Open-source i18n tooling for JavaScript & TypeScript

One translation model.Every framework.

Write messages where your UI happens. Keep source-string-first .po catalogs your translators can actually read. Ship the same runtime model across Next.js, TanStack Start, SolidStart, Waku, React Router, and Remix v3 — with a Rust core that ran a checked extract/update benchmark across a real-app-shaped 1,500-file corpus 12.99× faster than Lingui on the recorded machine-local run.

Get started in 5 minutes See it live

Quick install

pnpm add -D @palamedes/cli

pmds — extract

$ pmds extract
Config loaded from palamedes.yaml
Found 312 files to extract from
  -> src/locales/en.po
  -> src/locales/de.po
✓ Extracted 640 messages from 312 files (34ms)

pmds — audit

$ pmds audit
Catalog audit passed: 0 error(s), 2 warning(s), 0 info
src/locales/de.po
  [Warning] missing-translation [de]: 28 entries
  [Warning] unused-context [de]: 1 entry

pmds — report

$ pmds report --fail-if-below 90
Locale  Translated  Missing  Complete
en      640/640     0        100%
de      612/640     28       95.6%
es      598/640     42       93.4%
✓ All locales above threshold
en100%
de95.6%
es93.4%

24verified example apps 6 × 4frameworks × locale strategies 12.99×faster than Lingui — realistic 1,500-file extract/update benchmark, machine-local run 16ADRs documenting every tradeoff

01 — Model

Your i18n setup should not splinter when your framework changes.

Most teams relearn internationalization with every migration: new runtime, new message IDs, new catalog quirks. Palamedes keeps the parts you touch every day stable — and lets the framework be the only thing that changes.

Write messages in place

Macro-style authoring next to your JSX. No message-ID bookkeeping, no separate dictionary files to keep in sync.

One identity model

Messages are identified by message + context — stable across refactors, frameworks, and years of catalog history.

One runtime call

getI18n() resolves the active instance everywhere: server components, client islands, backend request handlers.

02 — Workflow

The whole workflow, honestly small.

Write

src/*.tsx

t`…` macro in the component

Extract

pmds

one native command

Translate

.po catalog

source-string-first

Render

every framework

same runtime model

import { t, plural } from "@palamedes/core/macro"
import { Trans } from "@palamedes/react"
 
export function Booking({ seats }: { seats: number }) {
  return (
    <>
      <h1>{t`Your trip to Lisbon`}</h1>
      <p>{plural(seats, { one: "# seat left", other: "# seats left" })}</p>
      <Trans>Free cancellation until <b>24 hours</b> before departure.</Trans>
    </>
  )
}

Messages live where the UI happens.

Rendered

The same component, in every locale, in every framework.

en-US

Your trip to Lisbon

3 seats left€1,234.00

Jul 12, 2026

de-DE

Deine Reise nach Lissabon

3 Plätze frei1.234,00 €

12. Juli 2026

es-ES

Tu viaje a Lisboa

Quedan 3 asientos1234,00 €

12 jul 2026

one component · copy, plurals, currency & dates change together

03 — Proof

We don't ask you to trust a slogan. The repo shows the work.

Every framework/strategy combination is a real app, re-verified in CI through the same Playwright flow — with public demos where the hosting is ready. Every benchmark number links to a checked-in, re-runnable report.

Framework	Cookiecookie	Routeroute	Subdomainsubdomain	TLDtld
Next.jsnextjs	✓ verified open source	✓ verified en de es source	✓ verified en de es source	✓ verified provisioningsource
TanStack Starttanstack	✓ verified open source	✓ verified en de es source	✓ verified en de es source	✓ verified provisioningsource
SolidStartsolidstart	✓ verified open source	✓ verified en de es source	✓ verified en de es source	✓ verified provisioningsource
Wakuwaku	✓ verified open source	✓ verified en de es source	✓ verified en de es source	✓ verified provisioningsource
React Routerreact-router	✓ verified open source	✓ verified en de es source	✓ verified en de es source	✓ verified provisioningsource
Remix v3remix	✓ verified provisioningsource	✓ verified provisioningsource	✓ verified en de es source	✓ verified provisioningsource

● live demo · ◌ provisioning (#306) · ✓ CI browser-verified — all 24 apps run the same verification flow

Realistic corpus — 1,500 files across ~400k lines, 6,000 messages (median of 7 runs)

Palamedes

174 ms

i18next-parser

1562 ms

Lingui

2254 ms

ms · linear

Machine-local run (darwin/arm64, Node v24.18.0, 2026-07-06), median of 7 runs — not a marketing average. Methodology →

All benchmarks & the verification story

04 — Scope

Palamedes deliberately owns less. It keeps the part of i18n you touch every day — your messages, your catalog, the runtime lookup — and hands everything framework-specific back to your framework.

Palamedes owns it — same on every framework

write messagesextract & updatecatalog (.po)runtime lookup

└─── one Rust core, everywhere ───┘

Your framework owns it — different on every stack

routing & URLslocale detectionrenderinghosting

Switch frameworks, and only the bottom row changes. The top row is the same code you already wrote.

05 — Maintainer

Built from repeat experience, not a weekend take.

Palamedes is maintained by Sebastian Software GmbH. It is the third generation of source-string-first JavaScript i18n tooling from the same author — from gettext-style macro systems in qooxdoo to a full enterprise Lingui migration at Regrello (acquired by Salesforce in 2025). The lessons are written down as 16 ADRs before you depend on the tool.

The decision trail (ADRs) →Why this exists →

06 — Packages

Small packages, one model.

You own the code. You run the commands. Every piece is a scoped npm package your repo controls.

@palamedes/cli

Extraction CLI for workflows and CI

npm →

@palamedes/core

App-facing i18n instance

npm →

@palamedes/runtime

Runtime bridge for transformed code

npm →

@palamedes/react

React translation components

npm →

@palamedes/solid

Solid translation components

npm →

@palamedes/vite-plugin

Recommended Vite entry point

npm →

@palamedes/next-plugin

Recommended Next.js entry point

npm →

The top-level palamedes name is reserved — the scoped packages above are the install path today.

Your first working translation is 5 minutes away.

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