call many small commands such as `po2xliff`, `xliff2po`, `moz2po`, `csv2po`, `pofilter`, `pomerge`, `pocount`, `pogrep`, `pocompile`, and `poterminology`. The common pattern is to convert a source format into PO or XLIFF, run QA or review tooling, and convert or merge results back into the target project format.

Why package nerds care

For package nerds, Translate Toolkit is significant because it is not one executable but a dense toolbox of format converters and QA utilities. Packaging it exposes a large suite of commands for build systems, localization teams, downstream distributions, and translation-platform maintainers.

Its history is also a useful reminder that package-manager i18n tools often come from real localization production needs: Mozilla, OpenOffice.org, Gettext, XLIFF, PO, and translation-memory formats all shaped the toolkit's command set.

Timeline

• Early history: The toolkit began at Translate.org.za as mozpotools for converting Mozilla DTD and `.properties` files to PO.
• Growth phase: pofilter, pomerge, and pocount were added to catch breakage, merge corrections, and measure translation work.
• 2006: The WordForge project funded major PO/XLIFF architecture and tool improvements.
• Later ANLoc work: The project gained more bilingual and monolingual format support and improved translation tools.
• 2026: Official GitHub releases list Translate Toolkit 3.19.13.

Related projects

• Translate Toolkit is closely related to Translate.org.za, Pootle, Pootling, Virtaal, Weblate, Gettext, XLIFF, and the broader Translate project hosted in the `translate/translate` repository.

Sources

• https://api.github.com/repos/translate/translate/releases
• https://docs.translatehouse.org/projects/translate-toolkit/en/latest/history.html
• https://docs.translatehouse.org/projects/translate-toolkit/en/latest/releases/index.html
• https://github.com/translate/translate#readme