LocalizationCAN I VIBECODE
Phrase?
BUILD FIRST
- A non-sensitive or read-only version of the core experience
- A manual review step wherever correctness or trust matters
- A narrow companion tool that removes a real piece of work
LEAVE FOR LATER
- Regulated decisions, payments, or irreversible actions
- Claims of correctness, compliance, or uptime that the MVP cannot support
- Sensitive integrations until security, support, and auditability are ready
RESEARCH NOTES
What this tool actually does.
Phrase is an enterprise localization platform with three main products: Phrase TMS (translation management), Phrase Strings (software/string localization), and Phrase Studio (audio/video localization). Core workflow: content is imported via 200+ integrations, context (style guides, translation memories, term bases) informs AI orchestration that routes content to 30+ MT/LLM engines based on type, quality and cost; quality checks run before output. Phrase Strings focuses on continuous localization for developers: CLI, REST API, webhooks, git-like branching, 50+ file formats (JSON, XML, Android, iOS, YAML), smart QA checks for placeholder errors, length overflows and missing variables, plus CI/CD integration so translations ship with code.
RESEARCHED BUILD PROMPT
Give this to your coding agent.
Build an open-source replacement for the Phrase Strings software-localization workflow under a new name (do not use the 'Phrase' brand, logo, or UI). Core loop: developers push source files (JSON, YAML, Android XML, iOS .strings) via CLI or REST API; the system ingests keys, detects placeholder syntax, and stores them in a keyed store with git-like stacked branching; translators work in a web UI with context, translation-memory suggestions, term-base enforcement, and inline QA checks (placeholder mismatches, length overflows, missing keys); approved translations are pulled back via CLI/API and written to the original file format for CI/CD commit. Technical requirements: Node.js/TypeScript backend with SQLite/Postgres, REST API plus Node CLI, React web UI, a pluggable MT-provider interface (mock or LibreTranslate), a simple branching model (branch, merge, conflict report), parsers/generators for at least JSON, YAML, Android XML, iOS strings, webhook events on key/translation changes, and QA rule categories matching the original. Out of scope: audio/video localization (Phrase Studio), TMS vendor management, 30+ MT-engine orchestration, MCP server, and the full 200+ integration catalog (build 3 stub connectors: GitHub, Figma, Contentful). Do not copy Phrase's marketing site, dashboard layout, or distinctive feature names like 'Auto Adapt' — invent your own naming. Include a README with setup steps (database init, demo project seed, running CLI + web) and explicit limitations (single-tenant, no real MT quality scoring, translation-memory matching limited to exact-match fallback).