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TypeScript
i18next has embedded type definitions. If you want to enhance IDE Experience and prevent errors (such as type coercion), you should follow the instructions below in order to get the t function fully-type safe (keys and return type).
This is an optional feature and may affect the compilation time depending on your project's size. If you opt not to leverage the type enhancements suggested here, you can ignore this section.
Make sure your tsconfig compilerOptions has the
strict flag or the strictNullChecks set to true.
The newest i18next versions only support TypeScript v5. Older TypeScript versions are not supported any longer with i18next > v23.
To use it with TypeScript v4, use [email protected].If your project spans multiple i18next instances with different translation resources, you probably can't use type-safe translations.
TypeScript definitions for i18next can be extended by using Type Augmentation and Merging Interfaces. So the first step is creating a declaration file (
i18next.d.ts), for example:// import the original type declarations
import "i18next";
// import all namespaces (for the default language, only)
import ns1 from "locales/en/ns1.json";
import ns2 from "locales/en/ns2.json";
declare module "i18next" {
// Extend CustomTypeOptions
interface CustomTypeOptions {
// custom namespace type, if you changed it
defaultNS: "ns1";
// custom resources type
resources: {
ns1: typeof ns1;
ns2: typeof ns2;
};
// other
}
}
Or, if you want to include all namespaces at once, you can use our preferred approach:
i18n.tsexport const defaultNS = "ns1";
export const resources = {
en: {
ns1,
ns2,
},
} as const;
i18n.use(initReactI18next).init({
lng: "en",
ns: ["ns1", "ns2"],
defaultNS,
resources,
});
i18next.d.tsimport { resources, defaultNS } from "./i18n";
declare module "i18next" {
interface CustomTypeOptions {
defaultNS: typeof defaultNS;
resources: typeof resources["en"];
}
}
We recommend creating a
@types directory under src or above it and placing all your type declarations there. E.g.: @types/i18next.d.tsWe provide a few options that can improve TypeScript for
i18next. All options come with default values, and if you want to change them, you just need to add them under CustomTypeOptions interface in your i18next type declaration file (i18next.d.ts).option | default | description |
|---|---|---|
defaultNS | 'translation' | Default namespace. This is more practical in React applications, so when you call useTranslation() hooks without passing the namespace, it will infer the types for the translation namespace. |
resources | object | Resources to initialize with. This is the most important option that is used to infer the appropriate keys and return types. |
fallbackNS | false | Fallback namespace. string or array of namespaces to lookup key if not found in given namespace. See NS fallback docs. |
keySeparator | '.' | Char to separate keys. |
nsSeparator | ':' | Char to split namespace from key |
pluralSeparator | '_' | Char to split namespace from key |
returnNull | true | Allows null values as valid translation. |
returnObjects | false | Allows objects as valid translation result |
jsonFormat | 'v4' | |
allowObjectInHTMLChildren | false | Flag that allows HTML elements to receive objects. This is only useful for React applications where you pass objects to HTML elements so they can be replaced to their respective interpolation values (mostly with Trans component) |
interpolationPrefix | '{{' | Prefix for interpolation |
interpolationSuffix | '}}' | Suffix for interpolation |
Try to update the used TypeScript version (>= v5 is recommended).
t function infers interpolation values, but it'll only work if the translation files (resources) are placed in a ts file and using as const (like this) or an interface in a d.ts file (can be generated like this), JSON files don't support as const to convert objects to be type literals (yet).This happens when
skipLibCheck is disabled. Setting skipLibCheck in tsconfig to true will remove this issue.This should not happen anymore since v23.0.0
In order to fully type the
t function, we recursively map all nested keys from your primary locale files or objects. Depending on the number of keys your project have, the compilation time could be noticeably affected. If this is negatively influencing your productivity, this feature might not be the best choice for you. If needed, you can always open an issue on Github to get some help from us.If you face this issue:
Argument of type 'string' is not assignable to parameter of type ...
When using the following approach (template literal with an expression):
// with i18next
i18next.t(`${expression}.title`);
// with react-i18next
const { t } = useTranslation();
t(`${expression}.title`);
Or:
// with react-i18next
const { t } = useTranslation(`${ns}Default`);
TypeScript will lose the literal value, and it will infer the
key as string, which will cause to throw the error above. In this case, you will need to assert the template string as const, like this:// with i18next
i18next.t(`${expression}.title` as const);
// with react-i18next
const { t } = useTranslation();
t(`${expression}.title` as const);
For now, this is the only possible workaround. This is a TypeScript limitation that will be address at some point in the future.
If you face this issue whenever calling the
t function:TS2589: Type instantiation is excessively deep and possibly infinite.
That probably means you did not set up your type declaration correctly, so review your configuration or check here for some similar cases that may help you. If needed, you can always open an issue on Github to get some help from us.
If you are using the tagged template literal syntax for the
t function, like this:t`key1.key2`;
The
keys and return type inference will not work, because TemplateStringsArray does not accept generic types yet. You can use Tagged Template Literal syntax, but it will accept any string as argument.This should not be necessary anymore since v23.0.0
t function can return null, this behaviour is set by default, if you want to change it, set returnNull type to false.// i18next.d.ts
import 'i18next';
declare module 'i18next' {
interface CustomTypeOptions {
returnNull: false;
...
}
}
i18next.init({
returnNull: false,
// ...
});
Last modified 22d ago