The slowest part of most localization workflows isn't the translating — it's the file-shuffling around it. Exporting strings, emailing files, importing results, chasing the one that got missed. Automation exists to delete that busywork entirely, and there are three main ways teams do it.
Connectors — the no-code path
A connector is a pre-built integration between your system (GitHub, GitLab, a CMS, a design tool, a help center) and your localization platform. You authorize it once, map which files or content to sync, and from then on new content flows out for translation and finished translations flow back automatically. No engineering, no manual export. For most teams, this is where to start.
CLI — automation for builds
A command-line tool lets you script localization into your existing pipelines. A push command uploads new strings; a pull command downloads completed translations. Drop these into a build script or a CI job (GitHub Actions, GitLab CI) and localization becomes a step in your pipeline like tests or linting — versionable, repeatable, reviewable.
Webhooks & API — event-driven glue
Webhooks fire when something happens — a translation is completed, a job is delivered, a review is requested — so your systems can react in real time (post to Slack, trigger a deploy, open a pull request). The underlying API lets you build anything the connectors and CLI don't cover. This is the most flexible and the most work; reach for it when you've outgrown the off-the-shelf paths.
Automate the file-shuffling, not the judgment. Machines should move the strings; humans should still decide the words.
A sane order to automate in
- Start with a connector for your single biggest content source. Immediate win, no code.
- Add the CLI to a CI job once you want localization tied to releases.
- Add webhooks for the notifications and triggers that save you from checking dashboards.
- Reach for the API only for the genuinely custom 5%.
The trap to avoid
Automating a messy process just makes the mess faster. Before you wire it all up, get the fundamentals right: externalized strings, stable keys, a clean glossary, agreed file formats. Automation is a multiplier — make sure what it's multiplying is good.
The short version
Connectors remove manual file handling, the CLI ties localization to your builds, and webhooks/API handle events and custom needs. Start simple, automate the busywork, and keep humans on the part that needs judgment.