Getting Started Internationalising (i18n) with Intlayer and Nuxt

See Application Template on GitHub.

What is Intlayer?

Intlayer is an innovative, open-source internationalisation (i18n) library designed to simplify multilingual support in modern web applications.

With Intlayer, you can:

• Easily manage translations using declarative dictionaries at the component level.
• Dynamically localise metadata, routes, and content.
• Ensure TypeScript support with autogenerated types, improving autocompletion and error detection.
• Benefit from advanced features, like dynamic locale detection and switching.

Step-by-Step Guide to Set Up Intlayer in a Nuxt Application

Step 1: Install Dependencies

Install the necessary packages using npm:

npm install intlayer vue-intlayernpm install --save-dev nuxt-intlayer

• intlayer

  The core package that provides internationalisation tools for configuration management, translation, content declaration, transpilation, and CLI commands.

• vue-intlayer The package that integrates Intlayer with Vue applications. It provides the composables for the Vue components.

• nuxt-intlayer The Nuxt module that integrates Intlayer with Nuxt applications. It provides automatic setup, middleware for locale detection, cookie management, and URL redirection.

Step 2: Configuration of your project

Create a config file to configure the languages of your application:

import { Locales, type IntlayerConfig } from "intlayer";const config: IntlayerConfig = {  internationalization: {    locales: [      Locales.ENGLISH,      Locales.FRENCH,      Locales.SPANISH,      // Your other locales    ],    defaultLocale: Locales.ENGLISH,  },  content: {    contentDir: ["."], // Because by default Intlayer will watch content declaration files from the `./src` directory  },};export default config;

Through this configuration file, you can configure localised URLs, middleware redirection, cookie names, the location and extension of your content declarations, disable Intlayer logs in the console, and more. For a complete list of available parameters, refer to the configuration documentation.

Step 3: Integrate Intlayer in Your Nuxt Configuration

Add the intlayer module to your Nuxt configuration:

import { defineNuxtConfig } from "nuxt/config";export default defineNuxtConfig({  // ... Your existing Nuxt configuration  modules: ["nuxt-intlayer"],});

The nuxt-intlayer module automatically handles the integration of Intlayer with Nuxt. It sets up the content declaration building, monitors files in development mode, provides middleware for locale detection, and manages localised routing.

Step 4: Declare Your Content

Create and manage your content declarations to store translations:

import { t, type Dictionary } from "intlayer";const helloWorldContent = {  key: "helloworld",  content: {    count: t({ en: "count is ", fr: "le compte est ", es: "el recuento es " }),    edit: t({      en: "Edit <code>components/HelloWorld.vue</code> and save to test HMR",      fr: "Éditez <code>components/HelloWorld.vue</code> et enregistrez pour tester HMR",      es: "Edita <code>components/HelloWorld.vue</code> y guarda para probar HMR",    }),    checkOut: t({      "en-GB": "Check out ",      en: "Check out ",      fr: "Vérifiez ",      es: "Compruebe ",    }),    nuxtIntlayer: t({      "en-GB": "Nuxt Intlayer documentation",      en: "Nuxt Intlayer documentation",      fr: "Documentation de Nuxt Intlayer",      es: "Documentación de Nuxt Intlayer",    }),    learnMore: t({      "en-GB": "Learn more about Nuxt in the ",      en: "Learn more about Nuxt in the ",      fr: "En savoir plus sur Nuxt dans la ",      es: "Aprenda más sobre Nuxt en la ",    }),    nuxtDocs: t({      "en-GB": "Nuxt Documentation",      en: "Nuxt Documentation",      fr: "Documentation Nuxt",      es: "Documentación de Nuxt",    }),    readTheDocs: t({      "en-GB": "Click on the Nuxt logo to learn more",      fr: "Cliquez sur le logo Nuxt pour en savoir plus",      es: "Haga clic en el logotipo de Nuxt para obtener más información",    }),  },} satisfies Dictionary;export default helloWorldContent;

