regenerate-locales

name	regenerate-locales
description	Regenerate all non-English locale JSON files by translating from src/locales/en.json. Use this skill whenever the user asks to update translations, regenerate locales, sync locale files, translate the app, add a new language, or mentions i18n/localization work. Also trigger when the user says things like "update ja.json", "fix translations", "sync translations", or "regenerate zh.json".

Regenerate Locale Files

Translate all non-English locale files in src/locales/ based on the English source file src/locales/en.json.

src/locales/en.json is the source of truth for locale structure, keys, placeholders, and default English copy.

src/locales/term-mappings/<locale>.json is the authoritative source of truth for any locale-specific in-game terminology that must not be replaced by direct translation.

Process

1. Read src/locales/en.json to get the current English strings.
2. List all other .json files in src/locales/ (e.g., ja.json, zh.json).
3. For each non-English locale file, read src/locales/term-mappings/<locale>.json if it exists.
4. Translate the locale normally for all unmapped paths.
5. Apply the mapped target values after translation to the exact locale paths listed in the term-mapping file.
6. Write the final locale file.

Locale Term Mappings

Directory format

• Store locale-specific term maps in src/locales/term-mappings/.
• Use one file per locale: ja.json, zh.json, fr.json, etc.
• Each file is keyed by locale path, so identical English terms can be mapped differently in different contexts if needed later.

File shape

{
    "locale": "ja",
    "sourceLocale": "en",
    "mappings": {
        "skills.attack_boost": {
            "source": "Attack Boost",
            "target": "攻撃力強化"
        }
    }
}

Hard rules

• Treat every mapped target as authoritative in-game terminology.
• Never overwrite or override a mapped target with AI translation, direct translation, English proper-noun preservation, style normalization, or "better wording".
• If a mapped path conflicts with the previous locale file, the term-mapping file wins.
• Reapply mapped targets after translation as the final locale-value override step.
• If a locale does not have a file in src/locales/term-mappings/<locale>.json, proceed without term overrides for that locale.

Translation Rules

Structure

• The output JSON must have the exact same key structure as en.json -- same nesting, same keys, same order.
• If en.json has added new keys since the last generation, add them. If keys were removed, remove them. The structure must be a 1:1 mirror.
• Exception: ARIA-only locale keys must not exist. Do not add or preserve dedicated accessibility-only paths such as ariaLabel, aria-label, or similar keys in locale files. If they appear in en.json or another locale, remove them from every locale instead of translating them.

What to translate

• Translate the values (the English text), not the keys.
• Translate naturally and idiomatically for the target language. Avoid overly literal translations.
• For gaming terminology (skills, stats, UI terms), use the conventions common in that language's gaming community.
• For any path present in src/locales/term-mappings/<locale>.json, do not translate the value freely. Use the mapped target exactly.
• For skills.short, optimize for shorter character length than the full skills label whenever possible, but only if the shortened label still preserves context and stays anchored to the authoritative in-game terminology for that locale.
• CRITICAL RULE FOR languageNames: Do NOT copy en.json's language names (e.g. "English", "Japanese (日本語)"). You MUST use the exact translated names specified in the "Language-specific notes" section below (e.g. "英語 (English)" for ja.json). This is a frequent error, so double-check your languageNames output.

What NOT to translate

• Interpolation placeholders like {name}, {version}, {treeLabel}, {subject}, {ownerLink}, {gameLink}, etc. -- keep these exactly as-is within the translated text.
• HTML tags like <br> -- preserve them in place.
• Proper nouns / brand names: "Backpack Planner", "GitHub", "HEX", "PvE", "PvP", "PWA" -- keep in English unless src/locales/term-mappings/<locale>.json provides a canonical localized value for that exact path.
• Numeric/symbol-only values: "+1", "+10", "−1", "−10", "+100", "https://.../#1;2;3" -- keep as-is.
• Format-only template strings where the value is purely placeholders: e.g., "{appName} {version}", "{appName} - {gameName}", "{appName} - {gameName} {version}" -- keep identical to English.
• ARIA / accessibility-only copy: Do not create translated locale entries specifically for ARIA labels. ARIA should stay hardcoded in code, or code may reuse an existing non-ARIA UI string only when it already matches the element without introducing a dedicated aria-only locale key.

skills.short rules

• Treat skills.short as compact UI labels, not full translations.
• The primary goal is shorter character length for faster reading in tight UI spaces.
• Never shorten a label if the result changes the stat meaning or makes the label ambiguous in context.
• Always preserve context so the shortened label still reads as the same gameplay stat in the UI.
• Keep the same gameplay meaning as the full skills.<id> label.
• If a locale term-mapping file defines a skills.short.* path, that mapped target is authoritative.
• Shortened labels should still use the locale's proper in-game terminology roots rather than inventing unrelated shorthand.

Language-specific notes

Japanese (ja.json):

• languageNames values should show the language name in Japanese, with the native script in parentheses where appropriate (e.g., "英語 (English)", "日本語", "中国語 (中文)").
• Use katakana for loanwords that are commonly written in katakana in gaming contexts.
• Use appropriate particles and natural sentence structure.
• For skills.short, prefer established compact forms that reduce character count while preserving meaning, such as dropping 力 when still clear (攻撃強化, 防御強化) or using well-understood abbreviations like グロ, ダメ, スキクリ, and 通常クリ.

Chinese Simplified (zh.json):

• languageNames values should show the language name in Chinese, with the native script in parentheses where appropriate (e.g., "英语 (English)", "日语 (日本語)", "中文").
• Use simplified Chinese characters.

For any new languages added in the future

• Follow the same pattern: languageNames shows each language name in the new language, with native script in parentheses for non-native languages.
• The new locale's own language entry should just be the native name without parenthetical.

Output

Write each translated locale file using the Write tool. Output valid, pretty-printed JSON with 4-space indentation matching the style of en.json.

After writing all files, briefly summarize what changed (new keys added, removed keys, number of strings translated, and which locale term-mapping files were applied).