Dire CLI Commands

Dire is both a translation tool and an i18n file maintenance system. Commands are organized by their primary purpose.

Setup & Configuration

Commands for initializing and configuring Dire.

Command	Description	Example
dire init	Create a configuration file (.dire.toml)	dire init
dire init --force	Overwrite existing configuration file	dire init --force

Translation Commands

Universal Translation Commands

Commands that work with all provider types (LLMs and translation services).

Command	Description	Example
dire	Translate all missing keys in your i18n files	dire
dire --keys <key>	Translate specific key(s)	dire --keys "auth.login,auth.register"
dire --sourced	Apply only glossary and memory translations (no provider)	dire --sourced
dire --glossary	Apply only glossary translations (no provider)	dire --glossary
dire --glossary --overwrite	Overwrite existing translations with glossary values	dire --glossary --overwrite
dire --memory	Apply only memory translations (no provider)	dire --memory
dire --stub	Create placeholder translations (empty strings)	dire --stub
dire --include-stubs	Include empty strings as missing translations	dire --include-stubs
dire --no-trim	Preserve whitespace in translations	dire --no-trim

LLM-Only Translation Commands

Advanced commands requiring LLM providers (Claude, OpenAI, Gemini, Mistral). These do NOT work with translation services like DeepL or Google Translate.

Command	Description	Example
dire --context <context>	Add context for better AI translations	dire --context "E-commerce checkout"
dire --rephrase --keys <key> --locale <locale>	Generate rephrase options for existing translations	dire --rephrase --keys auth.login --locale en-US

File Maintenance Commands

Commands for managing and maintaining i18n file structure and completeness.

Command	Description	Example
dire --prune	Remove orphaned keys from non-reference locales	dire --prune
dire --check	Lint translation completeness (CI/CD mode)	dire --check
dire --check --format json	Output lint results in JSON format	dire --check --format json

General Options

Universal flags that work across all commands.

Command	Description	Example
dire --verbose	Show detailed progress information	dire --verbose
dire --debug	Enable debug logging	dire --debug
dire --help	Show help information	dire --help
dire --version	Show current version	dire --version

Configuration Override Flags

These flags override settings from your .dire.toml configuration file:

Flag	Description	Example
--directory <path>	Override files.directory	dire --directory ./i18n
--locales <filename=language-code>	Override files.locales mapping	dire --locales en.json=en-US,fr.json=fr-FR
--indent <number>	Override files.indent	dire --indent 4
--formality <level>	Override styleGuide.formality	dire --formality formal
--project-name <name>	Override project.name	dire --project-name "My App"
--project-description <text>	Override project.description	dire --project-description "Online store for shoes"
--project-domain <domain>	Override project.domain	dire --project-domain "e-commerce"
--provider-active <name>	Override providers.active	dire --provider-active claude
--provider-model <model>	Override active provider model	dire --provider-model claude-3-5-sonnet
--provider-temperature <float>	Override provider temperature	dire --provider-temperature 0.3
--provider-max-tokens <number>	Override provider max tokens	dire --provider-max-tokens 4096

What Each Command Does

Setup & Configuration

dire init

• Creates a .dire.toml configuration file
• Sets up default and example settings for your project
• Use --force flag to overwrite existing configuration

Translation Commands

dire (Main Command)

• Scans your configured i18n files
• Identifies missing translations
• Applies glossary and memory translations
• Uses the configured provider to generate translations for missing keys
• Saves results back to your files

dire --keys <key>

• Translates only specific keys instead of all missing ones
• Focuses on particular sections of your translations
• Supports multiple keys separated by commas

dire --sourced

• Uses both glossary entries and translation memory
• Reuses existing translations found in your files
• Skips provider-powered translation generation
• Convenience flag equivalent to using --glossary --memory together
• No API key required

dire --glossary

• Uses only your configured glossary entries
• Applies exact matches from your glossary configuration
• Skips translation memory and provider-powered translation
• No API key required

dire --glossary --overwrite

• Overwrites existing translations with glossary values
• Requires --glossary flag (cannot be used with --sourced or --memory)
• Useful for enforcing glossary terms across all translation files
• Updates translations even when they already exist
• No API key required

Use Cases:

• Terminology updates: Apply glossary changes to existing translations
• Consistency enforcement: Ensure all files use the same glossary terms
• Brand alignment: Update translations to match new brand guidelines

dire --memory

• Reuses only existing translations found in your files (translation memory)
• Finds matches based on source text across different keys
• Skips glossary and provider-powered translation
• No API key required

dire --stub

• Creates empty string placeholders for all missing translations
• Skips provider translation generation
• Useful for setting up translation file structure
• No API key required

dire --context <context>

• Provides additional context to improve translation quality
• Improves translation accuracy
• Ensures domain-specific terminology
• Maintains consistent tone and style

dire --rephrase --keys <key> --locale <locale>

• Generates rephrase options for existing translations
• Requires both a specific key and target locale
• Helps improve translation quality and alternatives
• Only works with single keys, not multiple keys

dire --include-stubs

• Treats empty string translations as missing translations
• Processes placeholder values that need actual translations
• Useful when working with incomplete translation files

dire --no-trim

• Preserves leading/trailing spaces
• Maintains exact formatting
• Keeps intentional whitespace in translations

File Maintenance Commands

dire --prune

• Removes orphaned translation keys that don't exist in the reference locale
• Identifies the reference locale (the one with the most keys)
• Cleans up keys from other locales that are no longer in the reference
• Keeps your translation files synchronized and maintainable over time
• Essential for ongoing i18n file maintenance as your project evolves
• No API key required

dire --check

• Lints translation files for completeness issues
• Exits with code 0 if complete, 1 if missing translations found
• Perfect for CI/CD pipelines to prevent incomplete translations from reaching production
• Use --format json for machine-readable output
• Respects --include-stubs (treats empty strings as missing)
• Supports --keys flag to lint specific translation keys only

Exit Codes:

• 0 - All translations complete
• 1 - Missing translations detected
• 2 - Configuration or system errors