Weblate Client

Installation

The Weblate Client is shipped separately and includes the Python module. To use the commands below, you need to install wlc using pip:

pip install wlc

You can also execute it directly using uvx:

uvx wlc --help

Hint

You can also use this wlc as a Python module, see wlc.

Docker usage

The Weblate Client is also available as a Docker image.

The image is published on Docker Hub: https://hub.docker.com/r/weblate/wlc

Installing:

docker pull weblate/wlc

The Docker container uses Weblate Client defaults and connects to the API deployed on localhost. Configure the API URL and API key using the normal wlc arguments or environment variables, for example --url, --key, WLC_URL, and WLC_KEY. API keys are rejected over non-local http:// URLs by default; use HTTPS, loopback HTTP for local development, or explicitly opt in to insecure HTTP.

The command to launch the container uses the following syntax:

docker run --rm weblate/wlc [WLC_ARGS]

Example:

docker run --rm weblate/wlc --url https://hosted.weblate.org/api/ list-projects

You might want to pass your Configuration files to the Docker container. When your repository contains a project configuration such as .weblate, the easiest approach is to add your current directory as the /home/weblate volume:

docker run --volume $PWD:/home/weblate --rm weblate/wlc show

When the mounted repository provides the API URL in project configuration and you pass an unscoped API key to the container, also pin the URL explicitly: WLC_KEY requires WLC_URL, and --key requires --url.

If the configured API URL uses non-local http:// and an API key is provided, the container refuses to send the key unless insecure HTTP is explicitly enabled. Prefer HTTPS; for legacy deployments, pass --allow-insecure-http or set WLC_ALLOW_INSECURE_HTTP.

Getting started

The easiest way to get started is to create a personal wlc configuration in ~/.config/weblate (see Configuration files for the full discovery rules and other locations):

[weblate]
url = https://hosted.weblate.org/api/

[keys]
https://hosted.weblate.org/api/ = APIKEY

You can then invoke commands on the default server:

wlc ls
wlc commit sandbox/hello-world

See also

Configuration files

Legacy configuration

Changed in version 1.17: The legacy configuration using unscoped key is no longer supported.

Migrate legacy configuration:

[weblate]
url = https://hosted.weblate.org/api/
key = YOUR_KEY_HERE

To a configuration with key scoped to an API URL:

[weblate]
url = https://hosted.weblate.org/api/

[keys]
https://hosted.weblate.org/api/ = YOUR_KEY_HERE

Synopsis

wlc [arguments] <command> [options]

Commands actually indicate which operation should be performed.

Description

Weblate Client is a Python library and command-line utility to manage Weblate remotely using Weblate’s REST API. The command-line utility can be invoked as wlc and is built-in on wlc.

Arguments

The program accepts the following arguments which define output format or which Weblate instance to use. These must be entered before any command.

--format {csv,json,text,html}

Specify the output format.

--url URL

Specify the API URL. Overrides any value found in the configuration file, see Configuration files. The URL should end with /api/, for example https://hosted.weblate.org/api/.

--key KEY

Specify the API user key to use. Overrides any value found in the configuration file, see Configuration files. You can find your key in your profile on Weblate. When the API URL is loaded from automatically discovered project configuration, --key must be used together with --url. API keys are rejected over non-local http:// URLs by default.

--allow-insecure-http

Allow sending API keys over non-local http:// URLs. Prefer HTTPS or loopback HTTP instead; this option is intended only for legacy deployments where HTTPS is not available. This option only enables insecure HTTP for the current run; omitting it does not disable allow_insecure_http from configuration.

--config PATH

Load configuration only from PATH instead of the discovered global and project configuration files, see Configuration files.

--config-section SECTION

Overrides configuration file section in use, see Configuration files.

Commands

The following commands are available:

version

Prints the current version.

list-languages

Lists used languages in Weblate.

list-projects

Lists projects in Weblate.

list-components

Lists components in Weblate.

list-translations

Lists translations in Weblate.

show

Shows Weblate object (translation, component or project).

ls

Lists Weblate object (translation, component or project).

commit

Commits changes made in a Weblate object (translation, component or project).

pull

Pulls remote repository changes into Weblate object (translation, component or project).

push

Pushes Weblate object changes into remote repository (translation, component or project).

reset

Resets changes in Weblate object to match remote repository (translation, component or project).

cleanup

Removes any untracked changes in a Weblate object to match the remote repository (translation, component or project).

repo

Displays repository status for a given Weblate object (translation, component or project).

stats

Displays detailed statistics for a given Weblate object (translation, component or project).

lock-status

Displays lock status.

lock

Locks component from further translation in Weblate.

unlock

Unlocks translation of Weblate component.

changes

Displays changes for a given object.

download

Downloads a translation file.

--convert

Converts file format, if unspecified no conversion happens on the server and the file is downloaded as is to the repository.

--output

Specifies file to save output in, if left unspecified it is printed to stdout.

upload

Uploads a translation file.

--overwrite

Overwrite existing translations upon uploading.

--input

File from which content is read, if left unspecified it is read from stdin.

--method

Upload method to use, see Import methods.

--fuzzy

Fuzzy (marked for edit) strings processing (empty, process, approve)

--author-name

Author name, to override currently authenticated user

--author-email

Author e-mail, to override currently authenticated user

Hint

You can get more detailed information on invoking individual commands by passing --help, for example: wlc ls --help.

