localization

name	localization
description	Use when adding, editing, or reviewing user-facing strings in the Alkaa project — UI labels, button text, content descriptions, empty states, error messages, plurals, or any text visible to the user.

Localization

Overview

All user-facing strings live in the resources module and must be translated for every supported language. Non-user-facing strings (previews, logs) may be hardcoded.

Naming Convention

<feature-name>_<component-name>_<description>

Example	Feature	Component	Description
task_list_header_empty	task	list	header_empty
category_cd_add_category	category	—	cd_add_category
task_alarm_permission_dialog_title	task	alarm_permission_dialog	title

Use _cd_ in the component/description segment for content descriptions.

Where to Add

• File: resources/src/commonMain/composeResources/values/strings.xml
• Plurals: resources/src/commonMain/composeResources/values/plurals.xml

Place new strings:

• Next to existing entries for the same feature, OR
• In a new <!-- Feature --> comment block if no block exists yet

<!-- MyFeature -->
<string name="myfeature_screen_title">My Title</string>
<string name="myfeature_button_save">Save</string>
<string name="myfeature_cd_close">Close</string>

Supported Languages

Provide a translation in all four language files:

Directory	Language
values/	English (default)
values-es/	Spanish
values-fr/	French
values-pt-rBR/	Portuguese (Brazil)

Each language directory contains strings.xml and plurals.xml. Add the new entry to the matching location in each file.

Plurals

Same rules apply. Use plurals.xml instead of strings.xml:

<!-- Tracker -->
<plurals name="tracker_message_title">
    <item quantity="one">%1$d completed task</item>
    <item quantity="other">%1$d completed tasks</item>
</plurals>

What NOT to Localize

Hardcode strings that are not user-facing:

• Composable preview annotations (name = "TaskItem - Loading")
• Log/debug messages
• Internal identifiers

Common Mistakes

Mistake	Fix
Reusing a string across two features	Create a separate entry per feature, even if text is identical
Adding only to values/	Add to all four language directories
Hardcoding a content description	Content descriptions are user-facing — add to resources
Skipping plurals translation	Apply the same four-language rule to plurals.xml