Edit and translate your Xcode String Catalogs (.xcstrings)

What LocalePilot reads and writes

• Missing translation: no localization, new state or empty. LocalePilot never writes an empty value: clearing a translation removes the localization, like Xcode does.
• Plurals and device variations are editable, shown as key › plural › one.
• Source language: a key without a localization means the key itself (Xcode convention) and is not rewritten until you edit it.
• States: an unchanged value keeps its state (needs_review…); an edited value becomes translated.

A minimal diff, in Xcode's style

Writing back an unchanged catalog produces a byte-identical file; an edit only changes its own lines. Your code review stays readable, and the export goes through the same review, disk merge and backup as every other format.

Format specifiers checked

QA recognizes %@, %1$@, %d, %ld, %lld, %.2f, %u, %i and %s; %% is treated as text. A missing or extra specifier in a translation is flagged before export.

Known limits

• Keys marked shouldTranslate: false and keys using substitutions (%#@count@) are preserved untouched but not shown: they stay managed in Xcode.
• String Catalog target categories follow each language’s CLDR rules, including categories absent from the source. A missing source category uses its other form; categories unused by the target language are not exported.
• Legacy .strings files are supported too, in UTF-8. A new language in .strings files creates a <locale>.lproj folder that you must add to the Xcode project. LocalePilot warns you in the export summary and never edits the .pbxproj; projects that use Xcode 16 synchronized folders need nothing.