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Do I have to use the Locize CDN or can I host / bundle the translations directly?

Short answer: No, you do not have to use the Locize CDN. You can host or bundle the translations yourself if you prefer. Both approaches are fully supported.

Using the CDN vs. Custom Hosting

While our CDN offers the most convenience, you may need to bundle translations with your product (e.g., for offline use, restricted environments, or backend fallback).

There are two types of CDN available: Standard CDN and Pro CDN. Each offers different features and performance options—see the linked documentation for details and to choose the best fit for your needs.

Advantages of using the CDN:

  • Update translations instantly without redeploying your app
  • Auto-publish for instant feedback during development and testing
  • Private publishing (API key required) to control access and prevent leaks

Downloading and Bundling Translations

If you need or prefer to host or bundle translations yourself, you can easily download them. Using the CDN is completely optional and you are only billed for actual CDN usage.

Ways to download translations:

  • Download manually via the web application
  • Automate downloads using the API or locize-cli

Automated example with locize-cli:

locize download --project-id <your-project-id> --ver latest --language en --namespace common --path ./locales --format json

You can specify the --format option to choose from various formats (json, yaml, xliff, csv, po, resx, fluent, properties, and more). This is especially useful if you are not using i18next and need a different format for your framework or environment.

Recommendation

We highly recommend using the CDN during development for the best translation workflow and efficiency. For production, you can:

  • Continue using the CDN for live updates
  • Bundle/download translations for offline or restricted environments
  • Use a hybrid approach: CDN as primary, with local/bundled fallback (see backend fallback example)

If you use i18next, you can easily switch backend plugins for different environments. For other frameworks, locize-cli's flexible format support makes integration straightforward.