What is XLIFF?

XLIFF (XML Localization Interchange File Format) is an OASIS standard for exchanging translatable content between tools. An XLIFF file carries translation units with source and target text plus metadata: state (new, translated, reviewed), notes for translators, and markup for inline placeholders that must not be broken.

Two versions matter in practice. XLIFF 1.2 is older and still the most widely supported; XLIFF 2.0 is a cleaner redesign that not all tools fully implement. When a vendor or tool "supports XLIFF", it is worth asking which version. Inline placeholder markup is the fragile part in practice: tools disagree just enough about it that a round-trip test is worth running before you commit to a vendor workflow.

XLIFF is an interchange format, not usually a runtime format. Symfony is a notable exception in the PHP world, loading XLIFF directly as translation resources. A Laravel team typically meets XLIFF when exporting strings for an agency or migrating between translation platforms, converting to and from lang files at the boundary.

<xliff version="2.0" srcLang="en" trgLang="de">
  <file id="messages">
    <unit id="save_changes">
      <segment>
        <source>Save changes</source>
        <target>Änderungen speichern</target>
      </segment>
    </unit>
  </file>
</xliff>

What is XLIFF?

Related terms

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