i18next backend

@openlocale/i18next-backend plugs openlocale into the most widely used JavaScript i18n library — including live updates.

npm install @openlocale/i18next-backend i18next

Setup

import i18next from "i18next";
import { OpenLocaleBackend } from "@openlocale/i18next-backend";

await i18next.use(OpenLocaleBackend).init({
  lng: "es",
  fallbackLng: "en",
  ns: ["default"],
  defaultNS: "default",
  backend: {
    endpoint: "https://locale.example.com",
    project: "demo",
    apiKey: undefined,      // read token for private projects
    live: true,             // live updates (default)
    onUpdate: (e) => {}     // optional hook after a live reload
  }
});

i18next.t("checkout.title");

Works with react-i18next, vue-i18next, and Svelte wrappers unchanged — they receive the standard loaded event when translations change and re-render on their own.

How it maps

• i18next languages ↔ openlocale locales
• i18next namespaces ↔ openlocale namespaces (one SDK client per namespace under the hood)
• changeLanguage() loads new locales on demand through the backend

Live reload mechanics

When the server pushes translations.updated, the backend re-fetches the bundle and reloads that language/namespace through i18next's backend connector. i18next then emits loaded — the event framework bindings already subscribe to — so UI updates require no extra code. The optional onUpdate callback runs afterwards for custom behavior (toasts, logging).

SSR note

The backend works in Node for SSR, but live subscriptions in a server render are rarely what you want — pass live: false on the server and let the client hydrate with live: true.