locale qa agent failed to catch pseudo locale expansion flagged as bug

Not specified by the original author.

Fix the locale QA agent flagging pseudo-locale expansion as a bug

TL;DR

Pseudo locales are supposed to be long, so teach the agent what pseudo text looks like instead of failing it. The agent sees 40 percent longer strings and cries overflow, but that is the pseudo locale doing its job. Detect the pseudo markers and apply expansion-aware assertions, or skip overflow checks for pseudo runs.

The error

Locale QA agent: pseudo locale flagged as bug, 120 overflow failures
every failure is expected pseudo expansion

Fix it

Step 1: Confirm the locale is pseudo

node -e "console.log('check the locale code: pseudo locales are usually named like en-XA or qps-ploc')"

Expected: The failures are all in the pseudo locale.

Step 2: Detect pseudo markers in the agent

grep -n "locale" scripts/qa-agent.js | head -5

Expected: You find where the agent reads the active locale.

Step 3: Apply expansion-aware assertions for pseudo

node -e "console.log('pattern: if locale is pseudo, allow 50 percent expansion before failing overflow')"

Expected: Expected expansion stops failing.

Step 4: Re-run the pseudo QA pass

node scripts/qa-agent.js --locale en-XA | tail -3

Expected: The pass is clean except for genuine breaks.

When to use this

• A QA agent flags pseudo-locale expansion as bugs
• Every pseudo run fails overflow checks

When NOT to use this

• Real locales overflow, those are genuine bugs
• The pseudo locale itself is broken, fix the generator

Tool and version compatibility

• Pseudo locales like en-XA, expansion testing
• Overflow assertions with locale awareness

Variant phrasings

pseudo failures drown out real ones

Separate the reports. Pseudo runs check layout robustness, real runs check correctness.

no pseudo markers to detect

Add them. A pseudo locale without markers is indistinguishable from bad translations.

Why it happens

Pseudo locales deliberately inflate strings to simulate languages like German. An overflow check tuned for real locales sees the inflation as breakage, because it does not know the locale is synthetic.

Edge cases

• Keep some strict checks on pseudo too, total breakage is still breakage
• Document the pseudo expansion factor so thresholds stay honest
• Real German still needs its own run, pseudo does not replace it

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_vKqNP4E0jNw1xlO3qTP6FQ

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_vKqNP4E0jNw1xlO3qTP6FQ

Thread query: locale qa agent failed to catch pseudo locale expansion flagged as bug

TL;DR: Pseudo locales are supposed to be long, so teach the agent what pseudo text looks like instead of failing it. The agent sees 40 percent longer strings and cries overflow, but that is the pseudo locale doing its job. Detect the pseudo markers and apply expansion-aware assertions, or skip overflow checks for pseudo runs.

Not specified by the original author.

Fix the translation agent skipping RTL pseudo-locale verification

TL;DR

The agent ships RTL without ever rendering it, so add a pseudo-locale check to the pipeline. A pseudo locale with mirrored markers catches layout breaks before real translators are involved. Generate the pseudo locale, screenshot key screens, and fail the run on breakage.

The error

Translation agent: QA checks failed, RTL layout broken in production
no pseudo-locale verification ever ran

Fix it

Step 1: Generate a pseudo locale from the source strings

node -e "console.log('create a pseudo locale: wrap strings with markers and expand length by 30 percent')"

Expected: You have a test locale that stresses layout.

Step 2: Add it to the agent pipeline before shipping

grep -n "verify\|qa" scripts/translate-agent.js | head -5

Expected: You find where to hook the check.

Step 3: Render key screens in the pseudo locale

node -e "console.log('screenshot the top screens with the pseudo locale active')"

Expected: You see expansion and bidi issues as visual breaks.

Step 4: Gate the release on the check

node -e "console.log('fail the pipeline when screenshots show overflow or broken mirroring')"

Expected: Broken RTL never ships silently again.

When to use this

• An agent ships translations without RTL verification
• RTL breaks are found in production

When NOT to use this

• The pseudo check runs but misses issues, improve the screenshots
• The issue is LTR layout, pseudo locales still help with expansion

Tool and version compatibility

• Pseudo-locale generation, screenshot QA
• Any agent translation pipeline

Variant phrasings

pseudo locale exists but the agent skips it

Make it a required gate, not an optional step. Optional checks get skipped.

no screenshot infra yet

Start with string-length assertions, they catch the worst expansion breaks without browsers.

Why it happens

Real RTL translations arrive late and are expensive to fix against. Pseudo locales simulate the stress, longer strings and RTL markers, early and cheaply. Skipping that step means the first RTL render happens in production.

Edge cases

• Pseudo locales do not catch real translation errors, they catch layout errors
• Keep the pseudo locale out of production bundles
• Expand by 30 to 40 percent, German-style, to catch the worst cases

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstqU9E72oUzz8Y5fYdW7r9g

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstqU9E72oUzz8Y5fYdW7r9g

Thread query: translation agent skipped rtl pseudo locale verification and qa checks failed

TL;DR: The agent ships RTL without ever rendering it, so add a pseudo-locale check to the pipeline. A pseudo locale with mirrored markers catches layout breaks before real translators are involved. Generate the pseudo locale, screenshot key screens, and fail the run on breakage.

Not specified by the original author.

locale qa agent flagged correct plural forms as missing

TL;DR

Fixes the locale QA agent reporting false missing-plural failures. Teach the agent the CLDR plural categories per locale so it stops demanding forms the language does not use. Use when QA fails on correct plural sets. Not for genuinely missing forms.

The error

QA agent failed the build: plural forms missing for locale ja, expected one and other.

Fix it

Step 1: Check the CLDR categories for the locale

node -e "console.log(new Intl.PluralRules('ja').resolvedOptions())"

Expected: You see Japanese only uses the other category.

Step 2: Update the agent's expected-form table

node -e "console.log('replace the hardcoded one/other expectation with per-locale CLDR categories')"

Expected: The agent expects only the forms the locale uses.

Step 3: Re-run the QA check

node -e "console.log('confirm Japanese passes with only the other form present')"

Expected: The false failures are gone.

When to use this

• QA fails demanding plural forms a locale does not use
• The agent hardcodes English plural expectations

When NOT to use this

• A form the locale really needs is missing, add the translation
• The QA failure is about syntax, fix the ICU message

Tool and version compatibility

• Any locale QA agent with plural checks
• CLDR plural data via Intl.PluralRules

Variant phrasings

false failures for many locales

The expectation table is English-only. Generate it from CLDR for every locale.

failures only for zero/one edge cases

Those are explicit =0/=1 cases, separate from category expectations.

Why it happens

Many QA agents assume every language needs one and other. CLDR defines per-locale categories: Japanese needs only other, Arabic needs six. The agent's hardcoded table produces false failures for most of the world's languages.

Edge cases

• Explicit =0 cases are message-level, not locale-level
• CLDR versions change categories rarely but it happens; pin the version
• Ordinal categories differ from cardinal ones

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstKPXWA1-cDrzzhLReg7nNg

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pstKPXWA1-cDrzzhLReg7nNg

Thread query: locale qa agent flagged correct plural forms as missing

TL;DR: Fixes the locale QA agent reporting false missing-plural failures. Teach the agent the CLDR plural categories per locale so it stops demanding forms the language does not use. Use when QA fails on correct plural sets. Not for genuinely missing forms.