Move the translation and UI-verification notes into CONTRIBUTING

The plural-key gotcha and the reasons store tests miss visible bugs are
contributor guidance, not a side file: they belong next to the rest of
the pull-request checklist where anybody sending a change will read them.
This commit is contained in:
2026-09-07 16:47:12 -07:00
parent b56ffdf268
commit d13cf6ed6b
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.vite/
coverage/
# Worktrees used by parallel agents; never part of a commit.
.claude/worktrees/
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# Notes for Claude
**Scope: translations and verifying UI work. Nothing else.**
This file covers exactly two things — the nine translation catalogues, and
what it takes to confirm a visible change actually works. Do not add sections
for anything else: no build, deploy, architecture, style or workflow notes,
however useful they seem. `CONTRIBUTING.md` is the style guide, and everything
else belongs in the code, the docs, or a commit message.
## Translations
Nine languages ship alongside English: German, Spanish, French, Dutch,
Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Ukrainian, Simplified Chinese and Japanese, in
`web/src/locales/`. A missing key renders its English source rather than
failing, so an untranslated string is invisible until somebody reading that
language finds it.
**Any change that adds or alters a user-visible string adds work in all nine
catalogues.** Say so explicitly when reporting the change — how many keys, and
the fallback count before and after — and say so just as explicitly when a
change adds none, so it is never left to be inferred.
### The catalogue key for a plural is the `other` form
`plural()` looks the entry up by `forms.other`, so a call site written as
```ts
plural(n, { one: "Deleted {n} contact", other: "Deleted {n} contacts" })
```
is keyed on **`"Deleted {n} contacts"`**. Keying the catalogue on the `one`
form type-checks, builds, passes every test, and silently falls back to English
in all nine languages. Nothing errors. The only signal is the fallback count
going up, so read it:
```sh
npm run i18n:check # literals wrapped, and catalogue health
node scripts/i18n-catalog-check.mjs # per-language: translated / used / falling back
```
Compare the "falling back to English" number against `main` before and after.
It should not rise. Do not read the percentage instead — adding keys moves the
denominator, so it can hold steady while new strings go untranslated.
Plural forms are per language, from `Intl.PluralRules`: `one`/`other` for most,
`one`/`few`/`many`/`other` for Russian and Ukrainian, `other` alone for Japanese
and Chinese. Supplying a form a language does not draw is inventing a
distinction, not being thorough.
## Verifying UI work
Store tests do not exercise the component. At least one bug in this repo's
history — a shift-click range measured inside a `setState` updater, which React
runs after the anchor ref has already moved — passed every store assertion and
failed the moment the built app was driven. If a change is visible on screen,
run it: `npm run dev:mock` (mock Stalwart, credentials printed on start), then
drive the real thing. Add a component test for what you find; there are
examples in `web/src/views/*/__tests__/`.
+54 -6
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@@ -48,12 +48,10 @@ For larger changes, please open an issue to discuss the approach **before** subm
- Related issue number(s), if any
- Screenshots/GIFs for UI changes
- Any manual testing you performed
8. **Add translations** for any new user-visible string. Nine languages ship
alongside English in `web/src/locales/`, and a missing key renders its
English source rather than failing — so an untranslated string is invisible
until somebody reading that language finds it. `npm run i18n:check` and
`node scripts/i18n-catalog-check.mjs` report where you stand; the catalogue
key for a plural is the `other` form. See [CLAUDE.md](CLAUDE.md).
8. **Add translations** for any new user-visible string — see
[Translations](#translations) below — and **drive the built app** for any
change that is visible on screen, as described in
[Verifying UI work](#verifying-ui-work).
`main` is protected. A change reaches it through a pull request whose **build**
check has passed — not afterwards — and the branch cannot be force-pushed or
@@ -67,6 +65,56 @@ waiting for one.
- Prefer clarity over cleverness — this is a mail client people rely on for their inbox.
- Comment non-obvious JMAP interactions, especially around state/`changes` handling, since JMAP's delta-sync model can be easy to get subtly wrong.
### Translations
Nine languages ship alongside English: German, Spanish, French, Dutch,
Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Ukrainian, Simplified Chinese and Japanese, in
`web/src/locales/`. A missing key renders its English source rather than
failing, so an untranslated string is invisible until somebody reading that
language finds it.
**Any change that adds or alters a user-visible string adds work in all nine
catalogues.** Say so explicitly in the PR — how many keys, and the fallback
count before and after — and say so just as explicitly when a change adds none,
so it is never left to be inferred.
#### The catalogue key for a plural is the `other` form
`plural()` looks the entry up by `forms.other`, so a call site written as
```ts
plural(n, { one: "Deleted {n} contact", other: "Deleted {n} contacts" })
```
is keyed on **`"Deleted {n} contacts"`**. Keying the catalogue on the `one`
form type-checks, builds, passes every test, and silently falls back to English
in all nine languages. Nothing errors. The only signal is the fallback count
going up, so read it:
```sh
npm run i18n:check # literals wrapped, and catalogue health
node scripts/i18n-catalog-check.mjs # per-language: translated / used / falling back
```
Compare the "falling back to English" number against `main` before and after.
It should not rise. Do not read the percentage instead — adding keys moves the
denominator, so it can hold steady while new strings go untranslated.
Plural forms are per language, from `Intl.PluralRules`: `one`/`other` for most,
`one`/`few`/`many`/`other` for Russian and Ukrainian, `other` alone for Japanese
and Chinese. Supplying a form a language does not draw is inventing a
distinction, not being thorough.
### Verifying UI work
Store tests do not exercise the component. At least one bug in this repo's
history — a shift-click range measured inside a `setState` updater, which React
runs after the anchor ref has already moved — passed every store assertion and
failed the moment the built app was driven. If a change is visible on screen,
run it: `npm run dev:mock` (mock Stalwart, credentials printed on start), then
drive the real thing. Add a component test for what you find; there are
examples in `web/src/views/*/__tests__/`.
### Development Setup
1. Clone your fork: