i18n key agent generated duplicate message ids across feature branches

i18n key agent generated duplicate message ids across feature branches

TL;DR

Fixes the key-generation agent creating the same message id for different strings on different branches. Namespace generated ids by feature or content-hash them. Use when merges collide on message ids. Not for hand-written key collisions.

The error

Merge conflict: both branches generated message id onboarding.title for different strings.

Fix it

Step 1: List the colliding ids

node -e "console.log('find ids defined twice with different source text')"

Expected: You see the collisions and their branches.

Step 2: Rename with feature namespaces

node -e "console.log('prefix generated ids with the feature name')"

Expected: Each id is unique to its feature.

Step 3: Re-extract both branches and merge

node -e "console.log('confirm no id collisions remain')"

Expected: The merge is clean.

When to use this

• Two branches generated the same message id
• The key agent uses short generic names

When NOT to use this

• A human typed the same key twice, rename it by hand
• The ids match and the strings match, that is a true duplicate to merge

Tool and version compatibility

• Any auto key-generation agent
• i18next, Lingui, and FormatJS key schemes

Variant phrasings

collisions within one branch

The generator ran twice with different counters. Make generation deterministic.

ids collide after a rebase

Rebasing replays generation. Regenerate ids after the rebase.

Why it happens

Simple key generators produce short readable ids from the string's position or a counter. Two branches working independently generate the same ids for different strings, and the merge cannot tell them apart.

Edge cases

• Content-hash ids never collide but are unreadable; namespace them for humans
• Renaming ids orphans existing translations; migrate the TMS too
• Deterministic generation from file path plus string is the most robust scheme

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_h31kgbIVLnyw6yVhmh3aWQ

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_h31kgbIVLnyw6yVhmh3aWQ

Thread query: i18n key agent generated duplicate message ids across feature branches

TL;DR: Fixes the key-generation agent creating the same message id for different strings on different branches. Namespace generated ids by feature or content-hash them. Use when merges collide on message ids. Not for hand-written key collisions.