GitLab Integration

The GitLab integration allows you to synchronize files between your GitLab repo and Crowdin Enterprise project.

Note: You will need to install the GitLab integration in your Crowdin account before you can set it up and use it.

There are two possible GitLab integration modes you can choose from:

  • Source and translation files mode – synchronize source and translation files between your GitLab repository and Crowdin Enterprise project.
  • Target file bundles mode – generate and push translation files to your GitLab repository from the Crowdin Enterprise project in the selected format. In this mode, integration pushes translation files and doesn’t sync sources from your repo. In cases when you perform a source text review in your Crowdin Enterprise project and want to get updated source texts to your repo, you can add a source language as a target language, which will be pushed to your repo along with translations.

All translated and approved files will be automatically pushed as a merge request to the l10n branch in the GitLab repository in either of the above modes.

Connecting GitLab with Crowdin Enterprise

There are two possible options you can choose from. You can either use your GitLab account or GitLab Self-Managed account.

Connecting GitLab Account

  1. Open your project and go to Integrations.
  2. Click on GitLab in the Integrations list.
  3. Click Set Up Integration and select Source and translation files mode or Target file bundles mode from the drop-down list to integrate via your GitLab account.
  4. Then authorize the connection with Crowdin Enterprise on the GitLab side.

Connecting GitLab Self-Managed Account

  1. To integrate via GitLab Self-Managed account, you should create an access token. Make sure to select the required scope:

    • api – Grants complete read/write access to the API, including all groups and projects, the container registry, and the package registry
    Note: When setting up an integration with an access token, ensure that you have the Maintainer level permission to the necessary repo.
  2. Click on the GitLab Self-Managed in the Integrations list.
  3. Then insert your access token and Base URL into corresponding fields.
  4. Click Set Up Integration and select Source and translation files mode or Target file bundles mode from the drop-down list to proceed.

Selecting Repository

In the appeared dialog, select your repository and branches that should be translated. It’s recommended to switch Duplicate Strings to Show within a version branch, so identical strings will be hidden between branches. If your source files contain strings with apparent identifiers (keys), it’s better to use a strict version of this option. In other cases, feel free to use a regular one.

Read more about Duplicate Strings.

When working with GitLab integration in the Target File Bundles Mode, the integration will send the completed translations from your Crowdin Enterprise project without pulling sources from your repo. So when selecting a repository and branches that should be translated, you specify where the integration should put the generated bundles with translations.

Read more about configuring target file bundles for VCS integration.

When you work with private integrations (e.g., integrations with self-hosted VCS), you need to add dedicated Crowdin Enterprise IP addresses to the allowlist to ensure that it operates properly while staying secure.

Read more about IP Addresses.

Service Branches

When translations are finished and your languages are ready to go live, Crowdin Enterprise sends the merge request with translations to your version control system. For every branch that is under localization, Crowdin Enterprise creates an additional service branch with translations. We don’t commit directly to the master branch so that you can verify translations first.

By default, l10n_ is added to the created service branch name. If necessary, you can easily change it.

Synchronization Settings

To import existing translations from your repo, select one of the following options:

  • One-time translation import after the branch is connected
  • Always import new translations from the repository

By default, the first option is selected to import translations only once. Alternatively, you can clear both options if you don’t want to import translations from your repo.

By default, sources are not pushed to the repo with translations. Although, if you perform a source text review in your Crowdin Enterprise project and would like to push the changes made to your source files on Crowdin Enterprise back to your repo, click Edit, select Push Sources in the integration settings, and click Save.

There are cases when it’s necessary to disable translations from being pushed to the repo temporarily. In this situation, click Edit, clear Sync Schedule in the integration settings, and click Save. When ready to sync translations with the repo, select the Sync Schedule, and click Save.

The synchronization is processed every hour automatically. If necessary, you can change the update interval in the integration settings. To configure the synchronization schedule – click Edit, scroll down to the Sync Schedule, set the preferred interval, and click Save.

Not depending on the synchronization settings, the source files’ changes on the repo will still be synced with Crowdin Enterprise continuously.

Branches to Sync Automatically

When you set up the integration, you select existing repository branches to be added to the Crowdin Enterprise project. To add future branches from GitLab to Crowdin Enterprise automatically, create a pattern for the branch names in the integration settings.

For example, you add a pattern *feature in the GitLab integration settings. In this case, the future branches that contain this word at the end of the title will be added to the project.

To add a pattern for branch names, follow these steps:

  1. Click Edit in the GitLab integration section.
  2. In the appeared dialog, scroll down to the Branches to Sync Automatically.
  3. In the Branches to Sync Automatically field, use wildcard selectors such as ‘*’, ‘?’, ‘[set]’, ‘' and others to identify the necessary branches.
  4. Click Save.

Default Configuration File Name

crowdin.yml is the default file name that is used for automatically synchronized branches. To change the default settings, click Edit, specify the preferred name in the Default configuration file name field in the integration settings, and click Save.

Selecting Content for Synchronization

To get the integration working, you have to specify which source files should be translated and how Crowdin Enterprise should structure translated files in your repository. If you see a red icon with an exclamatory mark next to the service branch name, it means that you didn’t select content for synchronization.

There are two ways to do that: configuring online or manually by creating a configuration file.

Configuring Online

This procedure is the same for all integrations with version control systems (VCS). Check VCS Integrations: Configuring Online to get to know how to select content for synchronization online.

Creating Configuration File

Configuration file crowdin.yml should be stored in the GitLab repository along with each separate branch that you want to translate, so Crowdin Enterprise knows what files exactly should be sent for translations.

It should have the same structure as required for CLI, but your project’s credentials should not be stored in the file’s header for security reasons.

Read more about creating a configuration file.

Working with Multiple Repositories within One Project

When working with a multiplatform product that has versions for different operating systems, you might want to connect multiple repositories that contain source files for each operating system. In this case, localization resources (e.g., TMs, Glossaries) and translations could be used more efficiently, reducing the time needed for project localization.

To add another repository, follow these steps:

  1. Open your project and go to Integrations.
  2. Click on GitLab in the Integrations list.
  3. Click Add Repository.
  4. Configure the integration with the new repository according to your needs and preferences.

Checking the Status of Synchronization

Once the integration is set up, all the related information is stored in the Integrations > GitLab section.

After the integration is connected, the settings can be updated only by the project member who configured it. All project managers except the person who configured the integration will see the Edit button disabled with the following notice when hovering over it: Integration was configured by {Full Name}.

By default, synchronization is processed every hour automatically. If you need to launch the synchronization instantly – click Sync Now. Alternatively, if you need to sync only one branch separately, click on the needed branch and select Sync branch.

GitLab Sync Now

Uploading Translations from Repo

By default, the translations stored on the repo are uploaded to Crowdin Enterprise during the first synchronization only. To upload translations to Crowdin Enterprise manually, click next to the Sync Now button, and click Upload Translations. The integration will upload existing translations to your Crowdin Enterprise project.

Q&A

Q: I have an application build configured to be triggered by every commit. Since Crowdin commits each translation file in a separate commit, how can I avoid unnecessary application builds triggered by commits from Crowdin?
A: Since VCS integrations in Crowdin use API to commit files but not Git, each file is committed separately.

Here are a few recommendations that might help solve similar situations:

See Also

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