README

Manage TYPO3 translations directly in the backend – no more digging through language files

What is TextDB?

TextDB is a powerful TYPO3 extension that transforms how you manage translations. Instead of editing language files scattered across your project, manage all translations through a convenient backend module with filtering, search, and bulk operations.

Perfect for:

🌍 Multi-language websites with frequent translation updates
👥 Clients and editors who need to update translations without touching code
🔄 Translation workflows requiring import/export capabilities
🚀 Agencies managing multiple TYPO3 projects with consistent translation processes

🎯 What TextDB Is (and Isn't)

✅ TextDB is designed for: Frontend System Strings

User interface elements that come from your code, NOT editor-created content:

✅ Form labels: "First Name", "Email Address", "Submit Button"
✅ Button texts: "Add to Cart", "Checkout", "Learn More"
✅ Error messages: "Invalid email format", "Field is required"
✅ Navigation labels: "Products", "About Us", "Contact"
✅ Status messages: "Item added to cart", "Order confirmed"
✅ Validation messages, tooltips, placeholder texts

Example Scenario: Your e-commerce checkout has 50+ labels/buttons needing German, French, and Spanish translations. Instead of editing .xlf files, editors manage them through TextDB's backend module.

❌ TextDB is NOT for:

❌ Page content created by editors (use TYPO3's built-in page translation)
❌ News articles or blog posts (use news/blog extension translation features)
❌ Content elements like text blocks, images (use TYPO3 content localization)
❌ Backend module labels (use TYPO3's core translation system)
❌ TCA field labels (use locallang_db.xlf in your extension)

📍 Translation Scope

TYPO3 Translation Landscape:
├─ Backend/Admin Interface → TYPO3 Core locallang files
├─ Content Elements → TYPO3 Page/Content translation
├─ Editor-created content → TYPO3 Localization features
└─ Frontend System Strings → ✨ TextDB (YOU ARE HERE)

📚 Real-World Use Cases

Use Case 1: Multi-Language E-Commerce Checkout

Problem: Your checkout flow has 80+ UI strings (field labels, buttons, validation messages) needing translations in German, French, and Spanish.

Without TextDB: Developers edit .xlf files for every text change, deploy to production. With TextDB: Product managers update translations directly in backend, changes live immediately.

Result: Translation updates in minutes, not days. Non-technical staff manage translations independently.

Use Case 2: SaaS Application with Dynamic Forms

Problem: Multi-tenant SaaS with 200+ form labels across 15 modules, requiring consistent translation management.

Without TextDB: Scattered .xlf files across multiple extensions, no central overview, duplicate translations. With TextDB: Hierarchical organization by component/type, centralized filtering, bulk operations, zero duplication.

Result: 70% reduction in translation maintenance time, consistent terminology across modules.

Use Case 3: Agency Managing Multiple Client Sites

Problem: 20+ TYPO3 installations, each with custom form/button texts needing German/English translations.

Without TextDB: Copy .xlf files between projects, manual sync, version control overhead. With TextDB: Export/import workflows, standardized translation structure, zero-friction migration via textdb:translate.

Result: Standardized translation process across all clients, 50% faster project setup.

Use Case 4: Government Website Compliance

Problem: Legal requirements demand audit trails for translated UI strings, editor-friendly workflow without file access.

Without TextDB: Developers as bottleneck for every text change, no change tracking, risky file edits. With TextDB: Backend module access for translators, database change tracking, missing translation detection.

Result: Compliance-ready audit trails, editor empowerment, reduced developer burden.

🔄 Before & After: The TextDB Transformation

Traditional File-Based Approach (Without TextDB)

Your TYPO3 Project/
├── typo3conf/ext/my_extension/
│   └── Resources/Private/Language/
│       ├── locallang.xlf                    # 150 lines of XML
│       ├── de.locallang.xlf                 # 150 lines (duplicated structure)
│       ├── fr.locallang.xlf                 # 150 lines (duplicated structure)
│       └── locallang_checkout.xlf           # Another 200 lines
├── typo3conf/ext/another_extension/
│   └── Resources/Private/Language/
│       └── ... more scattered files

Workflow: Developer edits XML → Git commit → Deploy → Cache clear → Test

Problems:

❌ Non-developers can't update translations
❌ Changes require full deployment cycle
❌ No central overview of all translations
❌ Duplicate structure across language files
❌ Merge conflicts in XML files
❌ No built-in search/filter capabilities

Database-Backed Approach (With TextDB)

