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Implementing Internationalization with SvelteKit and Directus

Published May 6th, 2024

Written By
Ekekenta Clinton
Ekekenta Clinton
Guest Author

Before You Start

You will need:

  • Node.js v20.11.1 or later.
  • A code editor on your computer.
  • A Directus project - follow our quickstart guide if you don't already have one.
  • Some knowledge of React and Svelte.

The code for this tutorial is available on this GitHub repository.

Installing SvelteKit and setting up a new project.

Start by setting up a new Svelte project and install the required dependencies including the Directus SDK:

npm create svelte@latest frontend # Select the Skeleton project
cd directus-i18n-app
npm install
npm install @directus/sdk
npm create svelte@latest frontend # Select the Skeleton project
cd directus-i18n-app
npm install
npm install @directus/sdk

In the src/libs directory, create a directus.js file to create and export a Directus SDK instance:

import { createDirectus, rest } from '@directus/sdk';
import { PUBLIC_DIRECTUS_API_URL } from '$env/static/public';
function getDirectusInstance(fetch) {
  	const options = fetch ? { globals: { fetch } } : {};
	const directus = createDirectus(PUBLIC_DIRECTUS_API_URL).with(rest());
	return directus;
}
export default getDirectusInstance;
import { createDirectus, rest } from '@directus/sdk';
import { PUBLIC_DIRECTUS_API_URL } from '$env/static/public';
function getDirectusInstance(fetch) {
  	const options = fetch ? { globals: { fetch } } : {};
	const directus = createDirectus(PUBLIC_DIRECTUS_API_URL).with(rest());
	return directus;
}
export default getDirectusInstance;

Then create a .env file in the root directory of your project and add your Directus API URL:

PUBLIC_DIRECTUS_API_URL='https://directus.example.com';
PUBLIC_DIRECTUS_API_URL='https://directus.example.com';

Designing the Data Model

In the Directus Data Studio, navigate to Settings -> Data Model and create a new collection called news:

  • slug (Primary Key Field, Type: Manually entered string)
  • author (Type: String, Interface: Input)
  • cover (Type: Image)

Create a collection called languages:

  • code (Primary Key Field, Type: Manually entered string )
  • name (Type: String, Interface: Input)
  • direction (Type: String, Interface: Dropdown, Options: ltr and rtl. Default Value: ltr)

The direction field enables support for languages that read right to left.

To enable content translation in your news collection, create a translations field using translation interface. Select name as the Language Indicator Field, direction as the Language Direction Field and en-US as the Default Language.

Creating Directus translations collection

Once you save, a new collection named news_translations will be created for you. In the news_translations collection, you will add the fields that need translations.

Add the following fields to the news_translations collection:

  • title (Type: String, Interface: Input)
  • body (Type: Text, Interface: WYSIWYG)

Add each language you want to support as items in the languages collection.

Creating new entries in the languages collections

The item page for the news collection now includes a translations interface.

Creating new entries in the news collections

llow the Public role to read the news, languages and news_translations collections in the Access Control settings to ensure the frontend can access these collections.

Building the News App Frontend with SvelteKit

In your Svelte project, update your +page.js file to fetch your content using the SDK:

js
import getDirectusInstance from "$lib/directus";
import { readItems } from "@directus/sdk";

export async function load({ fetch }) {
  const directus = getDirectusInstance(fetch);
  return {
    global: await directus.request(readItems("global")),
    news: await directus.request(readItems("news", {
        deep: {
          translations: {
            _filter: {
              _and: [
                {
                  languages_code: { _eq: "en-US" },
                },
              ],
            },
          },
        },
        fields: ["*", { translations: ["*"] }],
      })
    ),
  };
}
import getDirectusInstance from "$lib/directus";
import { readItems } from "@directus/sdk";

export async function load({ fetch }) {
  const directus = getDirectusInstance(fetch);
  return {
    global: await directus.request(readItems("global")),
    news: await directus.request(readItems("news", {
        deep: {
          translations: {
            _filter: {
              _and: [
                {
                  languages_code: { _eq: "en-US" },
                },
              ],
            },
          },
        },
        fields: ["*", { translations: ["*"] }],
      })
    ),
  };
}

The above code snippet will use:

  • readItems function to fetch all the contents in the news collection.
  • deep parameter to filter the related collection to only show the translations in en-US (English US).

