Localization

Localization lets one document exist in several languages. An editor switches language at the top of the edit screen and writes the Spanish version of the same post, without creating a second post.

Availability

Turn it on

Declare your languages once, in nextly.config.ts:

import { defineConfig } from "nextly";

export default defineConfig({
  localization: {
    locales: [
      "en",
      { code: "es", label: "Español" },
      { code: "ar", label: "العربية", rtl: true },
      { code: "fr", label: "Français", fallbackLocale: "en" },
    ],
    defaultLocale: "en",
    fallback: true,
  },
});

A locale is either a bare code or an object. The object form carries:

Choose what gets translated

Mark a whole collection localized, then opt individual fields out:

import { defineCollection, text } from "nextly/config";

export const Posts = defineCollection({
  slug: "posts",
  localized: true,
  fields: [
    text({ name: "title" }),
    // Not worth translating: the same value in every language.
    text({ name: "externalId", localized: false }),
  ],
});

Fields inherit the collection's setting, so the common case is one flag.

Fallback chains

fallback: true means a missing translation falls back rather than rendering empty. A locale can name its own chain — fallbackLocale: ["es", "en"] tries Spanish, then English. Without a chain, the default locale is used.

Publishing one language at a time

Per-locale publishing needs two flags, not one. localized gives you translations; status gives you the draft/published lifecycle. Only with both does each language get its own state:

import { defineCollection, text } from "nextly/config";

export const Posts = defineCollection({
  slug: "posts",
  localized: true,
  status: true,
  fields: [text({ name: "title" })],
});

With both set, publishing the Spanish version does not publish the French one, and a language still being translated stays invisible while the others are live.

Related

• Draft and published status
• Content releases — publishing a set of documents together
• Versions — history per document