Contributing translations

All user-facing strings in django-multifactor are translatable. The package ships compiled .mo files in the wheel — projects using django-multifactor do not need to run compilemessages.

If you have translated django-multifactor into another language, PRs are very welcome.

Locating the catalogs

Translations live at:

multifactor/locale/<language>/LC_MESSAGES/django.po

For example, the French catalog (when it exists) would be at multifactor/locale/fr/LC_MESSAGES/django.po.

Adding a new language

  1. Clone the repo and install the development dependencies:

    git clone https://github.com/oliwarner/django-multifactor.git
cd django-multifactor
poetry install --with dev

  2. Generate the catalog for your locale. From the multifactor/ directory:

    cd multifactor
django-admin makemessages -l fr

    Substitute your language code for fr. The list of valid codes is in Django’s documentation.

  3. Translate the entries in multifactor/locale/fr/LC_MESSAGES/django.po. Each entry looks like:

    #: views.py:42
msgid "Your one-time-password is: %(otp)s"
msgstr "Votre mot de passe à usage unique est : %(otp)s"

    • Leave msgid exactly as-is — it’s the source string.

    • Set msgstr to your translation.

    • Preserve formatting placeholders (%(name)s, {}) exactly.

    • Leave the #: comment lines alone — they’re source-line references that Django uses.

  4. Compile the catalog so the .mo file is built:

    django-admin compilemessages

  5. Commit both django.po and django.mo.

  6. Open a PR. Title it i18n: add <Language> translation. Link any open issue (e.g. #129 tracks the i18n meta-effort).

Updating an existing translation

If source strings change between releases, you’ll see fuzzy or #~ entries appear in django.po on the next makemessages -a run. To update:

cd multifactor
django-admin makemessages -a   # update every catalog
# edit any new/changed entries in django.po
django-admin compilemessages

Commit the changes.

Translation guidelines

  • Match Django’s conventions. If you’re translating “log in”, look at how django/contrib/auth/locale/<your-language>/LC_MESSAGES/django.po phrases it. Consistency matters.

  • Don’t over-translate technical terms. “FIDO2”, “TOTP”, “QR” usually stay as-is even in non-English locales.

  • Preserve placeholders verbatim. %(name)s, {}, %s — never translate or reorder unless your language requires it (use named placeholders to reorder safely).

  • Test the output. Spin up the bundled testsite with LANGUAGE_CODE = "fr" and click through the flows.

Currently bundled languages

Locale

Status

en

Source (default)

This list will grow as translations land. See multifactor/locale/ for the authoritative state.

See also