Skill i18n

Translate skill documentation files (SKILL.md, README.md) into multiple languages, making it easier to share skills with international users.

Usage

Command	Description
/skill-i18n	Translate files in current skill directory
/skill-i18n <skill-name>	Translate files for specified skill
/skill-i18n config	Configure default languages and file types
/skill-i18n --lang zh-CN,ja	Translate to specified languages (for integration)
/skill-i18n --files SKILL.md,README.md	Translate specified files

Supported Languages

Language	Code	Output File
简体中文	zh-CN	SKILL.zh-CN.md
日本語	ja	SKILL.ja.md
한국어	ko	SKILL.ko.md
Español	es	SKILL.es.md
Custom	User-defined	SKILL.<code>.md

Configuration

All settings are stored in ~/.claude/skill-i18n-config.json:

{
  "default_languages": ["zh-CN", "ja"],
  "default_files": ["SKILL.md"],
  "skills_config": {
    "port-allocator": {
      "languages": ["zh-CN", "ja", "ko"],
      "files": ["SKILL.md", "README.md"]
    }
  }
}

Configuration Fields:

Field	Description	Default
default_languages	Languages to translate by default	["zh-CN", "ja"]
default_files	Files to translate by default	["SKILL.md"]
skills_config	Per-skill configuration	{}

Execution Steps

Command: /skill-i18n

Translate files in current skill directory:

1. Detect current directory

   # Check if current directory contains SKILL.md
   if [ ! -f SKILL.md ]; then
     echo "Error: SKILL.md not found in current directory"
     exit 1
   fi

2. Load configuration

   # Read config file
   CONFIG=$(cat ~/.claude/skill-i18n-config.json 2>/dev/null || echo '{}')
   
   # Get skill name from directory
   SKILL_NAME=$(basename "$(pwd)")
   
   # Check for skill-specific config
   SKILL_CONFIG=$(echo "$CONFIG" | jq -r ".skills_config[\"$SKILL_NAME\"] // null")

3. First-run selection (if no config)

   If no configuration exists for this skill, show TUI selection:

   {
     "questions": [
       {
         "question": "Which languages should be generated?",
         "header": "Languages",
         "multiSelect": true,
         "options": [
           { "label": "简体中文 (zh-CN)", "description": "Simplified Chinese" },
           { "label": "日本語 (ja)", "description": "Japanese" },
           { "label": "한국어 (ko)", "description": "Korean" },
           { "label": "Español (es)", "description": "Spanish" }
         ]
       },
       {
         "question": "Which files should be translated?",
         "header": "Files",
         "multiSelect": true,
         "options": [
           { "label": "SKILL.md", "description": "Skill documentation (recommended)" },
           { "label": "README.md", "description": "Repository readme" }
         ]
       }
     ]
   }

4. Save configuration

   # Save selection to config for future runs
   jq --arg skill "$SKILL_NAME" \
      --argjson langs '["zh-CN", "ja"]' \
      --argjson files '["SKILL.md"]' \
      '.skills_config[$skill] = {"languages": $langs, "files": $files}' \
      ~/.claude/skill-i18n-config.json > tmp.json && mv tmp.json ~/.claude/skill-i18n-config.json

5. Execute translation

   • For each selected file and language, generate translation
   • See "Translation Rules" section below

Command: /skill-i18n <skill-name>

Translate files for specified skill:

1. Search skill location

   # Search in common locations
   SKILL_PATH=""
   
   # Check ~/.claude/skills/
   if [ -d ~/.claude/skills/"$SKILL_NAME" ]; then
     SKILL_PATH=~/.claude/skills/"$SKILL_NAME"
   fi
   
   # Check code repository (if configured)
   if [ -z "$SKILL_PATH" ] && [ -d ~/Codes/skills/"$SKILL_NAME" ]; then
     SKILL_PATH=~/Codes/skills/"$SKILL_NAME"
   fi
   
   if [ -z "$SKILL_PATH" ]; then
     echo "Error: Skill '$SKILL_NAME' not found"
     exit 1
   fi

2. Execute translation (same as default command)

Command: /skill-i18n config

Configure default settings:

1. Show current configuration

   echo "Current configuration:"
   cat ~/.claude/skill-i18n-config.json | jq .

