shiptxt

CLI to pull Figma translations from a shiptxt server into your project.

Install

npm install -g shiptxt
# or use without installing
npx shiptxt init

Quick start

# 1. Run the setup wizard once
npx shiptxt init

# 2. Open the Figma plugin and sync a frame

# 3. Pull translations
npx shiptxt pull

That's it. Translation files are written to ./public/locales (or wherever you configured).

Commands

shiptxt init

Interactive wizard that creates .shiptxt.json in your project root.

$ shiptxt init

shiptxt init

This creates .shiptxt.json in your project root.

Server URL (e.g. https://api.shiptxt.app): https://api.shiptxt.app
API Key (from dashboard → Settings, or ${ENV_VAR_NAME}): ${SHIPTXT_KEY}
Output directory [./public/locales]:
Format (namespaced / flat) [namespaced]:

Testing connection... ✅ Connected

✅ Created .shiptxt.json

Next steps:
  1. Open the Figma plugin and sync a frame
  2. Run: shiptxt pull
  3. Commit .shiptxt.json (config) and .shiptxt.lock (lock file)

shiptxt pull

Downloads the latest translations from the server and merges them safely into your locale files.

$ shiptxt pull

shiptxt pull
  server : https://api.shiptxt.app
  out    : ./public/locales
  format : namespaced

📥 Fetching job a1b2c3d4…  "Marketing / Hero"
✅ +12 new · ~3 updated
   Written to : ./public/locales  (4 languages)
   Lock file  : .shiptxt.lock

Safe merge

pull never deletes keys you have locally — it only adds and updates. If a key existed in the previous sync but was removed from the design, it is flagged as stale and kept:

⚠ 2 stale
   Stale keys (removed from design, kept locally):
     - pt:hero.cta_secondary
     - es:hero.cta_secondary

Review stale keys manually and remove them if they're no longer needed.

shiptxt status

Checks whether new translations are available without downloading anything. Useful in CI to gate deploys.

$ shiptxt status

shiptxt status

  Latest job : a1b2c3d4…  "Marketing / Hero"
  Created    : 2h ago

📦 New translations available!
   Local  : 9f8e7d6c…  "Marketing / Hero"
   Remote : a1b2c3d4…  "Marketing / Hero"

   Run: shiptxt pull

Exit codes:

• 0 — up to date
• 1 — error (server unreachable, bad key, etc.)
• 2 — new translations available

Config file

.shiptxt.json in your project root:

{
  "server": "https://api.shiptxt.app",
  "key":    "${SHIPTXT_KEY}",
  "out":    "./public/locales",
  "format": "namespaced"
}

| Field | Required | Default | Description | |---|---|---|---| | server | ✅ | — | URL of your shiptxt server | | key | ✅ | — | API key from the dashboard → Settings | | out | | ./public/locales | Directory to write translation files | | format | | namespaced | namespaced or flat (see below) |

CLI flags --server, --key, --out, --format override the config file.

API key security

Never commit your API key in plain text. Use an env var instead:

{ "key": "${SHIPTXT_KEY}" }

Then set the variable in your environment or CI secrets:

# local
export SHIPTXT_KEY=sk-...

# GitHub Actions
# Settings → Secrets → SHIPTXT_KEY

If you store the key as plain text, the init command will warn you and suggest adding .shiptxt.json to .gitignore.

Output formats

namespaced (default)

One file per language per frame, compatible with react-i18next and similar libraries:

public/locales/
  en/
    marketing_hero.json
  pt/
    marketing_hero.json
  es/
    marketing_hero.json

{
  "hero.headline": "Ship faster",
  "hero.cta": "Get started"
}

Load in react-i18next:

const { t } = useTranslation("marketing_hero");
t("hero.headline"); // "Ship faster"

flat

All keys for a language in a single file:

public/locales/
  en.json
  pt.json
  es.json

Lock file

.shiptxt.lock tracks the last synced job. Commit it to your repo.

{
  "jobId": "a1b2c3d4-...",
  "syncedAt": "2026-02-26T10:00:00.000Z",
  "frameName": "Marketing / Hero",
  "keys": {
    "hero.headline": "Ship faster",
    "hero.cta": "Get started"
  }
}

The lock file enables:

• Idempotent pulls — running pull twice doesn't duplicate keys
• Stale detection — keys removed from the design are flagged, not silently deleted
• CI gates — status compares lock vs server to decide if a re-pull is needed

CI / CD example

# .github/workflows/i18n.yml
name: Check translations

on: [push]

jobs:
  check:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: 20

      - name: Check for new translations
        run: npx shiptxt status
        env:
          SHIPTXT_KEY: ${{ secrets.SHIPTXT_KEY }}
        # exits with code 2 if translations are stale — fails the job

Or auto-pull and open a PR:

      - name: Pull latest translations
        run: npx shiptxt pull
        env:
          SHIPTXT_KEY: ${{ secrets.SHIPTXT_KEY }}

      - name: Open PR if changed
        uses: peter-evans/create-pull-request@v6
        with:
          title: "chore: update translations"
          branch: translations/auto-update