How do I set up the CLI and scan my project?

The Better i18n CLI lets you scan your codebase, sync keys, and publish translations from the terminal.

Installation #

npm install -g @better-i18n/cli
# or
bun add -g @better-i18n/cli

The binary is better-i18n.

Authentication #

better-i18n login

The key is stored at ~/.better-i18n/auth.json. better-i18n whoami prints who you are and where the credential came from — the file, or the BETTER_I18N_API_KEY environment variable, which takes over in CI.

You can also grab a key by hand from Settings → API Keys in the dashboard.

Configuration #

The CLI reads your project from i18n.config.ts (or .js) — the same config your SDK uses, so there is usually nothing new to create. It is looked for in the working directory first, then in subdirectories.

export const project = "your-org/your-project";
export const defaultLocale = "en";

Both project and projectId are accepted for the "org/project" value; the dashboard shows the name either way.

Core commands #

scan — find translation keys in your code #

better-i18n scan

Reads your source files for t() calls and reports what it found. Changes nothing.

sync — push keys to Better i18n #

better-i18n sync

Creates keys found in your code; unchanged keys are skipped.

pull — bring remote translations back down #

better-i18n pull

check — missing and unused keys #

better-i18n check            # interactive
better-i18n check:missing    # in code, not in the project
better-i18n check:unused     # in the project, not found in code

All three take --format eslint|json (default eslint), --dir <path> and --verbose. The json format is the one to use in CI, since you can act on it.

publish — push translations to the CDN #

better-i18n publish:status   # what is pending
better-i18n publish          # publish it

publish:status first is a habit worth having — it is the difference between publishing what you meant and publishing what happened to be pending.

doctor — health check #

better-i18n doctor

Other commands #

CI/CD integration #

# GitHub Actions
- name: Check i18n health
  run: better-i18n check:missing --format json
  env:
    BETTER_I18N_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.BETTER_I18N_API_KEY }}

The command exits non-zero when it finds problems, which is what fails the step — there is no --fail-on-* flag to add.

Using environment variables #

export BETTER_I18N_API_KEY=bi-...
better-i18n sync

An account key looks like bi-…; content delivery keys look like bi_pub_… and are read-only, so the CLI wants the former.

Next steps #

• Set up GitHub sync
• Run i18n Doctor
• Publish translations