Configuration files

When --config is provided, wlc loads only that file.

Without --config, wlc first loads the discovered global configuration file from the standard platform-specific locations:

C:\Users\NAME\AppData\Roaming\weblate.ini

Global configuration file on Windows in the roamed profile.

C:\Users\NAME\AppData\Local\weblate.ini

Global configuration file on Windows in the local profile.

~/.config/weblate

Global configuration file on Unix-like systems.

/etc/xdg/weblate

System-wide fallback configuration file.

The program follows the XDG specification, so you can adjust the placement of config files by environment variables XDG_CONFIG_HOME or XDG_CONFIG_DIRS.

On Windows APPDATA and LOCALAPPDATA directories are the preferred locations for the configuration file.

After loading the global configuration, wlc loads the nearest project configuration file from the current directory or its parents:

.weblate, .weblate.ini, weblate.ini

Project configuration file placed in the repository.

Only the closest project configuration file is loaded. Configuration files in farther parent directories are ignored.

Following settings can be configured in the [weblate] section (you can customize this by --config-section):

key

Removed in version 1.17: Use the [keys] section to specify keys scoped for individual API URLs, see Legacy configuration.

url

API server URL, defaults to http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/.

translation

Path to the default translation - component or project.

allow_insecure_http

Allow API keys over non-local http:// URLs, defaults to false. Loopback HTTP URLs, such as http://127.0.0.1:8000/api/, remain allowed for local development without this option. Prefer HTTPS instead of enabling this setting. Automatically discovered project configuration files cannot enable this option; set it in user configuration, an explicit --config file, WLC_ALLOW_INSECURE_HTTP, or --allow-insecure-http. The setting is cumulative: any trusted source that enables insecure HTTP is enough, and false or unset values from command-line or environment sources do not disable it.

retries, timeout, allowed_methods, backoff_factor, status_forcelist

Optional HTTP retry and timeout settings passed to urllib3. Use allowed_methods to list the request methods that may be retried. Current wlc releases use this setting name in place of the older method_whitelist option.

The configuration file is an INI file, for example:

[weblate]
url = https://hosted.weblate.org/api/
translation = weblate/application
retries = 3
allowed_methods = PUT,POST,GET
backoff_factor = 0.2
status_forcelist = 429,500,502,503,504
timeout = 30
allow_insecure_http = false

The API keys are stored in the [keys] section:

[keys]
https://hosted.weblate.org/api/ = APIKEY

This allows you to store keys in your personal settings, while using the .weblate configuration in the VCS repository so that wlc knows which server it should talk to. The [keys] lookup is scoped to the exact API URL.

In CI, unscoped keys must pin the API URL explicitly: set both WLC_URL and WLC_KEY, or use --url together with --key.

Environment variables

Added in version 1.18.0.

Changed in version 2.0.1: Unscoped API keys require an explicit API URL when project configuration is discovered automatically. API keys are rejected over non-local http:// URLs unless insecure HTTP is explicitly enabled.

The API URL and key can also be configured using environment variables. This is especially useful for CI workflows where WLC_URL pins the destination and WLC_KEY is injected as a secret:

WLC_URL

API URL

WLC_KEY

API key. When the API URL would otherwise come from automatically discovered project configuration, WLC_KEY is accepted only together with WLC_URL. API keys are rejected over non-local http:// URLs by default.

WLC_ALLOW_INSECURE_HTTP

Set to 1, true, yes, or on to allow API keys over non-local http:// URLs. Prefer HTTPS or loopback HTTP instead. Other values, such as 0 or false, are treated as unset and do not disable allow_insecure_http from configuration.

The same protection applies to command-line arguments: --key is accepted with automatically discovered project configuration only when --url is provided.

The API URL and key configuration precedence (highest to lowest) is:

1. Command-line arguments (--url, --key).

2. Environment variables (WLC_URL, WLC_KEY).

3. Configuration loaded from --config, or from the discovered global configuration plus the nearest project configuration when --config is not used.

The insecure HTTP opt-in is enable-only rather than a normal precedence setting. It is enabled when --allow-insecure-http is passed, when WLC_ALLOW_INSECURE_HTTP has a true value, or when allow_insecure_http is enabled in trusted configuration. Automatically discovered project configuration cannot enable it; set it in user configuration or pass an explicit --config file instead.

Examples

Print current program version:

$ wlc version
version: 0.1

List all projects:

$ wlc list-projects
name: Hello
slug: hello
url: http://example.com/api/projects/hello/
web: https://weblate.org/
web_url: http://example.com/projects/hello/

Upload translation file:

$ wlc upload project/component/language --input /tmp/hello.po

You can also designate what project wlc should work on:

$ cat .weblate
[weblate]
url = https://hosted.weblate.org/api/
translation = weblate/application

$ wlc show
branch: main
file_format: po
source_language: en
filemask: weblate/locale/*/LC_MESSAGES/django.po
git_export: https://hosted.weblate.org/git/weblate/application/
license: GPL-3.0+
license_url: https://spdx.org/licenses/GPL-3.0+
name: Application
new_base: weblate/locale/django.pot
project: weblate
repo: git://github.com/WeblateOrg/weblate.git
slug: application
template:
url: https://hosted.weblate.org/api/components/weblate/application/
vcs: git
web_url: https://hosted.weblate.org/projects/weblate/application/

With this setup it is easy to commit pending changes in the current project:

$ wlc commit