Update the code in +page.svelte file in the src directory to render the news:

js
<script>
  export let data;
</script>

<h1>Trending Today!</h1>
<ul>
  {#each data.news as article}
    <li>
      <div>
        <h2>
          <a href={`/${article.id}`}>
            {article.translations[0].title}
          </a>
        </h2>
        <p>By {article.author}</p>
      </div>
    </li>
  {/each}
</ul>
<script>
  export let data;
</script>

<h1>Trending Today!</h1>
<ul>
  {#each data.news as article}
    <li>
      <div>
        <h2>
          <a href={`/${article.id}`}>
            {article.translations[0].title}
          </a>
        </h2>
        <p>By {article.author}</p>
      </div>
    </li>
  {/each}
</ul>

The above code will:

  • Loop through the news array returned in the +page.js file to display the contents.
  • Attach a link to each news list pointing to the news single page.

Create a news/+page.js file in the routes directory for the route that will render the individual news contents:

js
import { readItem } from "@directus/sdk";
import getDirectusInstance from "$lib/directus";
import { error } from "@sveltejs/kit";

/** @type {import('./$types').PageLoad} */
export async function load({ fetch, params, url }) {
  const directus = getDirectusInstance(fetch);

  const slug = params.slug;
  try {
    const [newsData, languagesData] = await Promise.all([
      directus.request(
        readItem("news", slug, {
          fields: ["*", { "*": ["*"] }],
        })
      ),
      directus.request(readItems("languages")),
    ]);

    return {
      article: newsData ? newsData : null,
      languages: languagesData,
    };
  } catch (err) {
    error(404, "Post not found");
  }
}
import { readItem } from "@directus/sdk";
import getDirectusInstance from "$lib/directus";
import { error } from "@sveltejs/kit";

/** @type {import('./$types').PageLoad} */
export async function load({ fetch, params, url }) {
  const directus = getDirectusInstance(fetch);

  const slug = params.slug;
  try {
    const [newsData, languagesData] = await Promise.all([
      directus.request(
        readItem("news", slug, {
          fields: ["*", { "*": ["*"] }],
        })
      ),
      directus.request(readItems("languages")),
    ]);

    return {
      article: newsData ? newsData : null,
      languages: languagesData,
    };
  } catch (err) {
    error(404, "Post not found");
  }
}

The above code will:

  • Use the readItem funtion to find and get the news that matches the primary key field (slug) in the news collection.
  • Fetch all the available languages from the languages collection.

Create a +page.svelte file in the routes/news directory and add the code:

<script>
  export let data;
  $: ({ article, languages } = data);
</script>
{#if article}
  <h1>{article.translations[0].title}</h1>
  {@html article.translations[0].body}
  <select>
    {#each languages as language}
      <option value={language.code}>{language.name}</option>
    {/each}
  </select>
{:else}
  <p>News not found.</p>
{/if}
<script>
  export let data;
  $: ({ article, languages } = data);
</script>
{#if article}
  <h1>{article.translations[0].title}</h1>
  {@html article.translations[0].body}
  <select>
    {#each languages as language}
      <option value={language.code}>{language.name}</option>
    {/each}
  </select>
{:else}
  <p>News not found.</p>
{/if}

The above code will:

  • Get the languages and selected news article data returned from news/+page.js file and render them.
  • Render the languages in a select field so users can choose the language they need the content to be translated into.
  • Use the @html decorator to properly render the WYSIWYG body field content.

Update your project to add the multilingual navigation and search functionalities. Update the code in the routes/news/+page.svelte file to add a handler to dynamically render the article translation based on the selected language.

js
<script>
  import { goto } from '$app/navigation';
  export let data;
  $: ({ article, languages, languageCode } = data);

  let selectedLanguageCode = languageCode;

  function handleLanguageChange(event) {
    const newLanguageCode = event.target.value;
    selectedLanguageCode = newLanguageCode; // Update the selectedLanguageCode
    goto(`?lang=${newLanguageCode}`, { replaceState: true });
  }
</script>

{#if article}
  <h1>{article.translations[0].title}</h1>
  {@html article.translations[0].body}
  <select value={selectedLanguageCode} on:change={handleLanguageChange}>
    {#each languages as language}
      {console.log(language)}
      <option value={language.code}>{language.name}</option>
    {/each}
  </select>
{:else}
  <p>News not found.</p>
{/if}
<script>
  import { goto } from '$app/navigation';
  export let data;
  $: ({ article, languages, languageCode } = data);

  let selectedLanguageCode = languageCode;

  function handleLanguageChange(event) {
    const newLanguageCode = event.target.value;
    selectedLanguageCode = newLanguageCode; // Update the selectedLanguageCode
    goto(`?lang=${newLanguageCode}`, { replaceState: true });
  }
</script>