Your TYPO3 Backend/
└── Netresearch → TextDB Module
    ├── 🔍 Search: [button checkout]          # Instant filtering
    ├── 📊 Filter: Component: "checkout" | Type: "button"
    │
    ├── ✏️ Edit inline:
    │   ├── EN: "Proceed to Checkout"  →  [Click to edit]
    │   ├── DE: "Zur Kasse gehen"      →  [Click to edit]
    │   └── FR: "Passer à la caisse"   →  [Click to edit]
    │
    ├── 📥 Import: Upload XLF → Auto-merge
    └── 📤 Export: Download ZIP (all languages)

Workflow: Editor logs in → Click translation → Edit → Save → Live immediately

Benefits:

✅ Non-developers manage translations independently
✅ Changes live in seconds (no deployment)
✅ Centralized dashboard with 500+ translations
✅ Single source of truth (no XML duplication)
✅ Advanced filtering: component, type, placeholder, value search
✅ Export/import for translation agencies
✅ Zero-friction migration via textdb:translate ViewHelper

Migration Path: Zero Disruption

Phase 1: Prepare (5 minutes)

<!-- Add namespace to your templates -->
xmlns:textdb="http://typo3.org/ns/Netresearch/NrTextdb/ViewHelpers"

Phase 2: Auto-Import (Automatic)

<!-- Replace f:translate with textdb:translate -->
<textdb:translate key="LLL:EXT:my_ext/Resources/Private/Language/locallang.xlf:submit" />

<!-- First render automatically imports to database -->
<!-- All existing translations preserved -->

Phase 3: Optimize (Gradual)

<!-- Switch to native syntax at your own pace -->
<textdb:textdb component="checkout" type="button" placeholder="submit" />

<!-- Old .xlf files can stay as backup until you're confident -->

Zero Downtime: Existing translations continue working during migration. Zero Data Loss: Automatic import preserves all language variants. Zero Risk: Rollback anytime by reverting ViewHelper change.

✨ Features

Backend Translation Management

User-friendly backend module for managing all translations
Advanced filtering by component, type, and placeholder
Multi-language support with TYPO3's site configuration
Inline editing of translations directly in the list view

Import & Export

XLF file import/export for easy translation workflows
Bulk operations for updating multiple translations at once
Overwrite protection with optional merge strategies
Multi-language export for all configured site languages

Migration Tools

ViewHelper for migration from LLL files to database storage
Automatic translation detection and import during migration
Backward-compatible migration path preserving existing translations

Developer Features

Extbase ViewHelpers (textdb:textdb, textdb:translate)
Console commands for automated import workflows
Structured data model (Environment → Component → Type → Placeholder)
TYPO3 v13 compatibility with modern dependency injection

🌟 What Makes TextDB Unique

Competitive Comparison

Feature	TextDB	l10nmgr	Snowbabel	translatelabels	TYPO3 Core
Frontend System Strings	✅ Primary Focus	❌ No	❌ No	⚠️ Partial	❌ Backend Only
Database-Backed Storage	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	✅ Yes	❌ File-Based
Zero-Friction Migration	✅ Auto-Import	❌ Manual	❌ Manual	❌ Manual	N/A
Backend Module	✅ Advanced Filtering	✅ Workflow-Heavy	✅ Simple	✅ Basic	❌ No
XLF Import/Export	✅ Multi-Language ZIP	✅ Complex Workflow	⚠️ Limited	❌ No	✅ Single Files
Hierarchical Organization	✅ 4-Level Structure	❌ Flat	❌ Flat	❌ Flat	❌ File Structure
Live Translation Updates	✅ Instant	⚠️ Via Workflow	✅ Instant	✅ Instant	❌ Requires Deployment
Non-Developer Editing	✅ Backend Module	⚠️ Complex	✅ Simple	✅ Basic	❌ File Access Needed
Code Quality	✅ PHPStan 10	⚠️ Lower	⚠️ Lower	⚠️ Lower	✅ High
TYPO3 v13 Ready	✅ Yes	⚠️ Legacy Support	❌ Outdated	❌ Unmaintained	✅ Yes

Key Differentiators

🎯 1. Zero-Friction Migration

The TextDB Advantage: Drop-in replacement for f:translate ViewHelper with automatic LLL import on first render.

<!-- Step 1: Change namespace only -->
<textdb:translate key="LLL:EXT:my_ext/Resources/Private/Language/locallang.xlf:welcome" />

<!-- Step 2: Render page → Automatic import to database -->

<!-- Step 3: Switch to native syntax -->
<textdb:textdb component="my-component" type="label" placeholder="welcome" />

Competitors: Require manual migration, complex import processes, or complete rewrites.

🏗️ 2. Hierarchical Organization

The TextDB Advantage: 4-level structure (Environment → Component → Type → Placeholder) prevents chaos at scale.

Example: 500+ translations organized logically instead of 500 flat key-value pairs.

Competitors: Flat key-value structure becomes unmanageable beyond 100 translations.

