`generate`

Generates a target locale JSON from the source: nested structure preserved; string leaves translated (Google gtx provider).


i18nprune generate --target ja
i18nprune generate --target ar,id,ja,ms,zh-cn
i18nprune generate --target pt-br --dry-run

Progress and translation

Live progress is written to stderr (multi-line bar + key + timing on a TTY when allowed). It is off for --json, -q, -s, or non-TTY stderr — see Translation progress.
--dry-run still walks every leaf and updates the progress UI but does not call the API or write under localesDir. When --json is off and --quiet / --silent are off, logger.info summarizes what would have been written (no Wrote … success lines).
String work goes through translateLeaf (mask → provider → restore → validate; retries). See Translator & progress.

Source locale (not a target)

The configured source JSON (basename of source, e.g. en) is the source of truth. It is not a valid --target for generate — use it only as the reference file; pick a target catalog code instead.

Meta file (default) and `--no-meta`

By default, generate writes <lang>.meta.json next to <lang>.json with:

lang — target code
englishName — English label
nativeName — native endonym
direction — ltr or rtl

--no-meta skips creating or updating that file. Use it when you do not want sidecar metadata (e.g. you only need the locale JSON, or you maintain metadata elsewhere).

If you pass --english-name, --native-name, or --direction, those values override catalog defaults for the meta file (when meta is not disabled).

Direction vs catalog: The bundled languages.json rows are code, english, and native only. Layout direction is not stored in the catalog yet. It defaults to ltr; pass --direction rtl for RTL targets (or pick rtl in the interactive direction menu). Meta prompts pre-fill English/native from the catalog so Enter keeps those defaults.

Interactive vs non-interactive

Mode	Language (`--target` / `--lang`)	Meta (English/native/direction, `.meta.json`)
TTY, not forcing machine-only	Prompts if omitted (when implemented); choose code and optional fields.	Prompts where applicable; Enter accepts catalog defaults for English and native names. Direction uses an interactive menu (ltr / rtl), defaulting to ltr or to `--direction` if you passed it.
Non-interactive (no TTY, `CI=1`, `I18NPRUNE_NO_INIT=1`, or global `--json`)	`--target` is required (avoid deprecated `--lang`).	When a target is set and is a valid catalog code, English and native names default from `languages.json` unless you override with `--english-name` / `--native-name` / `--no-meta`. Direction defaults to `ltr` unless you pass `--direction rtl`.

Non-interactive validation

Missing target selector: fail fast with a clear usage or configuration error; exit code non-zero (typically 1 or 2 for usage-class errors — see Exit codes & behavior).
Target code not in the bundled catalog (unknown or unsupported code after normalization): fail fast with an error that names the code and points you at i18nprune languages and the docs; exit non-zero.

When a config file already exists, generate does not print the informational Config already exists … line (same silentIfExists behaviour as locales — see Roadmap).

See global --json, --quiet, --silent, and JSON mode & long commands.

JSON mode (primary envelope)

generate --json prints one CliJsonEnvelope on stdout after the run (kind: generate). Payload shape: types/command/generate/json.ts — targets, dryRun, leavesProcessed, dynamicKeySites, and targetResults (per-target status, paths, preserve/parity counts). It is a session summary, not a per-leaf translation log (use --report-file or stderr for operational detail).

Headless: runGenerate(ctx, opts) from @zamdevio/i18nprune/core (async; same writes as the CLI when not dryRun).

Multiple --target codes (comma-separated): the CLI still emits one stdout CliJsonEnvelope for the whole run. data.targets lists every code; data.targetResults has one row per target that was processed or skipped (status, paths, preserve/parity counts). It does not emit one JSON document per locale — that would break the “single primary document on stdout” rule and complicate CI parsers. The locale bodies live on disk (or in --report-file), not duplicated in full inside stdout JSON.

Roadmap

Catalog defaults and validation rules for generate are covered in Roadmap. Maintainer notes: phases/generate.md.

generate