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Language Manager

Rostyman supports 18 built-in languages and allows you to create, import, and share custom language packs. The Language Manager lets you fully customize the app's interface in any language.

Opening the Language Manager

  • Click the language pill (e.g., "EN") in the status bar → Manage Languages
  • Or open it from Settings → Language section

Installed Languages

The Language Manager shows all installed languages with:

  • Name in both English and native script
  • Completion bar — percentage of strings translated
  • Status badge — Built-in, Custom, or Customized
  • Actions — Edit, Export, Delete (custom only), Reset (customized only)

Built-in languages cannot be deleted but can be customized.

Importing a Language Pack

  1. Click Import Language Pack
  2. Select a .rostyman-lang file
  3. The validator checks the pack and shows:
    • Completion percentage
    • Missing keys (will fall back to English)
    • Any structural errors
  4. Click Import Anyway to accept (warnings are non-blocking)

The imported language appears in the language picker immediately.

Creating a New Language

  1. Click Create New
  2. Fill in:
    • Language Code — e.g., it, tr, pl
    • Name — English name (e.g., "Italian")
    • Native Name — name in the language itself (e.g., "Italiano")
    • Script — Latin, Cyrillic, Arabic, etc.
    • RTL — check if the language reads right-to-left
    • Author — your name
  3. The editor opens with all English strings as a starting template
  4. Translate the strings and click Save Changes

Translation Editor

The editor shows all translatable strings side-by-side:

ColumnDescription
KeyThe translation key (e.g., sidebar.collections)
EnglishThe original English string
TranslationYour translated string (editable)

Features

  • Search — find keys by name or English/translated text
  • Filter — show All Keys, Missing Only, or Modified Only
  • Sections — strings are grouped by area (sidebar, request, auth, settings, etc.)
  • Protected keys — app name and version are locked and cannot be changed (shown with a lock icon)

What can be translated

The editor shows interface strings only — buttons, labels, menus, tooltips, and dialogs. App content that changes between releases (What's New, onboarding, error messages) is excluded and always falls back to English.

Exporting a Language Pack

Click the Export button on any language to save it as a .rostyman-lang file. This works for both built-in and custom languages. For built-in languages, the export includes your customizations merged with the original translations.

Share exported packs with other Rostyman users or the community.

Customizing Built-in Languages

You can modify any string in a built-in language:

  1. Click Edit on the language
  2. Change any strings in the editor
  3. Click Save Changes

Your customizations are stored separately and won't be lost when the app updates. To undo all customizations, click Reset to Default.

Language Pack Format

A .rostyman-lang file is a JSON file with this structure:

{
"meta": {
"code": "it",
"name": "Italian",
"nativeName": "Italiano",
"script": "latin",
"rtl": false,
"author": "Your Name",
"version": "1.0.0"
},
"translations": {
"sidebar": {
"collections": "Collezioni",
"history": "Cronologia"
}
}
}

Missing keys automatically fall back to English, so partial translations are supported.

Storage

Custom language packs and overrides are stored in ~/.rostyman/languages/.