Manual: msgfmt

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NAME
       msgfmt - compile message catalog to binary format

SYNOPSIS
       msgfmt [OPTION] filename.po ...

DESCRIPTION
       Generate binary message catalog from textual translation description.

       Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.	 Similarly for optional arguments.

   Input file location:
       filename.po ...
	      input files

       -D, --directory=DIRECTORY
	      add DIRECTORY to list for input files search

       If input file is -, standard input is read.

   Operation mode:
       -j, --java
	      Java mode: generate a Java ResourceBundle class

       --java2
	      like --java, and assume Java2 (JDK 1.2 or higher)

       --csharp
	      C# mode: generate a .NET .dll file

       --csharp-resources
	      C# resources mode: generate a .NET .resources file

       --tcl  Tcl mode: generate a tcl/msgcat .msg file

       --qt   Qt mode: generate a Qt .qm file

       --desktop
	      Desktop Entry mode: generate a .desktop file

       --xml  XML mode: generate XML file

   Output file location:
       -o, --output-file=FILE
	      write output to specified file

       --strict
	      enable strict Uniforum mode

       If output file is -, output is written to standard output.

   Output file location in Java mode:
       -r, --resource=RESOURCE
	      resource name

       -l, --locale=LOCALE
	      locale name, either language or language_COUNTRY

       --source
	      produce a .java file, instead of a .class file

       -d DIRECTORY
	      base directory of classes directory hierarchy

       The class name is determined by appending the locale name to the resource name, separated with an underscore.  The -d
       option is mandatory.  The class is written under the specified directory.

   Output file location in C# mode:
       -r, --resource=RESOURCE
	      resource name

       -l, --locale=LOCALE
	      locale name, either language or language_COUNTRY

       -d DIRECTORY
	      base directory for locale dependent .dll files

       The  -l	and  -d	 options are mandatory.	 The .dll file is written in a subdirectory of the specified directory whose
       name depends on the locale.

   Output file location in Tcl mode:
       -l, --locale=LOCALE
	      locale name, either language or language_COUNTRY

       -d DIRECTORY
	      base directory of .msg message catalogs

       The -l and -d options are mandatory.  The .msg file is written in the specified directory.

   Desktop Entry mode options:
       -l, --locale=LOCALE
	      locale name, either language or language_COUNTRY

       -o, --output-file=FILE
	      write output to specified file

       --template=TEMPLATE
	      a .desktop file used as a template

       -d DIRECTORY
	      base directory of .po files

       -kWORD, --keyword=WORD
	      look for WORD as an additional keyword

       -k, --keyword
	      do not to use default keywords

       The -l, -o, and --template options are mandatory.  If -D is specified, input files are read from	 the  directory	 in‐
       stead of the command line arguments.

   XML mode options:
       -l, --locale=LOCALE
	      locale name, either language or language_COUNTRY

       -L, --language=NAME
	      recognise the specified XML language

       -o, --output-file=FILE
	      write output to specified file

       --template=TEMPLATE
	      an XML file used as a template

       -d DIRECTORY
	      base directory of .po files

       --replace-text
	      output XML with translated text replacing the original text, not augmenting the original text

       The  -l,	 -o,  and --template options are mandatory.  If -D is specified, input files are read from the directory in‐
       stead of the command line arguments.

   Input file syntax:
       -P, --properties-input
	      input files are in Java .properties syntax

       --stringtable-input
	      input files are in NeXTstep/GNUstep .strings syntax

   Input file interpretation:
       -c, --check
	      perform all the checks implied by --check-format, --check-header, --check-domain

       --check-format
	      check language dependent format strings

       --check-header
	      verify presence and contents of the header entry

       --check-domain
	      check for conflicts between domain directives and the --output-file option

       -C, --check-compatibility
	      check that GNU msgfmt behaves like X/Open msgfmt

       --check-accelerators[=CHAR]
	      check presence of keyboard accelerators for menu items

       -f, --use-fuzzy
	      use fuzzy entries in output

   Output details:
       --no-convert
	      don't convert the messages to UTF-8 encoding

       --no-redundancy
	      don't pre-expand ISO C 99  format string directive macros

       -a, --alignment=NUMBER
	      align strings to NUMBER bytes (default: 1)

       --endianness=BYTEORDER
	      write out 32-bit numbers in the given byte order (big or little, default depends on platform)

       --no-hash
	      binary file will not include the hash table

   Informative output:
       -h, --help
	      display this help and exit

       -V, --version
	      output version information and exit

       --statistics
	      print statistics about translations

       -v, --verbose
	      increase verbosity level

AUTHOR
       Written by Ulrich Drepper.

REPORTING BUGS
       Report bugs in the bug tracker at  or by email to .

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright © 1995-2024 Free Software Foundation, Inc.  License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later 
       This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.  There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted  by
       law.

SEE ALSO
       The  full  documentation	 for msgfmt is maintained as a Texinfo manual.	If the info and msgfmt programs are properly
       installed at your site, the command

	      info msgfmt

       should give you access to the complete manual.

GNU gettext-tools 0.23-bisect-1a			  June 2025						   MSGFMT(1)