Language Pack Submission Policy

Below are the procedures and guidelines that need to be followed by any translator submitting a language pack to our Customisations Database. All approved language packs can be found in our Language Packs Database. If you submit your language pack to our Customisations Database, it will first be automatically sent to the Translations Manager for validation. The Translations Manager is responsible for ensuring that your submission follows the guidelines below. Failure to comply with the following instructions could lead to an instant denial of your submission. Please note the Translations Manager has full discretion on what he approves or denies. This process can sometimes take a considerable amount of time, so it’s in your best interest to follow all of the guidelines from the start. If your language pack is denied and then resubmitted, it is placed at the end of the queue.

  1. Submissions have to be compatible with the latest version of phpBB. Any missing key will be detected during the upload process and your submission will be automatically denied.

  2. Submissions have to be complete. Partial translations are not allowed and will be automatically denied. E-mails, text files and theme-images must also be fully translated.

  3. Language packs can contain five additional files (one mandatory and four optionals) that are not present in the British English language pack: LICENSE (mandatory), README.md (optional), AUTHORS.md (optional), VERSION.md (optional) and CHANGELOG.md (optional). You are free to write whatever you want in the README.md file, you can list all the authors and contributors of your language pack in the AUTHORS.md file, you can put the version of your language pack in the VERSION.md file and you can list the entire version history in the CHANGELOG.md file. The LICENSE file is automatically added during the upload process so you do not have to manually add the file. Its purpose is to inform the user what license is used. Language packs inherit phpBB’s license of GNU General Public License 2.0 and no additional or alternative licenses are allowed. All of these additional files must be placed in the language/{iso}/ directory, next to the iso.txt file. Any other additional file(s) will be detected and your submission will be denied.

  4. Submissions must have the following files and structure:

languagename_versionnumber.zip
   languagename_versionnumber/
      ext/
         phpbb/
            viglink/
               language/
                  {iso}/
                     info_acp_viglink.php
                     viglink_module_acp.php
      language/
         {iso}/
            acp/
               attachments.php
               ban.php
               board.php
               bots.php
               common.php
               database.php
               email.php
               extensions.php
               forums.php
               groups.php
               index.htm
               language.php
               modules.php
               permissions.php
               permissions_phpbb.php
               posting.php
               profile.php
               prune.php
               search.php
               styles.php
               users.php
            email/
               short/
                  bookmark.txt
                  newtopic_notify.txt
                  post_approved.txt
                  post_disapproved.txt
                  post_in_queue.txt
                  privmsg_notify.txt
                  quote.txt
                  report_pm.txt
                  report_post.txt
                  topic_approved.txt
                  topic_disapproved.txt
                  topic_in_queue.txt
                  topic_notify.txt

               admin_activate.txt
               admin_send_email.txt
               admin_welcome_activated.txt
               admin_welcome_inactive.txt
               bookmark.txt
               contact_admin.txt
               coppa_resend_inactive.txt
               coppa_welcome_inactive.txt
               email_notify.txt
               forum_notify.txt
               group_added.txt
               group_request.txt
               index.htm
               installed.txt
               newtopic_notify.txt
               pm_report_closed.txt
               pm_report_deleted.txt
               post_approved.txt
               post_disapproved.txt
               post_in_queue.txt
               privmsg_notify.txt
               profile_send_email.txt
               profile_send_im.txt
               quote.txt
               report_closed.txt
               report_deleted.txt
               report_pm.txt
               report_post.txt
               topic_approved.txt
               topic_disapproved.txt
               topic_in_queue.txt
               topic_notify.txt
               user_activate.txt
               user_activate_inactive.txt
               user_activate_passwd.txt
               user_reactivate_account.txt
               user_remind_inactive.txt
               user_resend_inactive.txt
               user_welcome.txt
               user_welcome_inactive.txt
            help/
               bbcode.php
               faq.php
            app.php
            AUTHORS.md (optional)
            captcha_qa.php
            captcha_recaptcha.php
            cli.php
            CHANGELOG.md (optional)
            common.php
            groups.php
            index.htm
            install.php
            iso.txt (
            LICENSE
            mcp.php
            memberlist.php
            migrator.php
            plupload.php
            posting.php
            README.md (optional)
            search.php
            ucp.php
            VERSION.md (optional)
            viewforum.php
            viewtopic.php
      styles/
         prosilver/
            theme/
               {iso}/
                  icon_user_online.gif
                  index.htm (optional)
                  stylesheet.css

  1. Submissions should follow the recommendations in the 3.2 Translation (i18n/L10n) Guidelines as closely as possible, especially the 3.2 Writing style.

  2. All PHP and text files must be encoded in UTF-8 without BOM and a new line at the end of the file. Many modern text editors use this as a default setting, but we recommend checking it in your editor’s settings. We recommend you use Notepad++ or PSPad, both lightweight and free.

  3. The translation is mostly your work and you have a right to hold a copyright on the translation and put your name or the names of those on your team in the AUTHORS.md file.

  4. A maximum of 3 links can be included as an author credit in the footer, customisable via the 'TRANSLATION_INFO' key in common.php. Please note that the Translations Manager has complete discretion on what is acceptable as an author credit link.

  5. Submissions have to be submitted as a single zip file. The Customisations Database will automatically name your uploaded language pack using the format languagename_versionnumber.zip. For example, if a Brazilian Portuguese language pack author uploads an archive named Brasileiro_1.0.5.zip, it will be automatically changed to brazilian_portuguese_1_0_5.zip.

  6. The contribution description for you language pack in the Customisations Database should be translated into English in addition to your local language. This will facilitate the download of your translation by administrators who do not speak the language.

  7. The contribution screenshot in the Customisations Database should only be the flag of the country where the primary spoken language is that of the language pack. For example, the flag of France for the French language.

  8. Revision name in the Customisations Database should be left blank, contain the phpBB package version, and/or package release name (e.g. “3.2.2 / Bertie’s New Year Resolution” for 3.2.2).

  9. The Demo URL in the Customisations Database must be empty, unless you want to put a link to an international community (officially listed or not) related to the language of the contribution. For example, https://www.phpbb.nl/ as Demo URL concerning the Dutch language is allowed.