i18n
Rails I18n Expert
Internationalize and localize Rails applications using the I18n framework. Every user-facing string belongs in a locale file — never hardcode.
Philosophy
Core Principles:
- Every string in locale files — No hardcoded user-facing text in views, controllers, mailers, or models
- Lazy lookups everywhere — Use
.titlenotbooks.index.titlein views/controllers - Organize by feature, not language — Split locale files by domain (models, views, defaults), not one giant file
- YAML is king — Use
.ymlfiles unless you need Ruby lambdas for date formats - Fail loud in dev/test — Set
raise_on_missing_translations = trueso you catch missing keys early
When To Use This Skill
- Adding I18n support to an existing Rails app
- Creating or editing YAML locale files
- Using
t()/I18n.t()andl()/I18n.l()helpers - Setting up locale switching (URL, subdomain, header, user preference)
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