---
createdAt: 2025-08-23
updatedAt: 2025-08-23
title: Intlayer and next-i18next
description: Integrate Intlayer with next-i18next for a Next.js app
keywords:
- i18next
- next-i18next
- Intlayer
- Internationalization
- Blog
- Next.js
- JavaScript
- React
slugs:
- blog
- intlayer-with-next-i18next
---
# Next.js Internationalization (i18n) with next-i18next and Intlayer
Both next-i18next and Intlayer are open-source internationalization (i18n) frameworks designed for Next.js applications. They are widely used for managing translations, localization, and language switching in software projects.
Both solutions include three principal notions:
1. **Dictionary**: The method for defining the translatable content of your application.
- Named `resource` in the case of `i18next`, the content declaration is a structured JSON object containing key-value pairs for translations in one or more languages. See [i18next documentation](https://www.i18next.com/translation-function/essentials) for more information.
- Named `content declaration file` in the case of `Intlayer`, the content declaration can be a JSON, JS, or TS file exporting the structured data. See [Intlayer documentation](https://intlayer.org/fr/doc/concept/content) for more information.
2. **Utilities**: Tools to build and interpret content declarations in the application, such as `getI18n()`, `useCurrentLocale()`, or `useChangeLocale()` for next-i18next, and `useIntlayer()` or `useLocale()` for Intlayer.
3. **Plugins and Middlewares**: Features for managing URL redirection, bundling optimization, and more, such as `next-i18next/middleware` for next-i18next or `intlayerMiddleware` for Intlayer.
## Intlayer vs. i18next: Key Differences
To explore the differences between i18next and Intlayer, check out our [next-i18next vs. next-intl vs. Intlayer](https://github.com/aymericzip/intlayer/blob/main/docs/blog/en/i18next_vs_next-intl_vs_intlayer.md) blog post.
## How to Generate next-i18next Dictionaries with Intlayer
### Why Use Intlayer with next-i18next?
Intlayer content declaration files generally offer a better developer experience. They are more flexible and maintainable due to two main advantages:
1. **Flexible Placement**: An Intlayer content declaration file can be placed anywhere in the application's file tree, simplifying the management of duplicated or deleted components without leaving unused content declarations.
Example file structures:
```bash codeFormat="typescript"
.
└── src
└── components
└── MyComponent
├── index.content.ts # Content declaration file
└── index.tsx
```
```bash codeFormat="esm"
.
└── src
└── components
└── MyComponent
├── index.content.mjs # Content declaration file
└── index.mjx
```
```bash codeFormat="cjs"
.
└── src
└── components
└── MyComponent
├── index.content.cjs # Content declaration file
└── index.cjx
```
```bash codeFormat="json"
.
└── src
└── components
└── MyComponent
├── index.content.json # Content declaration file
└── index.jsx
```
2. **Centralized Translations**: Intlayer stores all translations in a single file, ensuring no translation is missing. When using TypeScript, missing translations are automatically detected and reported as errors.
### Installation
```bash packageManager="npm"
npm install intlayer i18next next-i18next i18next-resources-to-backend
```
```bash packageManager="yarn"
yarn add intlayer i18next next-i18next i18next-resources-to-backend
```
```bash packageManager="pnpm"
pnpm add intlayer i18next next-i18next i18next-resources-to-backend
```
### Configuring Intlayer to Export i18next Dictionaries
> Exporting i18next resources does not ensure 1:1 compatibility with other frameworks. It's recommended to stick to an Intlayer-based configuration to minimize issues.