2. Interactive configuration via AskUserQuestion

   {
     "questions": [
       {
         "question": "Select default languages for new skills:",
         "header": "Defaults",
         "multiSelect": true,
         "options": [
           { "label": "简体中文 (zh-CN)", "description": "Simplified Chinese" },
           { "label": "日本語 (ja)", "description": "Japanese" },
           { "label": "한국어 (ko)", "description": "Korean" },
           { "label": "Español (es)", "description": "Spanish" }
         ]
       }
     ]
   }

3. Update configuration file

Command-Line Flags

For integration with other skills (e.g., share-skill):

Flag	Description	Example
--lang <codes>	Comma-separated language codes	--lang zh-CN,ja,ko
--files <names>	Comma-separated file names	--files SKILL.md,README.md
--skill <name>	Target skill name	--skill port-allocator
--no-prompt	Skip TUI, use flags/config directly	For automated workflows
--overwrite	Overwrite existing translations	Skip confirmation

Priority order:

1. Command-line flags (highest priority)
2. Skill-specific config in skills_config
3. Global default_languages and default_files
4. Interactive TUI selection (if no config exists)

Example integration:

# share-skill calls skill-i18n internally
/skill-i18n --lang zh-CN,ja --files SKILL.md --skill port-allocator --no-prompt

Translation Rules

Preserve Unchanged

These elements must NOT be translated:

• Code blocks (bash,json, etc.)
• File paths (~/.claude/settings.json, ~/Codes/skills/)
• Command names (/port-allocator, /skill-i18n, git push)
• Technical identifiers (variable names, JSON keys)
• URLs and links

Translate Naturally

• Adapt sentence structure to target language
• Use appropriate formality level:
  • Japanese: Polite form (です/ます)
  • Chinese: Standard written form
  • Korean: Polite form (합니다/습니다)
  • Spanish: Formal usted form
• Localize examples where appropriate

Frontmatter Handling

---
name: port-allocator          # Keep unchanged (identifier)
description: Translate this   # Translate to target language
---

Style Adaptation

Different languages may use different visual styles:

Language	Emoji Usage	Example
Chinese (zh-CN)	Common	✅ 正确 / ❌ 错误
Japanese (ja)	Minimal	正しい / 間違い
Korean (ko)	Moderate	✅ 올바름 / ❌ 잘못됨
Spanish (es)	Minimal	Correcto / Incorrecto

Follow existing translation patterns in the project if available.

Output Format

Translation Success

Translation complete

Skill: port-allocator
Source: SKILL.md

Generated:
  - SKILL.zh-CN.md (简体中文)
  - SKILL.ja.md (日本語)

Config saved for: port-allocator
Next run will auto-translate to: zh-CN, ja

Existing Files Detected

Existing translations detected:
  - SKILL.zh-CN.md (modified 2 days ago)
  - SKILL.ja.md (modified 2 days ago)

Options:
  [ ] Overwrite all
  [ ] Skip existing
  [ ] Select individually

Configuration Saved

Configuration updated

Default languages: zh-CN, ja
Default files: SKILL.md

Skill-specific config:
  port-allocator: zh-CN, ja, ko (SKILL.md, README.md)
  share-skill: zh-CN, ja (SKILL.md)

Integration with share-skill

skill-i18n integrates with share-skill for documentation generation:

# share-skill docs with i18n
/share-skill docs --i18n

# This internally calls:
/skill-i18n --lang <configured-langs> --files SKILL.md --no-prompt

When share-skill detects --i18n flag:

1. Check if skill-i18n is available
2. Load language configuration
3. Call skill-i18n to generate translations
4. Include translated files in documentation site

Notes

1. Source file safety - Never overwrite the source SKILL.md file
2. First-run prompt - First translation requires language selection
3. Per-skill config - Different skills can have different language settings
4. Incremental updates - Only translate when source file is newer than translations
5. Integration-friendly - Command-line flags allow other skills to call skill-i18n