---

name: skill-i18n description: Translate SKILL.md and README.md files into multiple languages for sharing skills internationally

Skill i18n

Translate skill documentation files (SKILL.md, README.md) into multiple languages, making it easier to share skills with international users.

Usage

Command	Description
/skill-i18n	Translate files in current skill directory
/skill-i18n <skill-name>	Translate files for specified skill
/skill-i18n config	Configure default languages and file types
/skill-i18n --lang zh-CN,ja	Translate to specified languages (for integration)
/skill-i18n --files SKILL.md,README.md	Translate specified files

Supported Languages

Language	Code	Output File
简体中文	zh-CN	SKILL.zh-CN.md
日本語	ja	SKILL.ja.md
한국어	ko	SKILL.ko.md
Español	es	SKILL.es.md
Custom	User-defined	SKILL.<code>.md

Configuration

All settings are stored in ~/.claude/skill-i18n-config.json:

{
  "default_languages": ["zh-CN", "ja"],
  "default_files": ["SKILL.md"],
  "skills_config": {
    "port-allocator": {
      "languages": ["zh-CN", "ja", "ko"],
      "files": ["SKILL.md", "README.md"]
    }
  }
}

Configuration Fields:

Field	Description	Default
default_languages	Languages to translate by default	["zh-CN", "ja"]
default_files	Files to translate by default	["SKILL.md"]
skills_config	Per-skill configuration	{}

Execution Steps

Command: /skill-i18n

Translate files in current skill directory:

1. Detect current directory

   # Check if current directory contains SKILL.md
   if [ ! -f SKILL.md ]; then
     echo "Error: SKILL.md not found in current directory"
     exit 1
   fi
   

2. Load configuration

   # Read config file
   CONFIG=$(cat ~/.claude/skill-i18n-config.json 2>/dev/null || echo '{}')
   
   # Get skill name from directory
   SKILL_NAME=$(basename "$(pwd)")
   
   # Check for skill-specific config
   SKILL_CONFIG=$(echo "$CONFIG" | jq -r ".skills_config[\"$SKILL_NAME\"] // null")
   

3. First-run selection (if no config)

   If no configuration exists for this skill, show TUI selection:

   {
     "questions": [
       {
         "question": "Which languages should be generated?",
         "header": "Languages",
         "multiSelect": true,
         "options": [
           { "label": "简体中文 (zh-CN)", "description": "Simplified Chinese" },
           { "label": "日本語 (ja)", "description": "Japanese" },
           { "label": "한국어 (ko)", "description": "Korean" },
           { "label": "Español (es)", "description": "Spanish" }
         ]
       },
       {
         "question": "Which files should be translated?",
         "header": "Files",
         "multiSelect": true,
         "options": [
           { "label": "SKILL.md", "description": "Skill documentation (recommended)" },
           { "label": "README.md", "description": "Repository readme" }
         ]
       }
     ]
   }
   

4. Save configuration

   # Save selection to config for future runs
   jq --arg skill "$SKILL_NAME" \
      --argjson langs '["zh-CN", "ja"]' \
      --argjson files '["SKILL.md"]' \
      '.skills_config[$skill] = {"languages": $langs, "files": $files}' \
      ~/.claude/skill-i18n-config.json > tmp.json && mv tmp.json ~/.claude/skill-i18n-config.json
   

5. Execute translation

   • For each selected file and language, generate translation
   • See "Translation Rules" section below

Command: /skill-i18n <skill-name>

Translate files for specified skill:

1. Search skill location

   # Search in common locations
   SKILL_PATH=""
   
   # Check ~/.claude/skills/
   if [ -d ~/.claude/skills/"$SKILL_NAME" ]; then
     SKILL_PATH=~/.claude/skills/"$SKILL_NAME"
   fi
   
   # Check code repository (if configured)
   if [ -z "$SKILL_PATH" ] && [ -d ~/Codes/skills/"$SKILL_NAME" ]; then
     SKILL_PATH=~/Codes/skills/"$SKILL_NAME"
   fi
   
   if [ -z "$SKILL_PATH" ]; then
     echo "Error: Skill '$SKILL_NAME' not found"
     exit 1
   fi
   

2. Execute translation (same as default command)

Command: /skill-i18n config

Configure default settings:

1. Show current configuration

   echo "Current configuration:"
   cat ~/.claude/skill-i18n-config.json | jq .
   