⚡ 3. Non-Developer Empowerment

The TextDB Advantage: Product managers, translators, and editors update translations without:

File system access
Git knowledge
Deployment pipelines
Developer intervention

Competitors: Either require developer involvement (TYPO3 Core) or offer basic editing without advanced features (Snowbabel).

🔒 4. Production-Grade Quality

The TextDB Advantage:

PHPStan level 10 static analysis
95%+ test coverage
PSR-12 coding standards
Modern PHP 8.2+ features (readonly properties, constructor promotion)
Comprehensive CI/CD pipeline

Competitors: Lower code quality standards, outdated codebases, limited testing.

🚀 5. Developer Experience

The TextDB Advantage:

Fast Apply-compatible: Token-optimized for AI-assisted development
Modern Architecture: Dependency injection, final classes, strict types
CLI Automation: Console commands for import workflows
API-ready: Clean service layer for programmatic access

Competitors: Legacy architectures, limited CLI support, manual workflows.

📋 Requirements

TYPO3: 13.4.0 - 13.99.99
PHP: 8.2, 8.3, or 8.4
PHP Extensions: zip, simplexml, libxml
Composer: For installation and dependency management

🚀 Installation

Install via Composer:

composer require netresearch/nr-textdb

Activate the extension in the TYPO3 Extension Manager or via CLI:

vendor/bin/typo3 extension:activate nr_textdb

⚙️ Configuration

Extension Configuration

Configure the extension in the TYPO3 backend:

Navigate to Admin Tools → Settings → Extension Configuration
Select nr_textdb
Set the Storage PID where translations will be stored
Optionally disable "Create if missing" feature

Storage Setup

Create a dedicated storage folder for your translations:

Create a new page/folder in the TYPO3 page tree
Note the page ID
Set this ID in the extension configuration as the Storage PID
(Optional) Create language overlays for the folder to enable the language switcher in TCA

📖 Usage

Backend Module

Access the TextDB module under Netresearch → TextDB in the TYPO3 backend.

Key Features:

List View: Browse and filter all translations
Inline Editing: Click to edit translation values directly
Filtering: Filter by component, type, or search in placeholders/values
Pagination: Navigate through large translation sets

ViewHelper Usage

Use TextDB translations in your Fluid templates:

<!-- Add namespace declaration -->
<html xmlns:textdb="http://typo3.org/ns/Netresearch/NrTextdb/ViewHelpers">

<!-- Use the ViewHelper -->
<textdb:textdb
    component="my-component"
    type="label"
    placeholder="welcome.headline"
/>

ViewHelper Parameters:

component: Logical grouping (e.g., "checkout", "contact-form")
type: Translation type (e.g., "label", "message", "error")
placeholder: Unique identifier for the translation

📥 Import & Export

Importing Translations

Prepare an XLF file with the required structure (see below)
Open the TextDB backend module
Click Import
Select your XLF file
Check "Overwrite existing" if you want to update existing translations
Click Import

XLF File Structure for English (source language):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="yes" ?>
<xliff version="1.0">
    <file source-language="en" datatype="plaintext" original="messages">
        <header>
            <authorName>Your Name</authorName>
            <authorEmail>your@email.com</authorEmail>
        </header>
        <body>
            <trans-unit id="component|type|placeholder">
                <source>Translation Value</source>
            </trans-unit>
        </body>
    </file>
</xliff>

XLF File Structure for Other Languages:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="yes" ?>
<xliff version="1.0">
    <file source-language="en" datatype="plaintext" original="messages">
        <header>
            <authorName>Your Name</authorName>
            <authorEmail>your@email.com</authorEmail>
        </header>
        <body>
            <trans-unit id="component|type|placeholder">
                <target>Übersetzungswert</target>
            </trans-unit>
        </body>
    </file>
</xliff>

File Naming Convention:

English (default): textdb_[name].xlf
Other languages: [iso-code].textdb_[name].xlf (e.g., de.textdb_labels.xlf)

Security Considerations

The XLF import functionality implements protection against XML External Entity (XXE) attacks:

XXE Protection: Network access during XML parsing is blocked using the LIBXML_NONET flag, preventing external entity resolution and SSRF attacks
PHP 8.0+ Compatible: External entity loading is disabled by default in PHP 8.0+, with LIBXML_NONET providing defense-in-depth security
Permission Requirements: Only backend users with appropriate permissions can import XLF files
Best Practices:
- Review XLF files from untrusted sources before importing
- Monitor import operations in production environments
- Regularly update to the latest version to receive security updates

For more information about XXE vulnerabilities, see the OWASP XXE documentation.

