Introduction

Managing localization files in iOS and macOS projects can become challenging as your app grows. When you add new strings to your base language file, keeping all translation files synchronized becomes tedious and error-prone. This article explores syncLproj, a Rust-based CLI tool designed to automate this synchronization process.

The Localization Problem

In iOS/macOS development, localization uses .strings files with a simple key-value format:

/* User interface strings */
"welcome_message" = "Welcome to our app!";
"login_button" = "Log In";
"signup_button" = "Sign Up";

When managing multiple languages, several problems emerge:

• Missing keys: New keys added to the base language don't automatically appear in translations
• Key order inconsistency: Different files have keys in different orders, making diffs harder to review
• Orphaned keys: Removed keys remain in translation files
• Manual work: Copy-pasting keys across dozens of files is time-consuming and error-prone

Traditional approaches involve manual editing or Xcode's built-in tools, which lack automation capabilities for CI/CD pipelines.