Custom File Format Module

Use this module to add support of new custom file formats. It’s implemented by delegating a source file parsing to an app with a custom file format module. When translations are completed, Crowdin passes a source file and a string array with translations to the Custom file format app for translation files generation.

Access

You can grant access to this module to one of the following user categories:

For Crowdin:

Only me (i.e., project owner)
All project members
Selected users

For Crowdin Enterprise:

Only organization admins
All users in the organization projects
Selected users

Structure

{
  "modules": {
    "custom-file-format": [
      {
        "key": "your-module-key-type-xyz",
        "type": "type-xyz",
        "url": "/process",
        "multilingual": true,
        "signaturePatterns": {
          "fileName": "^.+\\.xyz$",
          "fileContent": "<properties>\\s*<property\\s+name=.*value=.*/>"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Properties

`key`	Type: `string` Required: yes Description: Module identifier within the Crowdin app.
`type`	Type: `string` Required: yes Description: The custom file format identifier. Can be used in API to force the processing of the files by the Custom file format app. If the `type` parameter is used in API, the `signaturePatterns` will be ignored.
`url`	Type: `string` Required: yes Description: The relative URL triggered on file import, update, translation upload, and export.
`multilingual`	Type: `bool` Required: no Allowed values: `true`, `false`. Default is `false` Description: This parameter is used to combine the content of multiple languages into one request when uploading and downloading translations in your Crowdin project.
`signaturePatterns`	Type: `object` Description: Contains `fileName` and/or `fileContent` regular expressions used to detect file type when uploading a new source file via UI (or via API without specified `type` parameter). If the file matches regular expressions, it’s labeled as a custom format file. `fileContent` regular expression checks only the first 64 KB of the file content.

Communication between Custom File Format App and Crowdin

On the initial file import, the system detects custom file format using the signaturePatterns or type parameters and makes an HTTP request to the app’s URL ($baseUrl . $url) for further processing. Then app processes the file in a custom format and responds to the system. The requests and responses to and from the custom file format apps have two-minute timeouts. The maximum request and response payload size is limited to 5 MB.

Request to the App

Request payload example:

// max request payload - 5 MB
// wait timeout - 2 minutes
{
  "jobType": "parse-file | build-file",
  "organization": {
    "id": 1,
    "domain": "{domain}",
    "baseUrl": "https://{domain}.crowdin.com",
    "apiBaseUrl": "https://{domain}.api.crowdin.com"
  },
  "project": {
    "id": 1,
    "identifier": "your-project-identifier",
    "name": "Your Project Name"
  },
  "file": {
    "id": 1,
    "name": "file.xml",
    "content": "VGhpcyBpcyBmaWxlIGNvbnRlbnQ=", // base64 encoded source file content
    "contentUrl": "https://crowdin-tmp.downloads.crowdin.com/1/file.xml?aws-signature=..." // source file public URL
  },
  "sourceLanguage": {
    "id": "es",
    "name": "Spanish",
    "editorCode": "es",
    "twoLettersCode": "es",
    "threeLettersCode": "spa",
    "locale": "es-ES",
    "androidCode": "es-rES",
    "osxCode": "es.lproj",
    "osxLocale": "es",
    "pluralCategoryNames": ["one"],
    "pluralRules": "(n != 1)"
  },
  "targetLanguages": [
    {
      // same structure as for sourceLanguage, empty when uploading a new source file, one element for import_translations & export, can be more for multilingual files
    }
  ],
  "strings": [...], // for the build-file jobs, array of segments
  "stringsUrl": "https://tmp.downloads.crowdin.com/strings.ndjson" // for the build-file jobs, file with segments, in new-line delimited json format
}

Properties:

jobType

Type: string

Possible values: parse-file, build-file

Description: Specifies the action that should be executed by the app.
parse-file job is used for initial source file upload, source file update, and translation upload. For parse-file jobs, the system passes a source file to the app and expects a parsed source string array in the response.
build-file job is used for translation download. For build-file jobs, the system passes a source file and a string array with translations to the app and expects a generated translation file in the response.

file.content, file.contentUrl

Type: string

Description: Parameters used to pass the base64 encoded source file content (file.content) or a source file public URL (file.contentUrl).
Either of these two parameters can be used.

strings, stringsUrl

Type(strings): array

Type(stringsUrl): string

Description: Parameters used for translations download (for build-file job type only). strings - translation strings array. stringsUrl - public URL to a new-line delimited json with translation strings.
Either of these two parameters can be used.

