Localization (i18n)

Configure multilingual content in GitCMS with locale-aware collection paths, default locale behavior, and per-locale overrides.

GitCMS supports locale-aware content workflows for multilingual sites.

You can:

define site locales (for example en, fr, de)
choose a default locale
control whether the default locale is prefixed in paths
configure per-collection locale path overrides

Site-level i18n settings

In Settings → General, enable i18n and configure:

Setting	Purpose
Locales	Allowed locale codes for the site
Default locale	Fallback locale when none is selected
Default locale path	Whether default locale should be prefixed in paths

Global i18n settings

Default locale path behavior

Assume collection path is /posts/, default locale is en, and secondary locale is fr.

Option	`en` path	`fr` path
Default locale path off	`/posts/hello-world`	`/posts/fr/hello-world`
Default locale path on	`/posts/en/hello-world`	`/posts/fr/hello-world`

Collection-level i18n

In each collection, enable i18n when that collection should be localized.

Strategy is path-based (path).
You can add locale_paths overrides for framework-specific folder structures.

Example:

i18n:
  enabled: true
  locales:
    - en
    - fr
  default_locale: en
  prefix_default_locale: false
collections:
  - name: docs
    git_path: /content/docs/
    i18n:
      enabled: true
      strategy: path
      locale_paths:
        fr: /content/fr/docs/

Editor behavior

Web app locale switcher keeps you in the same context (entry, timeline, or collection) while switching locale.
New-entry drafts are locale-scoped, so drafts for en and fr do not collide.
Production link and collection listing respect the selected locale context.

Locale switcher in the editor

MCP and AI behavior

GitCMS MCP tools are locale-aware.

For multilingual workflows, explicitly mention target locale in your prompt (for example: "use locale fr"). This helps AI read and write the intended locale path.

Detection during onboarding

Onboarding can detect locale-folder patterns and suggest i18n setup.

If default locale cannot be safely inferred, GitCMS keeps i18n conservative and asks you to confirm defaults in Settings.