Overview (Goal Summary):

Enable comprehensive localization within the Red Hat Developer Hub (RHDH) to support multiple languages, starting with French. 

This feature aims to provide a localized user experience based on the Backstage localization framework by generating all user-facing texts, UI components, and messages across the RHDH portal and its core plugins so they can be translated into additional languages. Users will be able to select their preferred language from settings, with automatic detection based on browser preferences. Our Developers should be able to generate the list of strings that need to be translated each new release, and Users should be able to generate or access RHDH’s strings if they want to add support for a new language themselves.

This will enhance accessibility, improve user experience, and enable business in regions with mandatory language requirements.

Goals (Expected User Outcomes):

• Ensure all RHDH UI components, core Red Hat plugins (RBAC, Extensions, Adoption, Orchestrator, Global Header), and user-facing texts are fully localizable. 
• Improve usability and accessibility for non-English speakers, starting with French-speaking users, by adding French translations.
• Unlock business opportunities by meeting mandatory language requirements in specific regions.
• Empower customers to be able to translate their own custom plugins to existing languages, or add new languages 

Requirements (Acceptance Criteria):

• The localization framework must be operational across RHDH without disrupting existing functionalities.
• Utilize the Backstage localization framework (currently in alpha)
• All user-facing texts, UI components, and messages within the RHDH portal and specified core plugins must be identified, refactored to use localization keys, and can be provided to a translation tool or team
• For phase 1, RHDH should add French support 
• The system must automatically detect and save the user's preferred language using browser settings on the first visit.
• Users must be able to override automatic detection by manually selecting from the available languages in their settings.
• Selected language preferences must be saved and persist across user sessions, with the UI updating instantly without requiring a page reload.
• The user interface must display correctly and consistently in supported languages (English and French) without layout issues.
• Comprehensive testing must be conducted for translation accuracy and UI display in localized versions.
• Detailed documentation must be created to guide developers on enabling localization for custom plugins and adding new languages using recommended best practices
• End users should be able to reference the procedure on how and where they can change the displayed language in product documentation

Out of Scope:

• Complete translation across all plugins and strings is best effort, we don’t control all plugins, so initial focus will be on our Red Hat plugins to start. By the end of 1.8, a customer won’t be able to click French, and see all areas of the UI 100% translated. 
• Custom localization solutions for third-party plugins not included in the core RHDH bundle.
• Automatic language detection (or translation) for backend-generated error messages or audit logging.
• Adding additional languages beyond French in the initial phase.

Customer Considerations:

• Ensure culturally sensitive translations.
• Ensure that the documentation is accessible to developers of varying skill levels.
• Provide code examples to facilitate understanding how to add and maintain translations for plugins.
• Update the frontend plugin template available in the Red Hat Developer repo so that localization is enabled when a new plugin is created.

Documentation Considerations:

• Update RHDH documentation for multi-language support and language selection
• Provide development guidelines for new translations and for enabling localization in custom plugins.
• Ensure new/untranslated strings can be fetched each release as changes are made so they can be translated to maintain necessary localizations

• Ensure the documentation is integrated into existing developer resources (Developer cookbook) and can be easily navigated.
• Regularly update the documentation to reflect any changes or improvements in the localization framework.