Format guide

.po

Gettext Portable Object

A PO file is the interchange format used by every gettext-based software localization toolchain: GNU gettext, Babel (Python), Poedit, Lokalise, Crowdin, Weblate, Transifex, polib, react-i18next, Django, Symfony, WordPress translations, and many more. Each entry pairs a source string (`msgid`) with its translation (`msgstr`), plus optional disambiguation context (`msgctxt`), plural forms (`msgid_plural` / `msgstr[N]`), translator/developer comments, source-file references, and gettext flags. Spec dates to 1995 with the original GNU gettext release; still the de-facto standard 30 years later.

How to open a .po file

Poedit (free, all platforms) is the most common editor. Lokalise/Crowdin/Weblate/Transifex import PO directly via web upload. Any text editor opens them as plain text. Linguists prefer Poedit for translation memory and validation; developers usually edit them in their IDE.

Primary use

Software localization (UI strings, error messages, in-app text in every language).

Convert other formats to .po

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