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.

Here you'll find a simple guide on how to best use TypeScript for i18next. Discover how to unleash the full potential of i18next in your TypeScript applications by mastering type-safe translations, ensuring accurate localization and eliminating runtime errors.

Create a declaration file

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.ts

export const defaultNS = "ns1";
export const resources = {
  en: {
    ns1,
    ns2,
  },
} as const;

i18n.use(initReactI18next).init({
  lng: "en",
  ns: ["ns1", "ns2"],
  defaultNS,
  resources,
});

i18next.d.ts

import { 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.ts

Some examples

• various examples (from simple i18next only to react-i18next prod ready)

• react-i18next

• next-i18next

• next-13-app-dir-i18next-example-ts

• react-i18next-example-app-ts

Custom Type Options

We 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
contextSeparator	'_'	Char to split context from key
returnNull	true	Allows null values as valid translation.
returnObjects	false	Allows objects as valid translation result
compatibilityJSON	'v4'	Only 'v4' is supported. Enable plurals keys support. See Plurals docs.
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
strictKeyChecks	false	Flag that enables strict key checking even if a defaultValue has been provided. This ensures all calls of t function don't accidentally use implicitly missing keys.

Troubleshooting

Intellisense not working

Try to update the used TypeScript version (>= v5 is recommended).

Out of memory (OOM) errors

Running typechecking with key validation might result in OOM errors. This can be facilitated by additional factors like:

• large codebase with a lot of namespace with hundreds of keys

• running typechecking alongside other tools like ESLint combined with typescript-eslint

When having this kind of error consider to:

• If you are on a large codebase consider split the typecheck / lint process in separate tasks

• Split the code in multiple packages (monorepo)

• Use Node --max-old-space-size option to increase Node memory

  E.g.:

  export NODE_OPTIONS=\"--max_old_space_size=10240\" && tsc

If you report a OOM error, please provide an easy way to reproduce the issue using:

• online sandbox

• example repository

Not working interpolation values

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).

Type 'HTMLAttributes<T>' is not assignable to type...

This happens when skipLibCheck is disabled. Setting skipLibCheck in tsconfig to true will remove this issue.

Type error - template literal

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.

Type error - excessively deep and possibly infinite

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.

Tagged Template Literal (react-i18next only)

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.

Customize t function return when returnObjects is set to true but CustomTypeOptions.resources is not used (>= v23)

When no resources are defined inside CustomTypeOptions and returnObject options is set to true t function returns a $SpecialObject type:

type $SpecialObject = object | Array<string | object>; 

Due to his anatomy it can be easily casted to a better defined type as you can see from the following examples:

Example with object

const tResult = t('myTypeKey', { returnObjects: true }) as { title: string, text: string };
expectTypeOf(tResult).toEqualTypeOf<{ title: string; text: string }>();

Example with array

const tResult = t('myTypeKey', { returnObjects: true }) as Array<string>;
expectTypeOf(tResult).toEqualTypeOf<Array<string>>();

Example without casting using type parameters

type MyCustomReturn = { title:string; text: string };
const tResult = t<string, { returnObjects: true }, MyCustomReturn>('myKey', { returnObjects: true });
expectTypeOf(tResult).toEqualTypeOf<MyCustomReturn>();

Troubleshooting (< 23)

The following problems should not be present since v23.0.0

Slow compilation time

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.

Argument of type 'DefaultTFuncReturn' is not assignable to parameter of type xyz

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;
    ...
  }
}

I also recommend updating your i18next configuration to behave accordantly:

i18next.init({
  returnNull: false,
  // ...
});