How to translate a WordPress.org plugin description

To localize the description of a plugin published on WordPress.org (the Description shown in the plugins list in the admin), local translation files (PO/MO) are not enough — you have to register the translation on translate.wordpress.org.

Why local translation files don't work

For plugins hosted on WordPress.org, the plugin header (Plugin Name, Description, Author, and so on) is translated through language packs.

• Local languages/*.po and *.mo files are for translation functions like __() and esc_html__()
• The plugin header uses the language pack distributed from translate.wordpress.org
• Language packs are downloaded automatically into /wp-content/languages/plugins/

Registering a translation on translate.wordpress.org

1. Open the translation page

   • URL: https://translate.wordpress.org/locale/ja/default/wp-plugins/{plugin-slug}/

2. Choose a translation set

   • Select "Stable (latest release)" — required for language-pack generation

3. Import translations

   • Use "Import Translations" to upload your existing .po file
   • Translations are imported in the "Waiting" state

4. Approve the translations

   • Approval by the Japanese team's GTE / PTE is required
   • Or obtain PTE (Project Translation Editor) status yourself

Conditions for language-pack generation

• The Stable translation must be at least 90% approved
• The generated language pack is downloaded to user sites automatically

How to request PTE

If you want to approve translations yourself:

1. Go to https://make.wordpress.org/polyglots/
2. Create a new post:

Title: PTE Request for {plugin name}

Body:
Hello Polyglots,

I am the plugin author for {plugin name}.
https://wordpress.org/plugins/{plugin-slug}/

I would like to become a Project Translation Editor (PTE) for the Japanese locale.

#ja

Thank you!

Managing POT / PO files

# sync the PO file with the POT
msgmerge --update languages/plugin-ja.po languages/plugin.pot

# recompile the MO file
msgfmt -o languages/plugin-ja.mo languages/plugin-ja.po

References

• translate.wordpress.org
• Translating with GlotPress (Polyglots Handbook)
• PTE request (Polyglots Handbook)

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This came out of building Markdown Renderer for GitHub.