# Build brief — a focused alternative to Loco

> **Verdict:** Partly, if you narrow it · **Buildability:** 53/100 · **Category:** Localization
> **Source:** https://www.canitbevibecoded.com/loco
> Independent editorial assessment from Can It Be Vibe Coded? Not affiliated with, endorsed by, or derived from Loco. Verify current pricing and capabilities before acting.

## Context

**Loco** — Hosted translation management for app strings: a web editor for keys and locales, plus export to the dozens of file formats platforms actually expect. It currently costs $5.95/mo.

The core of Loco is a keyed string store with a locale matrix on top, and that part is genuinely a one-sitting build: SQLite, a table view, an import and an export. What eats the weekend is the format layer, because gettext PO with plural headers, Apple .strings and .stringsdict, Android plurals XML, ICU messages and flat JSON all disagree about pluralization and escaping in ways that only show up in production. Machine translation fill-in is a single API call if you already have a DeepL or provider key. If you are the only translator, a local build is fine and arguably faster to work with. If you send links to freelance translators and rely on the hosted API in CI, you are rebuilding a service, not a tool.

This brief describes a focused, single-operator replacement for the part of Loco that is genuinely reproducible. It is deliberately narrower than the product it replaces, and it says so in writing. Build the useful core; do not pretend to have rebuilt the rest.

## What you are building

A local web app that stores translation keys per project, shows a locale-by-key grid you can edit, imports and exports JSON, PO and Android XML, and optionally machine-translates empty cells.

- Extract strings, manage translations, and keep keys in sync across builds.
- A responsive interface with real empty, loading, success, and error states.

## Requirements

### Functional

- Node 20 and a local folder to run in.
- Your existing locale files to import as a starting point.

### Data and integrations

- Optional machine translation API key (DeepL or similar) in .env.

Each of these needs a real account, credential, or quota. Set them up before writing feature code.

### Non-functional

- Accessibility: semantic markup, labelled controls, visible focus, and reduced-motion support.
- Security: server-side secrets, validated input, and no credentials in the client bundle.
- Reliability: retries with backoff on external calls, and a clear failure state when a provider is down.
- Portability: the operator can export their data and leave without losing it.

## Implementation brief

Build a local translation management app called Strings. No accounts, no cloud, no telemetry.

Stack, non negotiable:
- Node 20 with Express and TypeScript
- SQLite via better-sqlite3, file at ./data/strings.db
- Server rendered EJS templates plus a little vanilla JS, no React, no bundler
- Runs with `npm run dev` on localhost:4321

Data model:
- projects: id, name, source_locale
- locales: id, project_id, code (BCP 47)
- keys: id, project_id, name (dot notation allowed), context note, created_at
- translations: key_id, locale_id, plural_category (one of other, one, two, few, many, zero), value, updated_at
- history: translation_id, old_value, new_value, changed_at

UI:
- Project list, then a grid page per project: rows are keys, columns are locales, cells are inline editable textareas that save on blur via fetch
- Filters: untranslated only, search by key or value substring
- Per key detail drawer showing context note, plural forms, and history
- Progress bar per locale showing percent of keys with a non empty value

Import and export, implement exactly these three formats and be strict:
- Flat and nested JSON
- gettext PO, including Plural-Forms header parsing and msgid_plural
- Android strings.xml, including plurals blocks with quantity attributes
Use the CLDR plural categories for each locale code; hardcode a small lookup table for the twenty most common locales and fall back to other plus one.

Also ship a CLI: `npm run export -- --project=X --locale=fr --format=po --out=./out` so a build script can use it.

Optional machine translation: if DEEPL_API_KEY is set in .env, add a "fill empty cells" button per locale that batches untranslated source strings through DeepL and marks results as machine translated with a flag shown in the grid. If the key is missing, hide the button rather than erroring.

Out of scope: multi user auth, sharing links, webhooks, screenshots, glossary, TMX.

Include a README with setup, a `.env.example`, and seed data for one project with English, French and Polish so plural handling is exercised on day one.

## Delivery standard

- Inspect the repository first, then write a short implementation plan before writing code.
- Deliver the smallest complete end-to-end workflow first; every primary control must work against persisted data.
- Use real validation and storage; never substitute fake dashboards, decorative controls, hard-coded success states, or mock integrations.
- Include responsive layouts plus genuine empty, loading, success, validation, and failure states.
- Keep secrets server-side in environment variables, provide .env.example, and never commit credentials or user data.
- Add structured logs around every external call and return actionable errors without leaking sensitive details.
- Write unit tests for the core logic and one automated test of the main user journey.
- Finish with a README covering setup, architecture, data location, backups, tests, deployment, and known limitations.

## Acceptance criteria

- [ ] A clean install starts the app using only the README and .env.example.
- [ ] The primary journey works from first visit through saved result, reload, edit, export, and deletion where applicable.
- [ ] Invalid input, missing configuration, provider failure, and an empty database each have a usable state.
- [ ] The interface works at 390px and 1440px, is keyboard navigable, and shows visible focus on every control.
- [ ] Tests, type checking, linting, and a production build all pass with no ignored failures.
- [ ] No part of the interface implies a live integration, security guarantee, or scale capability that was not actually built and verified.

## Non-goals

Do not build these, and do not claim to have replaced them:

- Format breadth: Loco reads and writes a long tail of formats, including the awkward Apple and Qt ones, with plural rules per locale already correct.
- A shareable editor for non-technical translators, with roles, comments and progress tracking.
- A stable public API and CLI that CI pipelines can pull from at build time.
- Translation history, who changed what, and the ability to roll a string back.
- Glossary and translation memory suggestions that improve as the project grows.

## What you still own after launch

- Secure credentials, rotate secrets, and handle provider rate limits.
- Run migrations, backups, restores, and dependency updates.
- Test the critical journey after every model, API, or hosting change.
- Monitor failures and fix the edge cases a first prompt will miss.
- Maintain every third-party integration as APIs and OAuth rules change.

## Risk

**Operational risk.** The code is achievable; dependable data, integrations, and ongoing operations are the real cost.

Editorial confidence in this assessment: medium. No reviewed project implementation is linked yet.

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Generated by [Can It Be Vibe Coded?](https://www.canitbevibecoded.com) · Full report: https://www.canitbevibecoded.com/loco