lingui-next-init

name	lingui-next-init
description	Scaffold Lingui i18n for Next.js App Router projects with deterministic scripts and templates. Use when you need to initialize or standardize multilingual setup in a single project or monorepo.
metadata	{"author":"adonis"}

Lingui Next Init

Initialize Lingui i18n in a Next.js App Router codebase using deterministic templates and a single scaffold script.

Quick Start

Run the scaffold script with an absolute project path:

Set SKILL_ROOT to your actual skill install location first:

• Repository development: .agents/skills/lingui-next-init
• Installed runtime location: .claude/skills/lingui-next-init

python3 "${SKILL_ROOT}/scripts/scaffold_lingui_next.py" \
  --project-root /abs/path/to/project \
  --mode app-only \
  --locales en,zh \
  --default-locale en \
  --source-locale en \
  --package-manager pnpm

Dry-run first:

python3 "${SKILL_ROOT}/scripts/scaffold_lingui_next.py" \
  --project-root /abs/path/to/project \
  --mode shared-auto \
  --locales en,zh \
  --default-locale en \
  --source-locale en \
  --package-manager pnpm \
  --dry-run

--package-manager is restricted to: pnpm, npm, yarn, bun.

Optional server-layout composition:

python3 "${SKILL_ROOT}/scripts/scaffold_lingui_next.py" \
  --project-root /abs/path/to/project \
  --mode app-only \
  --locales en,zh \
  --default-locale en \
  --source-locale en \
  --package-manager pnpm \
  --with-server-layouts \
  --server-layouts-package @adonis-kit/react-layouts \
  --server-layouts-version latest \
  --dry-run

When --with-server-layouts is enabled:

• Render optional templates: web/src/i18n/layout-factory.tsx and web/src/app/[lang]/(home)/layout.tsx.
• Merge --server-layouts-package and --server-layouts-version into web/package.json dependencies when missing.
• Preserve the default web/src/app/[lang]/layout.tsx initLingui flow.
• Keep server initialization explicit: call initPageLingui(params) in server layouts and server pages before using Lingui t/metadata.

Mode Decision

Choose one mode:

1. app-only Create only app-side files under web/**. Never create packages/i18n.

2. shared-auto Detect workspace and existing packages/i18n:

• Workspace + missing packages/i18n: create shared package templates.
• Existing packages/i18n: skip creating package files.
• No workspace and no package: fallback to app-only behavior.

3. shared-force Always render shared package templates under packages/i18n.

Generated Scope

The script renders templates from:

1. assets/templates/app-router/web/**.tpl
2. assets/templates/app-router/packages/i18n/**.tpl (mode-dependent)
3. assets/templates/app-router/web/src/i18n/layout-factory.tsx.tpl and assets/templates/app-router/web/src/app/[lang]/(home)/layout.tsx.tpl (only when --with-server-layouts is enabled)
4. assets/templates/pages-router/_reserved.tpl (reserved for future extension, not scaffolded)

web/package.scripts.json.tpl is merged into web/package.json incrementally:

• Add missing scripts
• Add missing dependencies
• Add missing devDependencies
• If --with-server-layouts is enabled, add missing dependencies.<server-layouts-package> with <server-layouts-version>
• Never overwrite existing keys

Project-root .gitignore is merged incrementally:

• Add missing compiled-catalog ignore patterns:
  • web/src/locales/**/*.js
  • web/src/locales/**/*.mjs
  • web/locale/**/*.js
  • web/locale/**/*.mjs
• Never remove existing rules

Validation Workflow

After scaffolding a target project:

First, merge the generated SWC snippet into your Next config:

• Merge web/next.swc-snippet.ts into web/next.config.ts.
• Ensure experimental.swcPlugins contains ["@lingui/swc-plugin", {}].
• Without this step, Lingui extraction/compile behavior may not match expectations.

pnpm --filter @your/web run i18n:extract
pnpm --filter @your/web run i18n:compile
pnpm --filter @your/web run i18n:manifest
pnpm --filter @your/web run typecheck

Use --fill-source when placeholder translation is acceptable:

pnpm --filter @your/web run i18n:translate -- --fill-source

Daily command execution and troubleshooting are maintained in lingui-workflow. Use skills/lingui-workflow for the day-to-day extract/translate/compile workflow.

Experience Notes

Use this checklist to avoid common maintenance mistakes when updating Lingui skills:

1. Handoff timing: After scaffold/setup is done, hand over immediately to skills/lingui-workflow for day-to-day command guidance.

2. Documentation migration order: Migrate content to the target new doc first, then delete old duplicate docs, and run finalize pipeline last.

3. skills:init side effect: pnpm skills:init creates agents/openai.yaml automatically. If this file is not needed for the new public skill, remove it before finalize.

4. Large workspace safety: Run git status before skills:finalize so AD/MM states are understood and not misinterpreted as current-task failures.

Troubleshooting

1. Manifest empty: Confirm web/src/locales/** contains compiled .mjs files, then rerun i18n:manifest.

2. Locale route mismatch: Verify web/src/proxy.ts default-locale rewrite and non-default prefix redirect logic.

3. No translated text at runtime: Check web/src/i18n/catalog-manifest.ts and web/src/i18n/appRouterI18n.ts loader paths.

4. Error: Attempted to call a translation function without setting a locale: Confirm web/src/i18n/initLingui.ts activates locale before setI18n. Then ensure both server layout.tsx and server page.tsx call initPageLingui(params) (or equivalent) before t/metadata usage. Prefer useLingui/Trans in shared server components.

5. shared-auto with existing packages/i18n: shared-auto will reuse the existing shared package and skip rendering packages/i18n/** templates. Ensure your package exports <i18n-package-name>/next-config and <i18n-package-name>/lingui-config. If not, use --mode shared-force to scaffold shared templates or switch to --mode app-only.

6. withServerLayouts setup issues: Confirm --with-server-layouts is enabled and your package exports <server-layouts-package>/server. If you use a custom package, pass --server-layouts-package explicitly.

References

Read these files only when needed:

1. references/workflow-app-router.md
2. references/official-notes.md
3. references/pages-router-roadmap.md
4. Daily workflow skill: skills/lingui-workflow