wtf is intl-ai?

intl-ai is a plugin that adds AI powered translation to your app's build process. Instead of manually copying text into a translation tool and pasting the results back, or calling an AI service every time a page loads, intl-ai generates translations while your project is being built. The translated text is baked into the app before it ships, so there is no extra work happening while a real visitor is using the site. The plugin works with most popular build tools, including Vite, Rollup, Webpack, esbuild, Rspack, Bun, Nuxt, and Next.js. It also works with a range of AI providers through the Vercel AI SDK, so you can use OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, or any compatible service to generate the translated text. One useful detail is that intl-ai keeps a lockfile that tracks where each translated string came from, marking whether it was written by a person or generated by AI. This makes it easier to know which parts of your translations might need a human review. The tool is also incremental, meaning it only translates text that is missing or has changed since the last run, and it will not overwrite translations a person has already edited unless you specifically tell it to. Setup involves installing the package that matches your build tool, then creating a configuration file that lists your default language, the languages you want to support, and where your translation files live. From there, running a single command fills in the missing translations, or the plugin can run automatically as part of your normal build. The project is organized into a few smaller packages: a core library, the general plugin for bundlers, a Next.js specific integration, and a command line tool. It is released under the MIT license, meaning it can be used freely, including in commercial projects.