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How to add i18n to a Next.js app (App Router and Pages Router)

· 9 min read
Arnaud Ambroselli
Founder of i18n-keyless

Internationalizing a Next.js app in 2026 has more options than it used to. The official Next.js i18n routing was deprecated in favor of "build it yourself" patterns. next-intl is the most popular library purpose-built for the App Router. react-i18next works but adds friction.

This guide shows the keyless alternative — i18n-keyless-node for server components and i18n-keyless-react for client components, with a working setup for both App Router and Pages Router.

TL;DR​

npm install i18n-keyless-node i18n-keyless-react

Server side (App Router):

// app/page.tsx
import { awaitForTranslation } from "i18n-keyless-node";

export default async function Page() {
  const lang = "fr"; // resolve from cookies, headers, or URL
  const title = await awaitForTranslation("Welcome to Acme", lang);
  return <h1>{title}</h1>;
}

Client side (any "use client" component):

"use client";
import { I18nKeyless } from "i18n-keyless-react";

export function Hero() {
  return <h1><I18nKeyless>Welcome to Acme</I18nKeyless></h1>;
}

Same source-string-as-key model on both sides. Server components await translations; client components stream them.

Prerequisites​

  • Next.js 14+ (App Router examples assume app/ directory; Pages Router covered in section below).
  • An API key from i18n-keyless.com.

Step 1: Install both SDKs​

npm install i18n-keyless-node i18n-keyless-react

You need both because Next.js renders on both server and client. Server components use i18n-keyless-node; client components use i18n-keyless-react.

Step 2: Initialize on the server​

Create a server-side init file. Next.js calls server modules once per request scope:

// lib/i18n.server.ts
import * as I18nKeyless from "i18n-keyless-node";

I18nKeyless.init({
  API_KEY: process.env.I18N_KEYLESS_API_KEY!,
  languages: {
    primary: "en",
    supported: ["en", "fr", "de", "es"],
  },
});

export { awaitForTranslation } from "i18n-keyless-node";

Add to .env.local:

I18N_KEYLESS_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

Step 3: Initialize on the client​

// app/i18n-client-init.tsx
"use client";
import * as I18nKeyless from "i18n-keyless-react";
import { useEffect } from "react";

let initialized = false;

export function I18nClientInit({ lang, apiKey }: { lang: string; apiKey: string }) {
  if (typeof window !== "undefined" && !initialized) {
    I18nKeyless.init({
      API_KEY: apiKey,
      storage: window.localStorage,
      languages: {
        primary: "en",
        supported: ["en", "fr", "de", "es"],
        initial: lang,
      },
    });
    initialized = true;
  }
  return null;
}

Step 4: App Router setup with locale-prefixed URLs​

Use Next.js dynamic segments for locale-prefixed routing:

app/
  [lang]/
    layout.tsx
    page.tsx
    about/
      page.tsx
// app/[lang]/layout.tsx
import { I18nClientInit } from "../i18n-client-init";

export const metadata = { title: "Acme" };

export default async function RootLayout({
  children,
  params,
}: {
  children: React.ReactNode;
  params: Promise<{ lang: string }>;
}) {
  const { lang } = await params;
  return (
    <html lang={lang}>
      <body>
        <I18nClientInit lang={lang} apiKey={process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_I18N_KEYLESS_API_KEY!} />
        {children}
      </body>
    </html>
  );
}

export function generateStaticParams() {
  return [{ lang: "en" }, { lang: "fr" }, { lang: "de" }, { lang: "es" }];
}
// app/[lang]/page.tsx
import { awaitForTranslation } from "@/lib/i18n.server";

export default async function HomePage({ params }: { params: Promise<{ lang: string }> }) {
  const { lang } = await params;
  const heroTitle = await awaitForTranslation("Welcome to Acme", lang);
  const heroSubtitle = await awaitForTranslation("Ship multilingual apps in 5 minutes.", lang);
  return (
    <main>
      <h1>{heroTitle}</h1>
      <p>{heroSubtitle}</p>
    </main>
  );
}

URLs become /en/, /fr/, /de/, /es/. Search engines index each locale separately. SSR returns fully-translated HTML — no client-side flash of source-language content.

Step 5: Mix server and client components​

Server components use awaitForTranslation. Client components use <I18nKeyless>. They coexist:

// app/[lang]/page.tsx (server component)
import { awaitForTranslation } from "@/lib/i18n.server";
import { LanguageSwitcher } from "./language-switcher"; // client component

export default async function HomePage({ params }: { params: Promise<{ lang: string }> }) {
  const { lang } = await params;
  const title = await awaitForTranslation("Welcome to Acme", lang);
  return (
    <main>
      <h1>{title}</h1>
      <LanguageSwitcher /> {/* client interactivity */}
    </main>
  );
}
// app/[lang]/language-switcher.tsx (client component)
"use client";
import { useRouter, usePathname, useParams } from "next/navigation";
import { I18nKeyless } from "i18n-keyless-react";

export function LanguageSwitcher() {
  const router = useRouter();
  const pathname = usePathname();
  const { lang } = useParams<{ lang: string }>();

  function setLanguage(newLang: string) {
    const newPath = pathname.replace(`/${lang}`, `/${newLang}`);
    router.push(newPath);
  }

  return (
    <select value={lang} onChange={(e) => setLanguage(e.target.value)}>
      <option value="en">English</option>
      <option value="fr">Français</option>
      <option value="de">Deutsch</option>
      <option value="es">Español</option>
    </select>
  );
}

Step 6: Detect locale from request headers (alternative to URL prefixing)​

If you don't want locale-prefixed URLs and prefer to detect from Accept-Language:

// middleware.ts
import { NextResponse, type NextRequest } from "next/server";

const SUPPORTED = ["en", "fr", "de", "es"];

export function middleware(request: NextRequest) {
  const cookieLang = request.cookies.get("NEXT_LOCALE")?.value;
  const headerLang = request.headers.get("accept-language")?.split(",")[0]?.split("-")[0];
  const lang = cookieLang ?? (headerLang && SUPPORTED.includes(headerLang) ? headerLang : "en");

  const response = NextResponse.next();
  response.headers.set("x-lang", lang);
  return response;
}

Then read the header in your server components:

import { headers } from "next/headers";
const lang = (await headers()).get("x-lang") ?? "en";
const title = await awaitForTranslation("Welcome to Acme", lang);

URL-prefixed routing is generally better for SEO; header-based detection is simpler but less crawlable.

