CSV Translator Workflow

This skill provides a robust way to translate CSV files while managing context window limits by splitting large files into smaller chunks.

Workflow Steps

0. Discovery & Extraction (Optional)

Before translating, you may need to identify what needs translation:

• Find Untranslated Strings: Use node scripts/export_untranslated.cjs <res_dir> [ref_res_dir] to export missing translations to untranslated_strings.csv.
• Find Hardcoded Strings: Use node scripts/extract_hardcoded_strings.cjs <src_dir> to find UI text in code that should be moved to strings.xml.
• Find Unused Strings: Use node scripts/find_unused_strings.cjs <module_name> to clean up resources before exporting.

1. Planning & Analysis

• Identify Target: Determine the CSV file to be translated and the target language(s).
• Count Lines: Use `run_shell_command` with `wc -l` to determine the size of the file.
• Set Chunk Size: Based on the file size and complexity, decide on a target number of lines per chunk (default recommendation: 100-200 lines).

2. Splitting (If Large)

• If the file exceeds the manageable limit, split it into smaller files.
• Use a script (e.g., `scripts/split_csv.cjs`) to ensure data integrity (keeping headers in each chunk or handling them correctly).
• Recursive Check: If a split file is still considered too large for a single translation turn, split it further.

3. Translation

• Translate each chunk individually.
• Maintain the CSV structure and ensure that keys/IDs (if any) are preserved.
• Use a consistent tone and terminology across all chunks.
• DO NOT manually escape special characters (like `'` or `"`) in the CSV; the import script handles this automatically.

4. Merging

• Once all chunks are translated, merge them back into a single final CSV file.
• Use a script (e.g., `scripts/merge_csv.cjs`) to combine the files, ensuring only one header row exists.

5. Importing (Android Specific)

• Use `scripts/import_translations.cjs` to automatically take the merged translations and update the project's `strings.xml` files.
• Command: `node scripts/import_translations.cjs <merged_csv_path> <res_directory>`

6. Validation

• Verify the final CSV file structure and line count matches the original.
• Run a build check (e.g., `./gradlew assembleDebug`) to ensure the imported strings don't break the build.

Guardrails

• Preserve Structure: Never change the number of columns or the meaning of specific fields (like IDs).
• Header Integrity: Ensure the header row is handled correctly during splitting and merging.
• Encoding: Maintain UTF-8 encoding throughout the process.
• Double-Escaping Prevention: Always provide raw text in the CSV. The import script will convert raw quotes into Android-compatible escapes (e.g., `can't` -> `can\'t`).

7. Cleanup & Git

• Ensure you do NOT commit intermediate CSV files (e.g., untranslated strings, chunks, merged files, formatted files) to the repository.
• Delete these temporary files once the import is successfully validated, or ensure they are excluded via `.gitignore`.