ARB Metadata Tools

A collection of Python scripts to automatically manage metadata in ARB (Application Resource Bundle) localization files.

Works with: Flutter, Angular, Chrome Extensions, and any application using ARB format for internationalization (i18n/l10n).

Problem

When using ARB files for localization, the Google ARB VS Code extension shows warnings for keys without metadata. Manually adding metadata to hundreds of keys is tedious and time-consuming.

This affects developers using:

• Flutter apps
• Angular applications
• Chrome extensions
• Any project using ARB format for i18n/l10n

Solution

These tools automatically add and manage metadata for your ARB files:

1. add_arb_metadata.py - Adds empty metadata blocks to all keys
2. add_descriptions_intelligently.py - Intelligently generates contextual descriptions based on key names and values

Features

• ✅ Automatically adds metadata to all ARB keys
• ✅ Intelligently generates contextual descriptions
• ✅ Preserves existing metadata with placeholders
• ✅ Supports multiple ARB files
• ✅ Pattern-based description generation
• ✅ Handles bilingual keys (e.g., *Bn for Bengali)

Installation

Option 1: Install from PyPI (Recommended)

pip install arb-metadata-tools

Option 2: Install from Source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/JehadurRE/arb-metadata-tools.git
cd arb-metadata-tools

# Install in development mode
pip install -e .

# Or install directly
pip install .

Requirements: Python 3.6+ (no external dependencies)

Usage

After installation, you can use the command-line tools:

Basic Metadata Addition

# Process default files (lib/l10n/app_en.arb, lib/l10n/app_bn.arb)
arb-metadata

# Process specific files
arb-metadata path/to/file1.arb path/to/file2.arb

# Show help
arb-metadata --help

# Show version
arb-metadata --version

This adds empty metadata blocks to all keys without metadata.

Intelligent Description Generation

# Process default files
arb-descriptions

# Process specific files
arb-descriptions path/to/file1.arb path/to/file2.arb

# Show each description being added (verbose mode)
arb-descriptions --verbose path/to/file.arb

# Show help
arb-descriptions --help

# Show version
arb-descriptions --version

This generates contextual descriptions based on:

• Key naming patterns (Label, Hint, Desc, etc.)
• Action verbs (send, create, confirm, etc.)
• Content analysis (questions, exclamations, labels)
• Context clues (Dashboard, Management, History, etc.)

Examples

Before

{
  "loginButton": "Login",
  "enterPassword": "Enter your password"
}

After

{
  "loginButton": "Login",
  "@loginButton": {
    "description": "Button text to login to the application"
  },
  "enterPassword": "Enter your password",
  "@enterPassword": {
    "description": "Placeholder text to enter password field"
  }
}

Configuration

For Command-Line Usage

The tools look for ARB files in the standard Flutter location: lib/l10n/

For Custom Paths

Edit the file paths in the scripts to match your project structure:

arb_files = [
    'lib/l10n/app_en.arb',
    'lib/l10n/app_bn.arb',
    # Add more ARB files as needed
]

Pattern Recognition

The intelligent description generator recognizes:

• Labels: *Label → "Label for {field} input field"
• Hints: *Hint → "Placeholder or hint text for {field}"
• Actions: send*, create*, confirm* → Action descriptions
• Validation: please*, *Must* → Validation messages
• Status: *Successful, *Failed → Status messages
• Screens: *Dashboard, *Management → Screen titles

Requirements

• Python 3.6+
• No external dependencies

📋 Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md for a complete list of changes and release notes for each version.

Latest Release (v1.1.0):

• Added proper --help and --version command-line arguments
• Enhanced CLI with argparse for better user experience
• Added --verbose flag for detailed output
• Improved error messages and documentation

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

👨‍💻 Author

Md. Jehadur Rahman Emran

Software Engineer • Researcher • Full-Stack Developer

Acknowledgments

Created to solve ARB metadata management for Flutter localization projects.

Support

If you find this tool helpful, please ⭐ star the repository!

Related

• Flutter Internationalization
• ARB Format Specification