/** @type {import('intlayer').Dictionary} */const helloWorldContent = {  key: "helloworld",  content: {    count: t({ 'en-GB': "count is ", en: "count is ", fr: "le compte est ", es: "el recuento es " }),    edit: t({      'en-GB': "Edit <code>components/HelloWorld.vue</code> and save to test HMR",      en: "Edit <code>components/HelloWorld.vue</code> and save to test HMR",      fr: "Éditez <code>components/HelloWorld.vue</code> et enregistrez pour tester HMR",      es: "Edita <code>components/HelloWorld.vue</code> y guarda para probar HMR",    }),    checkOut: t({ 'en-GB': "Check out ", en: "Check out ", fr: "Vérifiez ", es: "Compruebe " }),    nuxtIntlayer: t({      'en-GB': "Nuxt Intlayer documentation",      en: "Nuxt Intlayer documentation",      fr: "Documentation de Nuxt Intlayer",      es: "Documentación de Nuxt Intlayer",    }),      es: "Documentación de Nuxt Intlayer",    }),    learnMore: t({      'en-GB': "Learn more about Nuxt in the ",      en: "Learn more about Nuxt in the ",      fr: "En savoir plus sur Nuxt dans la ",      es: "Aprenda más sobre Nuxt en la ",    }),    nuxtDocs: t({      'en-GB': "Nuxt Documentation",      en: "Nuxt Documentation",      fr: "Documentation Nuxt",      es: "Documentación de Nuxt",    }),    readTheDocs: t({      'en-GB': "Click on the Nuxt logo to learn more",      en: "Click on the Nuxt logo to learn more",      fr: "Cliquez sur le logo Nuxt pour en savoir plus",      es: "Haga clic en el logotipo de Nuxt para obtener más información",    }),  },};module.exports = helloWorldContent;

Your content declarations can be defined anywhere in your application as long as they are included in the contentDir directory (by default, ./src). And match the content declaration file extension (by default, .content.{json,ts,tsx,js,jsx,mjs,mjx,cjs,cjx}).

For more details, refer to the content declaration documentation.

Step 5: Utilise Intlayer in Your Code

Access your content dictionaries throughout your Nuxt application using the useIntlayer composable:

<script setup lang="ts">import { ref } from "vue";import { useIntlayer } from "vue-intlayer";defineProps({  msg: String,});const {  count,  edit,  checkOut,  nuxtIntlayer,  learnMore,  nuxtDocs,  readTheDocs,} = useIntlayer("helloworld");const countRef = ref(0);</script><template>  <h1>{{ msg }}</h1>  <div class="card">    <button type="button" @click="countRef++">      <count />      {{ countRef }}    </button>    <p v-html="edit"></p>  </div>  <p>    <checkOut />    <a href="https://nuxt.com/docs/getting-started/introduction" target="_blank"      >Nuxt</a    >, <nuxtIntlayer />  </p>  <p>    <learnMore />    <a href="https://nuxt.com" target="_blank"><nuxtDocs /></a>.  </p>  <p class="read-the-docs"><readTheDocs /></p>  <p class="read-the-docs">{{ readTheDocs }}</p></template>

Accessing Content in Intlayer

Intlayer offers different APIs to access your content:

• Component-based syntax (recommended): Use the <myContent />, or <Component :is="myContent" /> syntax to render content as an Intlayer Node. This integrates seamlessly with the Visual Editor and CMS.

• String-based syntax: Use {{ myContent }} to render the content as plain text, without Visual Editor support.

• Raw HTML syntax: Use <div v-html="myContent" /> to render the content as raw HTML, without Visual Editor support.

• Destructuration syntax: The useIntlayer composable returns a Proxy with the content. This proxy can be destructured to access the content while maintaining reactivity.

  • Use const content = useIntlayer("myContent"); and {{ content.myContent }} / <content.myContent />.
  • Or use const { myContent } = useIntlayer("myContent"); and {{ myContent }} / <myContent /> to destructure the content.

(Optional) Step 6: Change the language of your content

To change the language of your content, you can use the setLocale function provided by the useLocale composable. This function allows you to set the locale of the application and update the content accordingly.

Create a component to switch between languages:

<template>  <div class="locale-switcher">    <select v-model="selectedLocale" @change="changeLocale">      <option v-for="loc in availableLocales" :key="loc" :value="loc">        {{ getLocaleName(loc) }}      </option>    </select>  </div></template><script setup lang="ts">import { ref, watch } from "vue";import { getLocaleName } from "intlayer";import { useLocale } from "vue-intlayer";// Get locale information and setLocale functionconst { locale, availableLocales, setLocale } = useLocale();// Track the selected locale with a refconst selectedLocale = ref(locale.value);// Update the locale when the selection changesconst changeLocale = () => setLocale(selectedLocale.value);// Keep the selectedLocale in sync with the global localewatch(  () => locale.value,  (newLocale) => {    selectedLocale.value = newLocale;  });</script></template><style scoped>.locale-switcher {  margin: 1rem 0;}select {  padding: 0.5rem;  border-radius: 0.25rem;  border: 1px solid #ccc;}</style>

Then, use this component in your pages or layout:

<script setup lang="ts">import { useIntlayer } from "vue-intlayer";import LocaleSwitcher from "~/components/LocaleSwitcher.vue";const content = useIntlayer("app"); // Create related intlayer declaration file</script><template>  <div>    <header>      <LocaleSwitcher />    </header>    <main>      <NuxtPage />    </main>  </div></template>

(Optional) Step 7: Add localised Routing to your application

Nuxt automatically handles localised routing when using the nuxt-intlayer module. This creates routes for each language automatically based on your pages directory structure.

