Localization · checked 2026-10-13

Can I vibecode Lokalise?

YES· one-shottable

Lokalise keeps your app's keys, their translations and the context around them, then writes the files each platform expects. For one developer that is a grid on SQLite, importers and exporters for .strings, strings.xml and JSON, a placeholder check and an LLM for first drafts, which an agent builds in one sitting. What you lose is the team layer: translator seats, review workflows, over-the-air updates, the Figma and GitHub integrations and the managed AI routing. Tolgee self-hosted is the nearest free option when those matter.

$169/moprice

$2,028you'd save a year

one sittingbuild time

—people replaced it

Before you start

What you need on hand.

DifficultyIntermediate · Some system setup or keys.

TimeOne to two hours for the first version

Claude Code, Codex or CursorAny of them can run the prompt.
Python 3.12 with uvuv installs the dependencies and runs the app.
An LLM API keyOpenAI, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint such as a local Ollama server.
Your current string filesDownload them from Lokalise for every platform before the plan ends.

Before you buildLokalise has no free plan, only a 14-day trial. If you want something ready-made instead of building, self-hosted Tolgee or Weblate cost nothing but a server.

1. Install one agent: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor.
2. Make an empty folder and open it in the agent.
3. Paste the prompt below, press enter, and answer its questions as it builds.

The prompt

Build me a self-hosted string manager to replace Lokalise for my iOS, Android and web apps. Requirements:

- Python 3.12 + FastAPI with Jinja2 templates and htmx; `uv run app` serves
http://localhost:4800. A CLI named `strings` shares the same code.
- Storage: SQLite through SQLModel in ./data/strings.db: keys (name, description, platforms,
tags, screenshot path), one translation per key and language with a status
(empty, machine, reviewed), and an edit log. Screenshots go to ./data/shots/.
- Import Localizable.strings and .stringsdict, Android strings.xml (including <plurals>) and
flat or nested JSON. Show new, changed and removed keys and ask before saving.
- Grid editor: a row per key, a column per language, filters for untranslated, machine and
tag; open a key to see its description, screenshot and full history.
- AI translation for selected rows through an OpenAI-compatible API (base URL, key and model
in .env). Send the key description, glossary terms and the plural categories each language
needs (CLDR rules from `babel`); save results as "machine" until I review them.
- Placeholder check: %@, %d, %1$s and {name} must match the source; export refuses broken rows
and lists them.
- Export per platform: `strings export --platform ios|android|web --out ../app` writes
de.lproj/Localizable.strings, values-de/strings.xml or locales/de.json.
- Single user. No accounts, no telemetry, local-first; only the AI calls leave the machine.
- Out of scope: over-the-air SDKs, Figma and GitHub integrations, translator seats, workflows.
- README: setup, the .env keys, where the data lives and how to back it up.

Opens your agent with the prompt filled in, you press enter. Or copy it and paste it into an empty folder.

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Then keep going

Next prompts, same folder.

The first prompt builds the core. Run these one at a time in the same folder to grow it into your own Lokalise.

Add a Lokalise importer to the string manager in this folder. Requirements:

- Read LOKALISE_API_TOKEN and a project id from .env; use the Lokalise API v2 (`python-lokalise-api`).
- Copy every key with its platforms, description and tags, every translation with its
  reviewed flag, and the screenshots linked to keys (save the images in ./data/shots/).
- Page through results and stay under 6 requests per second; resume where it stopped if
  the run is interrupted.
- Print a summary at the end: keys, languages, translations and screenshots imported.
- Update the README with how to create a read-only API token.

Add a CI mode to the string manager in this folder. Requirements:

- `strings ci --base origin/main` finds keys added or changed in the source files since the
  base branch, imports them, machine-translates the missing languages and writes the files.
- Output a Markdown table of new keys and their translations for a pull request comment.
- Exit with code 1 if any placeholder check fails, so the pipeline stops.
- Provide a GitHub Actions workflow file that runs it on pull requests and commits the
  translated files back to the branch; the API key comes from a repository secret.
- Update the README with the workflow and the secret it needs.

Add a length check to the string manager in this folder. Requirements:

- Each key can carry a max length in characters (set in the editor or imported from a
  `maxLength` field in the source JSON).
- Flag translations longer than the max, and translations more than 40% longer than the
  source when no max is set.
- Show the flags as a filter in the grid and as warnings in `strings export`.
- On the key detail page, draw the translation over the attached screenshot in the
  rectangle I mark once per key, so I can see whether it fits.
- Update the README.