2. Interactive configuration via AskUserQuestion

   {
     "questions": [
       {
         "question": "Select default languages for new skills:",
         "header": "Defaults",
         "multiSelect": true,
         "options": [
           { "label": "简体中文 (zh-CN)", "description": "Simplified Chinese" },
           { "label": "日本語 (ja)", "description": "Japanese" },
           { "label": "한국어 (ko)", "description": "Korean" },
           { "label": "Español (es)", "description": "Spanish" }
         ]
       }
     ]
   }
   

3. Update configuration file

Command-Line Flags

For integration with other skills (e.g., share-skill):

Flag	Description	Example
--lang <codes>	Comma-separated language codes	--lang zh-CN,ja,ko
--files <names>	Comma-separated file names	--files SKILL.md,README.md
--skill <name>	Target skill name	--skill port-allocator
--no-prompt	Skip TUI, use flags/config directly	For automated workflows
--overwrite	Overwrite existing translations	Skip confirmation

Priority order:

1. Command-line flags (highest priority)
2. Skill-specific config in skills_config
3. Global default_languages and default_files
4. Interactive TUI selection (if no config exists)

Example integration:

# share-skill calls skill-i18n internally
/skill-i18n --lang zh-CN,ja --files SKILL.md --skill port-allocator --no-prompt

Translation Rules

Preserve Unchanged

These elements must NOT be translated:

• Code blocks (bash, json, etc.)
• File paths (~/.claude/settings.json, ~/Codes/skills/)
• Command names (/port-allocator, /skill-i18n, git push)
• Technical identifiers (variable names, JSON keys)
• URLs and links

Translate Naturally

• Adapt sentence structure to target language
• Use appropriate formality level:
  • Japanese: Polite form (です/ます)
  • Chinese: Standard written form
  • Korean: Polite form (합니다/습니다)
  • Spanish: Formal usted form
• Localize examples where appropriate

Frontmatter Handling

---
name: port-allocator          # Keep unchanged (identifier)
description: Translate this   # Translate to target language
---

Style Adaptation

Different languages may use different visual styles:

Language	Emoji Usage	Example
Chinese (zh-CN)	Common	✅ 正确 / ❌ 错误
Japanese (ja)	Minimal	正しい / 間違い
Korean (ko)	Moderate	✅ 올바름 / ❌ 잘못됨
Spanish (es)	Minimal	Correcto / Incorrecto

Follow existing translation patterns in the project if available.

Output Format

Translation Success

Translation complete

Skill: port-allocator
Source: SKILL.md

Generated:
  - SKILL.zh-CN.md (简体中文)
  - SKILL.ja.md (日本語)

Config saved for: port-allocator
Next run will auto-translate to: zh-CN, ja

Existing Files Detected

Existing translations detected:
  - SKILL.zh-CN.md (modified 2 days ago)
  - SKILL.ja.md (modified 2 days ago)

Options:
  [ ] Overwrite all
  [ ] Skip existing
  [ ] Select individually

Configuration Saved

Configuration updated

Default languages: zh-CN, ja
Default files: SKILL.md

Skill-specific config:
  port-allocator: zh-CN, ja, ko (SKILL.md, README.md)
  share-skill: zh-CN, ja (SKILL.md)

Integration with share-skill

skill-i18n integrates with share-skill for documentation generation:

# share-skill docs with i18n
/share-skill docs --i18n

# This internally calls:
/skill-i18n --lang <configured-langs> --files SKILL.md --no-prompt

When share-skill detects --i18n flag:

1. Check if skill-i18n is available
2. Load language configuration
3. Call skill-i18n to generate translations
4. Include translated files in documentation site

Notes

1. Source file safety - Never overwrite the source SKILL.md file
2. First-run prompt - First translation requires language selection
3. Per-skill config - Different skills can have different language settings
4. Incremental updates - Only translate when source file is newer than translations
5. Integration-friendly - Command-line flags allow other skills to call skill-i18n