cmux-localization

Summary

---
name: cmux-localization
description: "Localization rules and audit workflow for cmux UI strings, settings rows, menus, shortcuts, schema/config text, docs, command/help text, alerts, tooltips, and web messages. Use whenever changing user-facing text."
---

# cmux Localization

Use this skill for any user-facing string change.

## Hard rules

- Every user-facing string is localized. Never a bare string literal in SwiftUI `Text()`, `Button()`, alert titles, tooltips, menus, or dialogs.
- Swift/AppKit/SwiftUI: `String(localized: "key.name", defaultValue: "English text")`, with keys in `Resources/Localizable.xcstrings`. Feature PRs add the key and English source value; translations for every supported language are completed in the release PR.
- `defaultValue`, English fallback text, schema descriptions, and copied English strings do not count as localization. They are acceptable in feature PRs only when the release workflow tracks the key for translation.
- Localized web/docs content updates every supported message catalog (currently `web/messages/en.json` and `web/messages/ja.json`) plus any localized data structures carrying inline translations.
- A localization audit is required for every user-facing change.

## Audit checklist

Before finishing a task that changes UI, Settings rows, menus, shortcut metadata, schema/config text, docs, command/help text, alerts, or tooltips:

1. Enumerate the changed user-facing surfaces.
2. Verify each surface has a catalog key in the feature PR. Verify translated values for every supported locale in the release PR.
3. Parse the touched localization files and compare changed message keys across locales.
4. Run `rg` over changed Swift/TS/TSX/docs files for newly introduced bare English.
5. State in the final handoff what audit was performed, or explicitly say what could not be verified.

## Detailed reference

- [references/audit-workflow.md](references/audit-workflow.md): what counts as user-facing, search patterns, and handoff wording.

New keyboard shortcuts also need docs and Settings entries; see [../cmux-keyboard-shortcuts/SKILL.md](../cmux-keyboard-shortcuts/SKILL.md).

Security audits