To export i18next resources, configure Intlayer in a `intlayer.config.ts` file. Example configurations:
```typescript fileName="intlayer.config.ts" codeFormat="typescript"
import { Locales, type IntlayerConfig } from "intlayer";
const config: IntlayerConfig = {
internationalization: {
locales: [Locales.ENGLISH, Locales.FRENCH, Locales.SPANISH],
defaultLocale: Locales.ENGLISH,
},
content: {
dictionaryOutput: ["i18next"],
i18nextResourcesDir: "./i18next/resources",
},
};
export default config;
```
```javascript fileName="intlayer.config.mjs" codeFormat="esm"
import { Locales } from "intlayer";
/** @type {import('intlayer').IntlayerConfig} */
const config = {
internationalization: {
locales: [Locales.ENGLISH, Locales.FRENCH, Locales.SPANISH],
defaultLocale: Locales.ENGLISH,
},
content: {
dictionaryOutput: ["i18next"],
i18nextResourcesDir: "./i18next/resources",
},
};
export default config;
```
```javascript fileName="intlayer.config.cjs" codeFormat="commonjs"
const { Locales } = require("intlayer");
/** @type {import('intlayer').IntlayerConfig} */
const config = {
internationalization: {
locales: [Locales.ENGLISH, Locales.FRENCH, Locales.SPANISH],
defaultLocale: Locales.ENGLISH,
},
content: {
dictionaryOutput: ["i18next"],
i18nextResourcesDir: "./i18next/resources",
},
};
module.exports = config;
```
Here’s the continuation and correction of the remaining parts of your document:
---
### Importing Dictionaries into Your i18next Configuration
To import the generated resources into your i18next configuration, use `i18next-resources-to-backend`. Below are examples:
```typescript fileName="i18n/client.ts" codeFormat="typescript"
import i18next from "i18next";
import resourcesToBackend from "i18next-resources-to-backend";
i18next.use(
resourcesToBackend(
(language: string, namespace: string) =>
import(`../i18next/resources/${language}/${namespace}.json`)
)
);
```
```javascript fileName="i18n/client.mjs" codeFormat="esm"
import i18next from "i18next";
import resourcesToBackend from "i18next-resources-to-backend";
i18next.use(
resourcesToBackend(
(language, namespace) =>
import(`../i18next/resources/${language}/${namespace}.json`)
)
);
```
```javascript fileName="i18n/client.cjs" codeFormat="commonjs"
const i18next = require("i18next");
const resourcesToBackend = require("i18next-resources-to-backend");
i18next.use(
resourcesToBackend(
(language, namespace) =>
import(`../i18next/resources/${language}/${namespace}.json`)
)
);
```
### Dictionary
Examples of content declaration files in various formats:
```typescript fileName="**/*.content.ts" contentDeclarationFormat="typescript"
import { t, type Dictionary } from "intlayer";
const content = {
key: "my-content",
content: {
myTranslatedContent: t({
en: "Hello World",
es: "Hola Mundo",
fr: "Bonjour le monde",
}),
},
} satisfies Dictionary;
export default content;
```
```javascript fileName="**/*.content.mjs" contentDeclarationFormat="esm"
import { t } from "intlayer";
/** @type {import('intlayer').Dictionary} */
const content = {
key: "my-content",
content: {
myTranslatedContent: t({
en: "Hello World",
es: "Hola Mundo",
fr: "Bonjour le monde",
}),
},
};
```
```javascript fileName="**/*.content.cjs" contentDeclarationFormat="commonjs"
const { t } = require("intlayer");
module.exports = {
key: "my-content",
content: {
myTranslatedContent: t({
en: "Hello World",
es: "Hola Mundo",
fr: "Bonjour le monde",
}),
},
};
```
```json fileName="**/*.content.json" contentDeclarationFormat="json"
{
"$schema": "https://intlayer.org/schema.json",
"key": "my-content",
"content": {
"myTranslatedContent": {
"nodeType": "translation",
"translation": {
"en": "Hello World",
"fr": "Bonjour le monde",
"es": "Hola Mundo"
}
}
}
}
```
### Build the next-i18next Resources
To build the next-i18next resources, run the following command:
```bash packageManager="npm"
npx run intlayer build
```
```bash packageManager="yarn"
yarn intlayer build
```
```bash packageManager="pnpm"
pnpm intlayer build
```
This will generate resources in the `./i18next/resources` directory. The expected output:
```bash
.
└── i18next
└── resources
└── en
└── my-content.json
└── fr
└── my-content.json
└── es
└── my-content.json
```
Note: The i18next namespace corresponds to the Intlayer declaration key.
### Implement Next.js Plugin
Once configured, implement the Next.js plugin to rebuild your i18next resources whenever Intlayer content declaration files are updated.
```typescript fileName="next.config.mjs"
import { withIntlayer } from "next-intlayer/server";
/** @type {import('next').NextConfig} */
const nextConfig = {};
export default withIntlayer(nextConfig);
```
### Using Content in Next.js Components
After implementing the Next.js plugin, you can use the content in your components:
```typescript fileName="src/components/myComponent/index.tsx" codeFormat="typescript"
import type { FC } from "react";
import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
const IndexPage: FC = () => {
const { t } = useTranslation();
return (
<div>
<h1>{t("my-content.title")}</h1>
<p>{t("my-content.description")}</p>
</div>
);
};
export default IndexPage;
```
```jsx fileName="src/components/myComponent/index.mjx" codeFormat="esm"
import { useTranslation } from "react-i18next";
const IndexPage = () => {
const { t } = useTranslation();
return (
<div>
<h1>{t("my-content.title")}</h1>
<p>{t("my-content.description")}</p>
</div>
);
};
```
```jsx fileName="src/components/myComponent/index.cjx" codeFormat="commonjs"
const { useTranslation } = require("react-i18next");
const IndexPage = () => {
const { t } = useTranslation();
return (
<div>
<h1>{t("my-content.title")}</h1>
<p>{t("my-content.description")}</p>
</div>
);
};
```
