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Translate Markdown Documentation with Perfect Formatting

Keep your documentation, blog posts, and content perfectly formatted across all languages with Lingo.dev's intelligent Markdown translation system.

Perfect for Content-Rich Projects

Ideal for translating:

  • Technical documentation
  • Blog articles and tutorials
  • README files and project wikis
  • Product guides and manuals
  • Knowledge bases

TIP

Need to translate JSX-enhanced Markdown? Check our dedicated MDX documentation.

Quick Setup

Configure your project in three simple steps:

  1. Create an i18n.json configuration file
  2. Define your source and target languages
  3. Point to your Markdown files using the [locale] placeholder
json
{
  "version": 1,
  "locale": {
    "source": "en",
    "targets": ["es", "fr", "de"]
  },
  "buckets": {
    "markdown": {
      "include": ["docs/[locale]/*.md"]
    }
  }
}

This configuration:

  • Sets English as your source language
  • Targets Spanish, French, and German translations
  • Organizes files in language-specific folders (e.g., docs/en/, docs/es/)

Find Supported Languages

Discover all available language options:

bash
# View source language options
npx lingo.dev@latest show locale sources

# View target language options
npx lingo.dev@latest show locale targets

One Command Translation

Translate all your Markdown files with a single command:

bash
npx lingo.dev@latest i18n

This automatically:

  1. Processes your source Markdown files
  2. Identifies new or modified content
  3. Translates only what's changed
  4. Creates or updates target language files with identical structure

Smart Markdown Handling

Structure Preservation

Lingo.dev maintains all Markdown formatting elements:

  • Headings: All heading levels (#, ##, etc.)
  • Formatting: Bold, italic, code blocks, tables
  • Lists: Ordered and unordered lists with proper nesting
  • Code: Fenced code blocks with language specification
  • Blockquotes: Nested quote formatting

Special Elements

YAML Front Matter

markdown
---
title: Getting Started
description: Learn how to use our product
---

# Welcome to Our Product

This guide will help you get started...

Front matter is intelligently processed - content is translated while preserving the YAML structure.

markdown
[Visit our website](https://example.com)

![An example image](./images/example.png)

Links maintain their URLs while only translating the link text. For images, only the alt text is translated.

Why Technical Writers Choose Markdown Translation

  1. Format Integrity: Your document structure remains perfectly intact
  2. Context-Aware: AI understands technical terminology in context
  3. Incremental Updates: Only translates what's changed - ideal for documentation that evolves over time
  4. Workflow Integration: Fits seamlessly into documentation-as-code practices
  5. Multi-Format Support: Works alongside other file types in the same project

By integrating Lingo.dev into your documentation workflow, you maintain consistent, high-quality content across all languages with minimal effort - whether you're documenting an open-source project, creating technical guides, or managing a multilingual knowledge base.