check

Focused translation key checker with interactive prompts and targeted analysis. Check for missing keys, unused keys, or both with a user-friendly interface.

When to use check

The check command provides a streamlined experience for specific auditing scenarios:

Before pushing code: Quickly verify new translation keys are uploaded.
Cleaning up translations: Focus only on unused keys without noise.
Interactive workflow: Let the CLI guide you through what to check.
Targeted analysis: Get only the report you need (missing OR unused).
First-time users: Interactive prompts make it easy to get started.

Commands

`better-i18n check`

Interactive mode - the CLI asks what you want to check and shows only relevant results.

better-i18n check

# Interactive prompt:
? What would you like to check?
  ❯ Missing translation keys
    Unused translation keys
    Both (Full Comparison)

`better-i18n check:missing`

Check for keys used in code but not in Better i18n remote (skips unused analysis).

better-i18n check:missing

# Output includes:
# ✓ Coverage: Local → Remote
# ⊕ Missing in Remote (N keys)

`better-i18n check:unused`

Check for keys in Better i18n but not detected in code (skips missing analysis).

better-i18n check:unused

# Output includes:
# ✓ Coverage: Remote Used
# 🔍 Used via Dynamic Patterns
# ⊖ Possibly Unused (N keys)

Difference from `sync`

Feature	`check`	`sync`
Interactive	✅ Asks what to check	❌ Always full comparison
Targeted reports	✅ Only shows what you need	❌ Shows everything
Subcommands	✅ `check:missing`, `check:unused`	❌ Single command
Best for	Quick focused checks	Full audits & CI
Output	Filtered by selection	Complete comparison

Use check when: You want a quick, focused check with interactive guidance. Use sync when: You need the full picture or running in CI/CD.

Usage

# Interactive - asks what to check
better-i18n check

# Direct - check only missing keys
better-i18n check:missing

# Direct - check only unused keys
better-i18n check:unused

# With options
better-i18n check:missing --verbose
better-i18n check:unused -d ./src
better-i18n check --format json

Options

All check commands support the same options:

Option	Description
`-d, --dir <path>`	Directory to scan (default: current directory)
`--format <type>`	Output format: `eslint` (human-readable) or `json` (machine)
`--verbose`	Show detailed audit log with scoping summary and key probes

Output Examples

Missing Keys Only

$ better-i18n check:missing

🔍 Checking for Missing Translation Keys
Keys used in code but not in Better i18n remote

⠋ Extracting keys... (120/120)
✔ Extracted 1223 keys from 120 files
✔ Fetched 750 keys from remote

📊 Translation Keys Comparison
Source locale: en

Coverage:
  Local → Remote: 59% (keys in code that exist in remote)

⊕ Missing in Remote (473 keys)
  Keys used in code but not uploaded to Better i18n

pages (300)
  affordableEnglishLearning (meta.title, meta.description, meta.keywords, ...+12)
  bestApps (hero.badge, title_prefix, title_accent, subtitle)

hero (5)
  hero (ariaLabel, imageAlt, ...)

Scanned 120 files in 0.85s
✓ Comparison complete

Unused Keys Only

$ better-i18n check:unused

🔍 Checking for Unused Translation Keys
Keys in Better i18n but not detected in code

⠋ Extracting keys... (120/120)
✔ Extracted 1223 keys from 120 files
✔ Fetched 750 keys from remote

📊 Translation Keys Comparison
Source locale: en

Coverage:
  Remote Used: 63% (remote keys detected in code)

🔍 Used via Dynamic Patterns (127 keys)
  These keys are accessed through template literals like t(`plans.${x}.name`)
  Detected patterns:

  plans.${planId}.name (15 keys)
    └─ PricingPage.tsx:42
       → plans.starter.name
       → plans.pro.name
       → plans.enterprise.name
       ... and 12 more

  ⚠️  WARNING: Do NOT delete these keys without manual verification!
  The CLI detected these keys through pattern matching, but cannot guarantee
  100% accuracy. Review the source code before deleting any keys.

⊖ Possibly Unused (386 keys)
  Static keys not detected in code - safe to review for deletion

features (25)
  features.practiceSpeaking.title
  features.practiceSpeaking.subtitle
  features.practiceSpeaking.icon
  ... and 22 more

Scanned 120 files in 0.85s
✓ Comparison complete

Interactive Mode

$ better-i18n check

🔍 Better i18n Translation Checker

? What would you like to check?
❯ Missing translation keys
  Unused translation keys
  Both (Full Comparison)

# After selection, shows the appropriate filtered report

Workflow Examples

Before Opening a PR

# Quick check for missing keys
better-i18n check:missing

# If issues found, add them via Dashboard/AI
# Then verify
better-i18n check:missing  # Should show 0 missing

Cleaning Up Old Translations

# Focus only on unused keys
better-i18n check:unused

# Review the "Possibly Unused" section
# Check dynamic patterns warnings
# Delete safe-to-remove keys via Dashboard

First Time Running

# Interactive mode guides you
better-i18n check

# Choose what matters most right now:
# - Missing: Ensure your new features are translated
# - Unused: Clean up technical debt
# - Both: Full audit (same as 'sync')

Advanced: Dynamic Pattern Detection

The check:unused command includes intelligent pattern matching for template literals:

// This code pattern...
const planId = 'pro';
t(`plans.${planId}.name`);  // Dynamic key access

// ...will detect these remote keys as "used":
// - plans.starter.name
// - plans.pro.name
// - plans.enterprise.name

Why this matters: Keys matched by dynamic patterns are NOT marked as "unused" even if no static t('plans.pro.name') call exists. The CLI shows these as "Used via Dynamic Patterns" with a warning to review before deletion.

JSON Output

All check commands support --format json:

better-i18n check:missing --format json | jq '.comparison.missingCount'
# Output: 473

better-i18n check:unused --format json | jq '.comparison.possiblyUnusedCount'
# Output: 386

sync - Full comparison with both missing and unused (default behavior)
scan - Find hardcoded strings that need translation

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