CLI commands

Loading Translate registers three commands. There is no generic bin/cake translate command.

Extract into the database

bin/cake i18n extract_to_db --paths src,templates --merge no --extract-core no

The command extends CakePHP’s extractor and writes discovered strings into backend tables. It can prompt for missing extraction choices. Use --help for the options supported by your installed CakePHP version.

Dump database translations

bin/cake i18n dump_from_db

The command writes PO files for active domains and the selected project’s locales, including inactive locales. Output directories use the stored locale code, such as de_DE. --paths accepts comma-separated output directories and --plugin selects a plugin project. Review generated files before committing them.

Validate PO and POT files

bin/cake i18n validate --paths resources/locales --summary
bin/cake i18n validate --paths resources/locales --json

Validation checks placeholder differences, whitespace and HTML tags. --key-based skips HTML and whitespace checks when message IDs are translation keys. --plugin selects a plugin’s locales directory. Inspect the command’s exit status when using it in CI.

Extract POT files without importing

CakePHP’s core extractor remains available:

bin/cake i18n extract --plugin Translate --overwrite --merge no --extract-core no

Use this to update the plugin’s own gettext template when contributing.