File Formats

The Composer Translation Validator supports multiple translation file formats commonly used in PHP frameworks and applications.

XLIFF (XML Localization Interchange File Format)

Extensions: .xlf, .xliff
Frameworks: TYPO3 CMS, Symfony (optional)

Structure

xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<xliff version="1.2" xmlns="urn:oasis:names:tc:xliff:document:1.2">
  <file source-language="en" target-language="de" original="messages">
    <body>
      <trans-unit id="welcome">
        <source>Welcome</source>
        <target>Willkommen</target>
      </trans-unit>
      <trans-unit id="user.greeting">
        <source>Hello, %name%!</source>
        <target>Hallo, %name%!</target>
      </trans-unit>
    </body>
  </file>
</xliff>

Key Features

XML-based industry standard format
Supports translation metadata and states
Schema validation available (XLIFF 1.2)
Nested keys via ID dots: user.greeting

YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language)

Extensions: .yaml, .yml
Frameworks: Symfony (primary), Laravel (supported)

Structure

yaml

welcome: "Welcome to our application"
user:
  greeting: "Hello, %name%!"
  logout: "Logout"
navigation:
  home: "Home"
  about: "About Us"

Key Features

Human-readable format
Native nested key support
Clean syntax without quotes (optional)
Supports multiline strings

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)

Extensions: .json
Frameworks: Laravel, Symfony, Vue.js, React

Structure

json

{
  "welcome": "Welcome to our application",
  "user": {
    "greeting": "Hello, {{name}}!",
    "logout": "Logout"
  },
  "navigation": {
    "home": "Home",
    "about": "About Us"
  }
}

Key Features

Universal data interchange format
Native nested key support
Wide tool support
Frontend framework compatible

PHP Arrays

Extensions: .php
Frameworks: Laravel (primary), Symfony (supported)

Structure

php

<?php

return [
    'welcome' => 'Welcome to our application',
    'user' => [
        'greeting' => 'Hello, :name!',
        'logout' => 'Logout',
    ],
    'navigation' => [
        'home' => 'Home',
        'about' => 'About Us',
    ],
];

Key Features

Native PHP format
Supports PHP expressions and constants
No parsing overhead
IDE autocomplete support

Placeholder Formats

Different frameworks use different placeholder formats:

Framework	Format	Example
Symfony	`%name%`	`Hello, %name%!`
Laravel	`:name`	`Hello, :name!`
Twig/Vue	or	`Hello, !`
ICU	`{name}`	`Hello, {name}!`

The PlaceholderConsistencyValidator recognizes all these formats.

Framework-Specific Patterns

TYPO3 CMS

Format: XLIFF
Location: Resources/Private/Language/
Naming: locallang.xlf, de.locallang.xlf

Symfony

Format: YAML (primary), XLIFF, PHP
Location: translations/
Naming: messages.en.yaml, validators.de.yaml

Laravel

Format: PHP Arrays, JSON
Location: resources/lang/ (≤8) or lang/ (≥9)
Naming: en/messages.php, de/messages.php

File Formats ​

XLIFF (XML Localization Interchange File Format) ​

Structure ​

Key Features ​

YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language) ​

Structure ​

Key Features ​

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) ​

Structure ​

Key Features ​

PHP Arrays ​

Structure ​

Key Features ​

Placeholder Formats ​

Framework-Specific Patterns ​

TYPO3 CMS ​

Symfony ​

Laravel ​

See Also ​

File Formats

XLIFF (XML Localization Interchange File Format)

Structure

Key Features

YAML (YAML Ain't Markup Language)

Structure

Key Features

JSON (JavaScript Object Notation)

Structure

Key Features

PHP Arrays

Structure

Key Features

Placeholder Formats

Framework-Specific Patterns

TYPO3 CMS

Symfony

Laravel

See Also