Execute major migration to Lokalise from other TMS platforms with data migration strategies.
Use when migrating to Lokalise from competitors, performing data imports,
or re-platforming existing translation management to Lokalise.
Trigger with phrases like "migrate to lokalise", "lokalise migration",
"switch to lokalise", "lokalise import", "lokalise replatform".
Execute major migration to Lokalise from other TMS platforms with data migration strategies.
Use when migrating to Lokalise from competitors, performing data imports,
or re-platforming existing translation management to Lokalise.
Trigger with phrases like "migrate to lokalise", "lokalise migration",
"switch to lokalise", "lokalise import", "lokalise replatform".
Designed for Claude Code, also compatible with Codex and OpenClaw
Lokalise Migration Deep Dive
Current State
!lokalise2 --version 2>/dev/null || echo 'CLI not installed'
!npm list @lokalise/node-api 2>/dev/null | grep lokalise || echo 'SDK not installed'
!node --version 2>/dev/null || echo 'Node.js not available'
Overview
Migrate translations from another TMS (Crowdin, Phrase, POEditor) into Lokalise — export from the source platform, transform key names and variable syntax to match Lokalise conventions, bulk upload via API, validate translation coverage, and handle key conflicts with format-aware tooling.
Prerequisites
Admin or export access to the source TMS platform
Lokalise account with a plan that supports the target key count (Free: 500 keys, Pro: unlimited)
LOKALISE_API_TOKEN environment variable set (read-write token)
lokalise2 CLI or @lokalise/node-api SDK installed
jq for JSON manipulation during transformation
Instructions
Step 1: Export from Source Platform
Each TMS has its own export format. Export to a Lokalise-compatible format when possible (JSON, XLIFF, or the platform's native format).
From Crowdin:
set -euo pipefail
# Export all translations as JSON (flat key-value structure)# Use Crowdin CLI or API to download
curl -X POST "https://api.crowdin.com/api/v2/projects/${CROWDIN_PROJECT_ID}/translations/builds" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ${CROWDIN_TOKEN}" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"targetLanguageIds": [], "exportApprovedOnly": false}'# Download the build when ready (poll build status first)
curl -X GET "https://api.crowdin.com/api/v2/projects/${CROWDIN_PROJECT_ID}/translations/builds/${BUILD_ID}/download" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer ${CROWDIN_TOKEN}" -o crowdin-export.zip
unzip crowdin-export.zip -d crowdin-export/
echo"Exported $(find crowdin-export/ -name '*.json' | wc -l) translation files"
From Phrase (formerly PhraseApp):
set -euo pipefail
# Export all locales as JSONfor LOCALE in en fr de es ja; do
curl -X GET "https://api.phrase.com/v2/projects/${PHRASE_PROJECT_ID}/locales/${LOCALE}/download?file_format=simple_json" \
-H "Authorization: token ${PHRASE_TOKEN}" \
-o "phrase-export/${LOCALE}.json"sleep 0.5
doneecho"Exported locales: $(ls phrase-export/)"
From POEditor:
set -euo pipefail
# Export via POEditor API (returns a download URL)
EXPORT_URL=$(curl -s -X POST "https://api.poeditor.com/v2/projects/export" \
-d "api_token=${POEDITOR_TOKEN}&id=${POEDITOR_PROJECT_ID}&language=en&type=json" \
| jq -r '.result.url')
curl -s "$EXPORT_URL" -o poeditor-export/en.json
echo"Downloaded $(wc -c < poeditor-export/en.json) bytes"
Step 2: Transform Keys and Variable Syntax
Different TMS platforms use different interpolation syntax. Lokalise supports multiple formats, but consistency matters.
Use the transform script in Step 2 to normalize interpolation tokens before upload
Upload process stuck
Large file processing on Lokalise side
Poll process status; files over 50MB should be split by namespace
Plural forms missing
Source platform uses different plural rules
Manually map CLDR plural categories after import
Examples
Quick Migration Inventory
Before starting a migration, assess the scope:
set -euo pipefail
echo"=== Source Platform Inventory ==="echo"Translation files:"
find source-export/ -name "*.json" -o -name "*.xliff" -o -name "*.po" | head -20
echo""echo"Languages found:"ls source-export/ | head -20
echo""echo"Sample key count (first file):"
FIRST_FILE=$(find source-export/ -name "*.json" -type f | head -1)
jq 'keys | length'"$FIRST_FILE" 2>/dev/null || echo"Not a flat JSON file"
Dry Run — Validate Without Importing
set -euo pipefail
# Upload with --cleanup-mode to see what would happen without committing
lokalise2 --token "${LOKALISE_API_TOKEN}" \
file upload \
--project-id "${PROJECT_ID}" \
--file lokalise-import/en.json \
--lang-iso en \
--poll \
--detect-icu-plurals
# Review the process result before uploading remaining languages
