| name | detect-non-localizable |
| description | Use when filtering localization keys, validating translation files, or deciding whether a string value should be translated or left as-is. Returns a boolean and the matched pattern. |
Detect Non-Localizable Strings
Analyze a string value to determine if it should be translated or left unchanged.
Input
- value: The string to check.
Output
A boolean plus, when true, the name of the pattern that matched:
- true: String should NOT be translated (non-localizable).
- false: String should be translated (localizable).
Detection Patterns
Check patterns in this order. Return true if any pattern matches; otherwise return false.
1. Empty or Whitespace Only
/^\s*$/ — "", " ", "\n\t"
2. Pure Numbers
/^-?\d+([.,]\d+)?%?$/ — "42", "3.14", "-100", "50%", "1,234"
3. Single Special Characters
/^[^\w\s]$/ — ":", "-", "•", "→", "|"
4. URLs
/^(https?:\/\/|www\.)|(\.(com|org|net|io|dev|edu|gov|co|app)\b)/i — "https://example.com", "www.example.com"
5. Email Addresses
/^[^\s@]+@[^\s@]+\.[^\s@]+$/ — "user@example.com"
6. File Paths and Extensions
/^[.\/\\]|[\/\\][\w.-]+[\/\\]|\.(?:json|xml|ts|js|html|css|scss|png|jpg|svg|pdf|md|txt|yaml|yml)$/i — "/path/to/file", "./relative/path", "C:\\Windows\\path", "config.json"
7. Version Numbers
/^v?\d+\.\d+(\.\d+)?(-[\w.]+)?(\+[\w.]+)?$/i — "1.2.3", "v2.0", "1.0.0-beta"
8. API Endpoints
/^\/(?:api|v\d+|rest|graphql)\//i — "/api/users", "/v1/auth/login"
9. UUIDs
/^[0-9a-f]{8}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{4}-[0-9a-f]{12}$/i
10. Hash-like Strings
/^[0-9a-f]{32,}$/i — 32+ hex chars (MD5/SHA)
11. Configuration Keys (SCREAMING_SNAKE_CASE)
/^[A-Z][A-Z0-9]*(_[A-Z0-9]+)+$/ — must include at least one underscore. "API_KEY", "MAX_RETRY_COUNT"
12. Template Variables Only
/^\{\{[\w.]+\}\}$/ — entire value is a template reference. "{{common.name}}"
13. Icon Identifiers
/^(material-symbols|fa|mdi|icon)[-:][\w-]+$/i — "material-symbols:security", "fa-regular fa-user"
14. CSS/Style Values
/^(#[0-9a-f]{3,8}|rgba?\(|hsla?\(|\d+px|\d+em|\d+rem|\d+%)$/i — "#fff", "rgba(0,0,0,0.5)", "16px"
Always Localizable (return false)
- Readable words mixed with numbers:
"Step 1", "Version 2 Released"
- Strings with embedded template variables:
"Hello {{name}}"
- Bare acronyms:
"API", "URL" — may appear in sentences
- Short labels:
"OK", "N/A"
Implementation Notes
- Be conservative: When in doubt, return
false. It is cheaper for a translator to skip an obvious non-translatable than for a string to silently go untranslated.
- Order matters: Check most specific patterns first.
- Logging: When returning
true, identify the matched pattern, e.g. Non-localizable: "https://example.com" (matched: URL pattern).
- Mixed content:
"Visit https://example.com" is false — the surrounding text needs translation.
- Interpolated text:
"{{count}} items" is false — the suffix needs translation.
Examples
Input: "https://github.com/example/repo" → true (URL)
Input: "Delete" → false
Input: "{{common.name}}" → true (template-only)
Input: "Hello {{name}}, welcome!" → false
Input: "API_ENDPOINT_URL" → true (config key)
Input: "1.2.3" → true (version)
Input: "Step 1" → false
