weblate failed to parse po file: syntax error

weblate failed to parse po file: syntax error

TL;DR

Fixes the Weblate error when a committed PO file has a syntax error. Run msgfmt locally to find the line, fix it, and push again. Use when Weblate reports a parse failure on a PO file. Not for merge conflicts.

The error

Failed to parse PO file: syntax error on line 42, unexpected token.

Fix it

Step 1: Reproduce the parse error locally

msgfmt --check po/de.po -o /dev/null

Expected: msgfmt reports the same syntax error with a line number.

Step 2: Open the reported line

sed -n '38,46p' po/de.po

Expected: You see the broken entry around the reported line.

Step 3: Fix the syntax and push

git add po/de.po && git commit -m 'fix po syntax' && git push

Expected: Weblate parses the file and the component unlocks.

When to use this

• Weblate reports a PO parse syntax error
• The component shows a parse failure after a commit

When NOT to use this

• Weblate reports a merge conflict, resolve the git conflict
• The file parses but translations are missing, check the component config

Tool and version compatibility

• Weblate 5.x
• GNU gettext msgfmt

Variant phrasings

error on a line that looks fine

The real break is earlier: an unterminated string swallows following lines.

parse fails only in Weblate

Weblate is stricter than your editor. Run msgfmt --check before every commit.

Why it happens

Weblate parses PO files strictly on every commit. Hand-edited entries with unbalanced quotes or bad escapes break the parse, and Weblate locks the component until the file is valid again.

Edge cases

• Fuzzy entries with bad syntax still break the parse
• Merge conflict markers inside a PO file produce cryptic syntax errors
• Windows line endings can confuse older msgfmt versions

Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_5a1KRuQpsxfu5xwsHGemwQ

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_5a1KRuQpsxfu5xwsHGemwQ

Thread query: weblate failed to parse po file: syntax error

TL;DR: Fixes the Weblate error when a committed PO file has a syntax error. Run msgfmt locally to find the line, fix it, and push again. Use when Weblate reports a parse failure on a PO file. Not for merge conflicts.