Expected Response from the App for the parse-file Job Type

Response payload example:

// max response payload - 5 MB
// wait timeout - 2 minutes
{
  "data": {
    "strings": [...], // segments array
    "stringsUrl": "https://app.example.com/jKe8ujs7a-segments.ndjson", // new-line delimited json file with parsed strings
    "preview": "VGhpbmdzIGFyZSBvbmx5IGltcG9zc2libGUgdW50aWwgdGhleSdyZSBub3Qu", // optional, base64 encoded content of preview html file, not supported if there are plural strings
    "previewUrl": "https://app.example.com/LN3km2K6M-preview.html", // optional, URL of preview html file, not supported if there are plural strings
  },
  "error": {
    "message": "Your error message"
  }
}

Properties:

data.strings, data.stringsUrl

Type(data.strings): array

Type(data.stringsUrl): string

Description: Parameters used to pass the parsed strings content.
data.strings - parsed strings array.
data.stringsUrl - public URL to a new-line delimited json with parsed strings.
Either of these two parameters can be used.

preview, previewUrl

Type(preview): array

Type(previewUrl): string

Description: Parameters used to pass the optional HTML preview of the parsed strings content, which can be generated by the app. The generated HTML preview will be displayed in the Editor. See the HTML Preview file example.

error.message

Type: string

Description: An error message that can be passed from the app to Crowdin Enterprise and will be visible to a user in the UI.

Expected Response from the App for the build-file Job Type

Response payload example:

// max response payload - 5 MB
// wait timeout - 2 minutes
{
  "data": {
    "content": "TWF5IHRoZSBGb3JjZSBiZSB3aXRoIHlvdS4=", // base64 encoded translation file content
    "contentUrl": "https://app.example.com/p5uLEpq8p-result.xml", // translation file public URL
  },
  "error": {
    "message": "Your error message"
  }
}

Properties:

data.content, data.contentUrl

Type(data.content): string

Type(data.contentUrl): string

Description: Parameters used to pass the base64 encoded translation file content (data.content) or a translation file public URL (data.contentUrl).
Either of these two parameters can be used.

error.message

Type: string

Description: An error message that can be passed from the app to Crowdin Enterprise and will be visible to a user in the UI.

Strings Array Structure

Below you can see an example of the strings structure expected from the app for parse-file job type and passed to the app for build-file job type.

Payload example:

// strings should be in "new-line delimited json" format if they passed by URL
[
  { // non plural string
    "previewId": 1, // only for "parse-file" jobType, required when the HTML preview of the file is generated
    "id": 1, // only for "build-file" jobType
    "identifier": "string-key-1", // required
    "context": "Some context", // optional
    "customData": "max 4 KB of custom data", // optional
    "maxLength": 10, // optional, default null
    "isHidden": false, // optional, default null
    "hasPlurals": false, // optional, default false
    "labels": ["label-one", "label-two"], // optional, default []
    "text": "String source text", // required
    "translations": { // optional
      "uk": { // targetLanguage.id
        "text": "Переклад стрічки", // required
        "status": "untranslated | translated | approved" // optional, default "translated"
      },
      // can be other languages for multilingual, check "targetLanguages" in the request payload
    }
  },
  { // plural string
    "previewId": 2,
    "id": 2,
    "identifier": "string-key-2",
    "context": "Some optional context",
    "customData": "max 4 KB of custom data",
    "maxLength": 15,
    "isHidden": false,
    "hasPlurals": true,
    "labels": [],
    "text": { // keys from sourceLanguage.pluralCategoryNames
      "one": "One file",
      "other": "%d files",
    },
    "translations": {
      "uk": {
        "text": { // keys from targetLanguage.pluralCategoryNames
          "one": "One file",
          "few": "%d файла",
          "many": "%d файлів",
        },
        "status": {
          "one": "untranslated",
          "few": "translated",
          "many": "approved",
        }
      }
    }
  }
]

Properties:

`previewId`	Type: `integer` Required: yes (only for the `parse-file` job when the HTML preview of the file is generated) Description: Numeric identifier of the string in the HTML Preview file. Used for `parse-file` job type only.
`id`	Type: `integer` Description: Numeric identifier of the string in your Crowdin Enterprise project. Used for `build-file` job type only.
`identifier`	Type: `string` Description: Unique string key within the file.
`customData`	Type: `string` Description: Any custom data that need to be linked to the string. Added custom data will be exported along the corresponding strings on translation export.

HTML Preview of the File

HTML Preview of the file example:

<html lang="en">
  <head>
    <title>Optional Title</title>
    <style>
      table, th, td {
        border: 1px solid #aaa;
      }
    </style>
  </head>
  <body>
    <h1 style="text-align: center">HTML preview of the file</h1>
    <table style="width: 100%">
      <tr>
        <th>Key:</th>
        <th>Text:</th>
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>Key 1</td>
        <td><span id="string_preview_id_1">Source Text 1</span></td> <!-- 1 is previewId in strings json -->
      </tr>
      <tr>
        <td>Key 2</td>
        <td><span id="string_preview_id_2">Source Text 2</span></td> <!-- 2 is previewId in strings json -->
      </tr>
    </table>
  </body>
</html>

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