How to Initialize and Update `/languages` for a WordPress Plugin using WP-CLI

languages-wp-cli-guide.md

How to Initialize and Update /languages for a WordPress Plugin using WP-CLI

1️⃣ Create a .pot File

Generate the .pot file to include all translatable strings:

wp i18n make-pot . /languages/my-plugin.pot --domain=my-plugin

• .: Root directory of your plugin.
• /languages/my-plugin.pot: Destination for the .pot file.
• --domain=my-plugin: Text domain of your plugin.

2️⃣ Update .pot File

When adding new strings, run the same command to update the .pot file:

wp i18n make-pot . /languages/my-plugin.pot --domain=my-plugin

3️⃣ Structure Example

For a plugin structure like:

my-plugin/
  includes/
  templates/
  languages/

Run:

wp i18n make-pot my-plugin/ my-plugin/languages/my-plugin.pot --domain=my-plugin

Notes

• Ensure your text domain matches your plugin name.
• Use translation functions: __(), _e(), _x(), etc.
• Backup .po and .mo files before updating .pot.

Quick and easy for handling translations!