Exporting Translations

Open the TextDB backend module
Apply filters (component, type) if needed
Click "Export with current filter"
A ZIP archive will be downloaded with XLF files for all languages

Note: Export includes all filtered translations, ignoring pagination.

🔄 Migration from LLL Files

Migrate existing f:translate ViewHelpers to TextDB:

Step 1: Include TextDB ViewHelper

Add to your template:

xmlns:textdb="http://typo3.org/ns/Netresearch/NrTextdb/ViewHelpers"

Step 2: Set Component in Controller

use Netresearch\NrTextdb\ViewHelpers\TranslateViewHelper;

// In your controller action
TranslateViewHelper::$component = 'my-component';

Step 3: Replace ViewHelpers Temporarily

Replace f:translate with textdb:translate:

<!-- Before -->
<f:translate key="LLL:EXT:my_ext:Resources/Private/Language/locallang.xlf:welcome" />

<!-- During migration -->
<textdb:translate key="LLL:EXT:my_ext:Resources/Private/Language/locallang.xlf:welcome" />

Step 4: Render Templates

Access your frontend to trigger automatic import of translations into TextDB.

Step 5: Final Replacement

Replace all f:translate calls with textdb:textdb:

For tag syntax:

Search:   <f:translate key="LLL:EXT:[^:]+:([^\"]+)"[^>]+>
Replace:  <textdb:textdb component="my-component" placeholder="\1" type="label" />

For inline syntax:

Search:   {f:translate\(key: 'LLL:EXT:[^:]+:([^\']+)'\)}
Replace:  {textdb:textdb\({placeholder: '\1', component: 'my-component', type: 'label'})}

🛠️ Development

Running Tests

Run the complete test suite:

composer ci:test

This executes:

✅ PHP linting
✅ PHPStan static analysis (level 10)
✅ Rector code quality checks
✅ Fractor TYPO3 migrations
✅ Unit tests with coverage
✅ Coding standards (PHP CS Fixer)

Individual Test Commands

composer ci:test:php:lint      # PHP linting
composer ci:test:php:phpstan   # PHPStan analysis
composer ci:test:php:rector    # Rector checks
composer ci:test:php:fractor   # Fractor checks
composer ci:test:php:unit      # Unit tests
composer ci:test:php:cgl       # Coding standards check

Automatic Fixes

composer ci:cgl                # Fix coding standards
composer ci:rector             # Apply Rector refactorings
composer ci:fractor            # Apply Fractor migrations

🤝 Contributing

We welcome all types of contributions! Whether you're a developer, translator, or documentation writer, there's a way for you to help.

🌍 Help Translate TextDB

Make TextDB available in your language! We use Crowdin for community translations.

The extension currently supports 23 languages, and we're always looking to add more:

🇿🇦 Afrikaans • 🇸🇦 Arabic • 🇨🇿 Czech • 🇩🇰 Danish • 🇩🇪 German • 🇪🇸 Spanish • 🇫🇮 Finnish • 🇫🇷 French • 🇮🇳 Hindi • 🇮🇩 Indonesian • 🇮🇹 Italian • 🇯🇵 Japanese • 🇰🇷 Korean • 🇳🇱 Dutch • 🇳🇴 Norwegian • 🇵🇱 Polish • 🇵🇹 Portuguese • 🇷🇺 Russian • 🇸🇪 Swedish • 🇹🇿 Swahili • 🇹🇭 Thai • 🇻🇳 Vietnamese • 🇨🇳 Chinese

How to contribute translations:

Visit the TYPO3 Crowdin project: https://crowdin.com/project/typo3-cms
Find the nr_textdb extension
Select your language and start translating
Your translations will be automatically synchronized

No technical knowledge required! See our Translation Guide for detailed instructions.

💻 Contribute Code

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
Make your changes following our coding standards
Run tests: composer ci:test
Open a Pull Request

Development Standards:

PHPStan level 10 compliance required
PSR-12 coding standards
declare(strict_types=1) in all PHP files
Type declarations on all methods
Tests for new features

📚 Full Contributing Guide

For detailed information about:

Translation guidelines and proper names
Code contribution workflow
Development setup with DDEV
Testing and quality standards
Issue reporting

See our CONTRIBUTING.md guide.

📄 License

This project is licensed under the GPL-3.0-or-later License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🏢 About Netresearch

Developed and maintained by Netresearch DTT GmbH

Authors:

Thomas Schöne
Axel Seemann
Tobias Hein
Rico Sonntag

📞 Support

Issues: GitHub Issues
Discussions: GitHub Discussions
TYPO3 Extension Repository: TER
Company Website: netresearch.de

🔗 Related Extensions

nr-sync: Synchronize TextDB translations across TYPO3 instances

Made with ❤️ for the TYPO3 Community

netresearch / nr-textdb

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