What you lose

Seats and review workflows for translators and managers
Over-the-air string updates through the mobile SDKs
Figma, GitHub and other integrations that move strings for you
In-context editors for web and mobile
Pro AI translation with routing across several models

Why people still pay

Product teams pay so designers, developers and translators work on the same keys without passing files around: strings flow in from Figma and the repo, translators see screenshots and context, and updates reach phones over the air without an app release. Once several apps and languages run through it, the integrations are what people would miss.

Moatintegrations collaboration execution polish

Do the math

Lokalise or your own copy?

Over

Your usage

Count my time3h ×$/h

Lokalise, 1 yr$2,028

Your own copy, 1 yr$35running + build session

You keep$1,993pays for itself in the first month

Estimate · Runs locally. AI drafts cost cents per thousand short strings on a small model, or nothing with a local one. The build is token usage on your agent plan.

Leaving Lokalise

Take your data, then cancel.

1 · Take your data out of Lokalise

1In each project click Download in the main menu, pick a file format, keep all languages selected and click Build and download.
2Repeat for every format you ship (for example iOS .strings, Android XML and JSON); tick Include all platform keys if your keys are split by platform.
3Under Advanced settings, choose what happens to empty translations: export them empty, skip them or fill them with the base language.
4Translation memory: a team admin opens Team settings > Translation memory and clicks Download as TMX file. The help article ties this to higher plans, so check yours early.

2 · Cancel Lokalise

1A team owner or biller opens Team settings > Billing and clicks Cancel subscription.
2The plan stays active until the end of the paid period, then stops renewing.
3Invoice-paid teams send written notice to support@lokalise.com instead.

Yearly plans must be cancelled at least 90 days before the renewal date, monthly plans at least 7 days before; otherwise the next term is billed.
No refunds on cancellation. The one exception: an annual plan bought by mistake can be refunded and switched to monthly within 24 hours.
Screenshots and comments don't travel in the platform files; pull them through the API if you need them.
The API's download endpoint returns a ZIP bundle of files, which helps when you have many projects.

Checked 2026-10-13 against Lokalise's docs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

The escape hatch

Don't feel like building it? These are already free.

TolgeeOpen sourceThe closest self-hosted match: keys, screenshots, machine translation and editing strings right inside your running app.★ 4.1k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗WeblateOpen sourceMature translation server that commits straight to your Git repo, with checks, memory and many file formats.★ 6.1k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗TraduoraOpen sourceSmall translation server with an API for pulling strings into builds; fewer features, easy to run.★ 2.1k · active Aug 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗

All 5 free alternatives to Lokalise ›

The numbers

Lokalise pricing

Plan	Monthly	Annual, per month	What you get
Explorer	$169	$149	5 advanced seats, unlimited translator seats and hosted words, 5 projects, 10 languages, 5K processed words a month (up to 40K with add-ons), 20K standard AI/MT words a month, 2 integrations.
Growth	$439	$379	Unlimited projects and languages, 20K processed words a month (up to 120K with add-ons), 3K Pro AI words a month, translation memory.
Advanced	—	$1,049	Multi-product workflows, more seats and processed words.
Enterprise	custom	—	Custom volumes, SSO and dedicated support.

Free tier: No free plan; a 14-day trial with Enterprise features and no card.
Billing: Monthly or yearly (yearly is 12-14% cheaper). Monthly plans renew unless cancelled 7 days before; yearly plans renew unless cancelled 90 days before the renewal date. Cards are charged automatically; bank-transfer customers are invoiced 3-4 weeks ahead.
Hidden costs: Processed words, the source words you translate through the platform, are metered per plan and topped up with add-on bundles. Extra manager and developer seats are $10/mo each. No refunds on cancellation, and fees may rise at renewal by up to the CPI change or 5%.
Source: lokalise.com

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Questions

Lokalise, briefly

Not answered here? Tell us and we'll add it.

Ask a question ›

Yes. An AI coding agent such as Claude Code, Codex or Cursor can build a usable personal version in one session with the prompt on this page, running on your own machine.

About $169 a month on the Explorer plan, $2,028 a year (checked 2026-10-13).

Seats and review workflows for translators and managers; Over-the-air string updates through the mobile SDKs; Figma, GitHub and other integrations that move strings for you; In-context editors for web and mobile; Pro AI translation with routing across several models. If any of those matter to you, keep paying.