Step 7: Pages Router setup​

If you're still on Pages Router:

// pages/_app.tsx
import * as I18nKeyless from "i18n-keyless-react";
import { useEffect } from "react";
import type { AppProps } from "next/app";

let initialized = false;

export default function App({ Component, pageProps }: AppProps) {
  useEffect(() => {
    if (!initialized) {
      I18nKeyless.init({
        API_KEY: process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_I18N_KEYLESS_API_KEY!,
        storage: window.localStorage,
        languages: {
          primary: "en",
          supported: ["en", "fr", "de", "es"],
        },
      });
      initialized = true;
    }
  }, []);
  return <Component {...pageProps} />;
}

For SSR with getServerSideProps, use i18n-keyless-node:

// pages/index.tsx
import { awaitForTranslation } from "i18n-keyless-node";
import type { GetServerSideProps } from "next";

export const getServerSideProps: GetServerSideProps = async ({ locale }) => {
  const lang = locale ?? "en";
  return {
    props: {
      title: await awaitForTranslation("Welcome to Acme", lang),
    },
  };
};

Step 8: Localize metadata (titles, descriptions)​

App Router metadata API:

// app/[lang]/page.tsx
import { awaitForTranslation } from "@/lib/i18n.server";
import type { Metadata } from "next";

export async function generateMetadata({ params }: { params: Promise<{ lang: string }> }): Promise<Metadata> {
  const { lang } = await params;
  return {
    title: await awaitForTranslation("Acme — multilingual SaaS in 5 minutes", lang),
    description: await awaitForTranslation("The fastest way to localize your product.", lang),
    alternates: {
      languages: {
        en: "/en",
        fr: "/fr",
        de: "/de",
        es: "/es",
      },
    },
  };
}

The alternates.languages field generates <link rel="alternate" hreflang="..." /> tags — important for international SEO.

Step 9: Sitemap with locale-aware URLs​

// app/sitemap.ts
import type { MetadataRoute } from "next";

const SUPPORTED = ["en", "fr", "de", "es"];

export default function sitemap(): MetadataRoute.Sitemap {
  const routes = ["/", "/about", "/pricing"];
  return routes.flatMap((route) =>
    SUPPORTED.map((lang) => ({
      url: `https://yourdomain.com/${lang}${route}`,
      lastModified: new Date(),
      alternates: {
        languages: Object.fromEntries(
          SUPPORTED.map((l) => [l, `https://yourdomain.com/${l}${route}`])
        ),
      },
    }))
  );
}

Common gotchas​

Streaming translations and Suspense​

Server components with awaitForTranslation block until the translation resolves (or falls back to the source string after timeout). For Suspense-friendly streaming, wrap the translation-heavy section in <Suspense fallback={...}> so the rest of the page can render while translations resolve.

Build-time translation generation​

If you want translations resolved at build time (output: 'export' static export), awaitForTranslation runs during build and the resolved values are baked in. The first build for a new locale is slower because the SDK requests translations from the backend. Subsequent builds use cached translations.

Hydration mismatches​

If your client-side initial state doesn't match what the server rendered, you'll see hydration warnings. To avoid: always pass the resolved language as a prop from the server to the client init, rather than detecting on both sides independently.

API key exposure​

The NEXT_PUBLIC_I18N_KEYLESS_API_KEY is intentionally public — it's the bearer token for the SDK. Keep your I18N_KEYLESS_PRIVATE_KEY (admin / management key) server-only.

next-intl migration​

If you're moving from next-intl to keyless, the App Router routing patterns above translate well. The key changes: replace useTranslations with <I18nKeyless> (client) or awaitForTranslation (server), drop the messages prop loading, remove your messages/ directory.

When to use a different approach​

  • ❌ Need ICU MessageFormat plural rules → use next-intl or react-intl.
  • ❌ Have human translators in workflow → use next-intl + Lokalise / Crowdin.
  • ❌ Need fully static export with no runtime translation backend → use next-intl with bundled JSON files.

For everyone else, keyless is faster on Next.js too.

FAQ​

Does i18n-keyless work with App Router and React Server Components?​

Yes. Use i18n-keyless-node (awaitForTranslation) in server components and i18n-keyless-react (<I18nKeyless>) in client components.

Does it support next export (static site export)?​

Yes. awaitForTranslation runs at build time during static export, embedding translations into the generated HTML.

How does it compare to next-intl?​

next-intl is excellent if you want a key-based workflow with full ICU support and Next.js-native integration. i18n-keyless is faster to set up and removes key management entirely. Different trade-offs.

Can I use it with Vercel Edge Runtime?​

Server-side translations work in Edge functions because awaitForTranslation is just fetch + cache.

What about Sentry / observability for translation errors?​

Translation requests are wrapped in try/catch internally. If the backend is unreachable, the SDK returns the source string. You can wire Sentry to your awaitForTranslation calls if you want explicit visibility.

Next steps​