{#if article}
  <h1>{article.translations[0].title}</h1>
  {@html article.translations[0].body}
  <select value={selectedLanguageCode} on:change={handleLanguageChange}>
    {#each languages as language}
      {console.log(language)}
      <option value={language.code}>{language.name}</option>
    {/each}
  </select>
{:else}
  <p>News not found.</p>
{/if}

Then, update the code in your routes/news/+page.js file to add a filter that allows users to dynamically select the language they need the news to be translated by adding a new URL parameter for the desired language code and use it to filter the news translations.

js
import { readItem } from "@directus/sdk";
import getDirectusInstance from "$lib/directus";
import { error } from "@sveltejs/kit";

/** @type {import('./$types').PageLoad} */
export async function load({ fetch, params, url }) {
  const directus = getDirectusInstance(fetch);

  const slug = params.slug;
  const languageCode = url.searchParams.get("lang") || "en-US";
  try {
    const [newsData, languagesData] = await Promise.all([
      directus.request(
        readItem("news", slug, {
          deep: {
            translations: {
              _filter: {
                _and: [
                  { languages_code: { _eq: languageCode } },
                ],
              },
            },
          },
          fields: ["*", { "*": ["*"] }],
        })
      ),
      directus.request(readItems("languages")),
    ]);

    return {
      article: newsData ? newsData : null,
      languages: languagesData,
      languageCode,
    };
  } catch (err) {
    error(404, "Post not found");
  }
}
import { readItem } from "@directus/sdk";
import getDirectusInstance from "$lib/directus";
import { error } from "@sveltejs/kit";

/** @type {import('./$types').PageLoad} */
export async function load({ fetch, params, url }) {
  const directus = getDirectusInstance(fetch);

  const slug = params.slug;
  const languageCode = url.searchParams.get("lang") || "en-US";
  try {
    const [newsData, languagesData] = await Promise.all([
      directus.request(
        readItem("news", slug, {
          deep: {
            translations: {
              _filter: {
                _and: [
                  { languages_code: { _eq: languageCode } },
                ],
              },
            },
          },
          fields: ["*", { "*": ["*"] }],
        })
      ),
      directus.request(readItems("languages")),
    ]);

    return {
      article: newsData ? newsData : null,
      languages: languagesData,
      languageCode,
    };
  } catch (err) {
    error(404, "Post not found");
  }
}

News translation using Directus i18n API

Now you translate the news in English, German, and French.

Replace the code in your routes/+page.svelte file with the code snippets below to add search functionality:

js
<script>
  import { goto } from "$app/navigation";
  import { page } from "$app/stores";
  export let data;

  let searchQuery = $page.url.searchParams.get("q") || "";

  function handleSearchChange() {
    goto(`/?q=${searchQuery}`, { replaceState: true });
  }
</script>

<h1>Trending Today!</h1>
<div>
  <input type="text" bind:value={searchQuery} placeholder="Search News..." />
  <button on:click={handleSearchChange}>Search</button>
</div>
<ul>
  {#each data.news as article}
    <li>
      <div>
        <h2>
          <a href={`/${article.id}`}>
            {article.translations[0].title}
          </a>
        </h2>
        <p>By {article.author}</p>
      </div>
    </li>
  {/each}
</ul>
<script>
  import { goto } from "$app/navigation";
  import { page } from "$app/stores";
  export let data;

  let searchQuery = $page.url.searchParams.get("q") || "";

  function handleSearchChange() {
    goto(`/?q=${searchQuery}`, { replaceState: true });
  }
</script>

<h1>Trending Today!</h1>
<div>
  <input type="text" bind:value={searchQuery} placeholder="Search News..." />
  <button on:click={handleSearchChange}>Search</button>
</div>
<ul>
  {#each data.news as article}
    <li>
      <div>
        <h2>
          <a href={`/${article.id}`}>
            {article.translations[0].title}
          </a>
        </h2>
        <p>By {article.author}</p>
      </div>
    </li>
  {/each}
</ul>

The above code will:

  • Define variables searchQuery to store the user's search input.
  • Initialize the searchQuery variable with the value of the q query parameter from the current URL ($page.url.searchParams.get("q")). If no q parameter is present, it defaults to an empty string.
  • Use the handleSearchChange to update the URL with the current searchQuery value using the goto function from $app/navigation. The replaceState: true option will replace the current history entry instead of creating a new one.
  • Render an input field and a button to allow the user to enter a search query and trigger the search.
  • Display the searched news or all the news if no search is made.

News list with search functionality

Summary

Throughout this tutorial, you've learned how to build a multilingual news application using SvelteKit and Directus. You have set up a SvelteKit project, created a Directus Wrapper, and used it to query data. We created translation collections using Directus's flexible CMS and used the translation interface to translate the news article content into different languages.

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