Example:

pages/├── index.vue          → /, /fr, /es├── about.vue          → /about, /fr/about, /es/about└── contact/    └── index.vue      → /contact, /fr/contact, /es/contact

To create a localised page, simply create your Vue files in the pages/ directory:

<script setup lang="ts">import { useIntlayer } from "vue-intlayer";const content = useIntlayer("about");</script><template>  <div>    <h1>{{ content.title }}</h1>    <p>{{ content.description }}</p>  </div></template>

The nuxt-intlayer module will automatically:

• Detect the user's preferred locale
• Handle locale switching via URL
• Set the appropriate <html lang=""> attribute
• Manage locale cookies
• Redirect users to the appropriate localised URL

(Optional) Step 8: Creating a Localised Link Component

To ensure that your application's navigation respects the current locale, you can create a custom LocalisedLink component. This component automatically prefixes internal URLs with the current language.

<template>  <NuxtLink :to="localisedHref" v-bind="$attrs">    <slot />  </NuxtLink></template><script setup lang="ts">import { computed } from "vue";import { getLocalizedUrl } from "intlayer";import { useLocale } from "vue-intlayer";const props = defineProps({  to: {    type: String,    required: true,  },});const { locale } = useLocale();// Check if the link is externalconst isExternalLink = computed(() => /^https?:\/\//.test(props.to || ""));// Create a localised href for internal linksconst localizedHref = computed(() =>  isExternalLink.value ? props.to : getLocalizedUrl(props.to, locale.value));</script>

Then use this component throughout your application:

<template>  <div>    <LocalizedLink to="/about">      {{ content.aboutLink }}    </LocalizedLink>    <LocalizedLink to="/contact">      {{ content.contactLink }}    </LocalizedLink>  </div></template><script setup lang="ts">import { useIntlayer } from "vue-intlayer";import LocalizedLink from "~/components/LocalizedLink.vue";const content = useIntlayer("home");</script>

(Optional) Step 9: Handle Metadata and SEO

Nuxt provides excellent SEO capabilities. You can use Intlayer to manage localised metadata:

<script setup lang="ts">import { useSeoMeta } from "nuxt/app";import { getIntlayer } from "intlayer";import { useLocale } from "vue-intlayer";const { locale } = useLocale();const content = getIntlayer("about-meta", locale.value);useSeoMeta({  title: content.title,  description: content.description,});</script><template>  <div>    <h1>{{ content.pageTitle }}</h1>    <p>{{ content.pageContent }}</p>  </div></template>

Create the corresponding content declaration:

import { t, type Dictionary } from "intlayer";import type { useSeoMeta } from "nuxt/app";const aboutMetaContent = {  key: "about-meta",  content: {    title: t({      "en-GB": "About Us - My Company",      en: "About Us - My Company",      fr: "À Propos - Ma Société",      es: "Acerca de Nosotros - Mi Empresa",    }),    description: t({      "en-GB": "Learn more about our company and our mission",      en: "Learn more about our company and our mission",      fr: "En savoir plus sur notre société et notre mission",      es: "Conozca más sobre nuestra empresa y nuestra misión",    }),  },} satisfies Dictionary<Parameters<typeof useSeoMeta>[0]>;export default aboutMetaContent;

Configure TypeScript

Intlayer uses module augmentation to gain the benefits of TypeScript and strengthen your codebase.

Ensure your TypeScript configuration includes the autogenerated types.

{  // ... Your existing TypeScript configurations  "include": [    // ... Your existing TypeScript configurations    ".intlayer/**/*.ts", // Include the auto-generated types  ],}

Git Configuration

It is recommended to ignore the files generated by Intlayer. This prevents you from committing them to your Git repository.

To do this, you can add the following instructions to your .gitignore file:

# Ignore the files generated by Intlayer.intlayer

VS Code Extension

To enhance your development experience with Intlayer, you can install the official Intlayer VS Code Extension.

Install from the VS Code Marketplace

This extension provides:

• Autocompletion for translation keys.
• Real-time error detection for missing translations.
• Inline previews of translated content.
• Quick actions to easily create and update translations.

For more details on how to use the extension, refer to the Intlayer VS Code Extension documentation.

Go Further

To go further, you can implement the visual editor or externalise your content using the CMS.

Doc History

• 5.5.10 - 2025-06-29: Init history