Contributing Translations

Pulsemeeter supports multiple languages using GNU gettext. If you'd like to help by translating the app into your language, follow the steps below.

Directory Structure

All translation files are kept in the locale/ directory.

Each language has its own subdirectory, e.g.:

locale/
├── pt_BR/
│   └── LC_MESSAGES/
│       └── pulsemeeter.po
├── de/
│   └── LC_MESSAGES/
│       └── pulsemeeter.po

Creating a New Translation

Generate template file:

You can generate the template .pot file by running:

python setup.py extract_messages

Create language file based on template:

Create the language file specifying the language e.g. pt_BR:

python setup.py init_catalog -l pt_BR

Update the translation file when there are changes:

To update the .po files when there a changes in the code, specify the language e.g. pt_BR:

python setup.py update_catalog -l pt_BR

Compiling and testing

To compile the .po files just run:

python setup.py compile_catalog

To test it, copy the language directory to $XDG_DATA_HOME/locale:

cp -r locale/pt_BR $XDG_DATA_HOME/locale

Submitting

When contributing a translation, only submit the .po file.

The `.mo file (compiled version) should not be committed — it will be generated automatically at build time. This keeps the repository clean and avoids merge conflicts in binary files.

Open a pull request including just your .po file under the appropriate locale directory.