The compiler extracts your messages, generates the types and splits bundles per locale. Every build lists a missing translation and your CI stops it, so it never reaches your users.
Four things the compiler does for you, each one running right here.
One Vite plugin. No giant init(), no Babel macros, no proprietary formats. Catalogs are plain JSON you can take anywhere.
By default you never write one. Name them when you want to read them, or declare them in a module when they are a contract with something outside your app, and Verbaly checks every one against your catalog. The text never changes.
The text itself declares its params, so if you forget one TypeScript stops you.
No framework? The DOM interpreter hydrates data-verbaly nodes, re-renders on locale switch and watches new elements.
An honest look against the tools you'd otherwise reach for. It shows where Verbaly wins, and where the others are fine too.
| Feature |  Verbaly | i18next | Lingui | Paraglide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type-safe keys & params | Inferred from your text | Plugin / manual | Partial | Yes |
| Runtime size (gzip) | 3.31 KB, zero deps (6.13 with DOM + urls) | 13.6 KB (23 with React) | 2 KB (4 with React) | compiled, no shared runtime |
| Key maintenance | None, auto-extracted | By hand | Extract → compile step | By hand |
| Dynamic / CMS content | Real runtime path | Yes | Yes | Weak |
| Plain HTML (no framework) | DOM interpreter | — | — | — |
| Missing translations | Fails CI, every build lists it | Runtime warning | CI step | Build fails |
| Broken translations | Fails CI, every build lists it | — | — | — |
| Catalog format | Plain JSON | JSON | PO / JSON | inlang format |
| Coding agents | MCP server + skill | — | Skill | — |
VerbalyThree steps and a guardrail, or let verbaly init scaffold it in one command. No key files written by hand: the compiler does the boring parts while you keep writing product copy.
One command, three packages: the runtime, the plugin and the command.
pnpm add verbaly @verbaly/vite @verbaly/compilerPoint it at the locale you write in.
import verbaly from '@verbaly/vite';
export default { plugins: [verbaly({ sourceLocale: 'es' })] };Keys, types and catalogs: generated.
import { t, setLocale } from 'virtual:verbaly';
t`Hola ${name}`; // keys, types & catalogs: generated
await setLocale('pt'); // lazy-loads its chunkExits 1 while any locale is incomplete, so untranslated text never ships.
- run: npx verbaly check # exits 1 on a missing or broken translationInstall, add the plugin and write text. Verbaly extracts the messages, writes the types and loads each language when someone asks for it.
Already have catalogs? Open them in Studio