Cursor IDE i18n Workflow: AI-Powered Translation for Developers 2025

I'll be honest - I used to dread the i18n parts of my projects. Not because the concept is hard, but because the workflow was just... tedious. Copy strings here, paste them there, context-switch between your code and some web dashboard, wait for translations, download files, realize you forgot one string, repeat.

Last month I started using Cursor for a side project that needed Spanish and French support. What happened next genuinely surprised me, and I wanted to share the setup that's been working for me.

A Quick Confession

Before we dive in: I'm not saying this approach is perfect. There are rough edges I'll point out along the way. But compared to my old workflow of juggling JSON files manually and using Google Translate for initial drafts? Night and day difference.

What Makes Cursor Different for i18n

If you're not familiar with Cursor, it's essentially VS Code with AI baked in. I was skeptical at first - another AI code editor, great. But the MCP (Model Context Protocol) support is what changed things for me.

MCP lets Cursor's Claude connect to external services. Think of it like giving the AI hands to actually do things, not just suggest code. For translation work, this means Claude can:

It's the "actually do things" part that matters. I've used Copilot for years, and while it's great at suggesting t('some.key'), it can't actually create that key anywhere.

My Old Workflow (The Painful One)

Here's what adding a new feature with translations used to look like for me:

I timed myself once. Adding i18n support to a 200-line component took me 45 minutes. The actual code changes were maybe 5 minutes of that.

The New Workflow

Now I just tell Claude what I want. Here's a real example from last week:

I had a checkout component with hardcoded strings. Selected the code, opened Claude (Cmd+L), and typed:

"Extract the hardcoded strings here to translation keys using react-i18next. Use the checkout namespace."

Claude updated my component AND created the keys in IntlPull. The English values were already there. I asked it to translate to Spanish and French, waited about 30 seconds, and everything was synced.

That same task that used to take 45 minutes? Maybe 3 minutes now. And honestly, most of that was me reviewing Claude's work.

Setting This Up

Alright, let's get into the actual setup. Fair warning: MCP is still relatively new, so expect some quirks.

Installing the MCP Server

You'll need Node.js installed (I'm on v20, works fine). Install the MCP server globally:

npm install -g @intlpull/mcp

Configuring Cursor

This part tripped me up the first time. In Cursor:

You can also edit ~/.cursor/mcp.json directly if you prefer that approach. I ended up doing that because the UI was a bit finicky for me.

Verifying It Works

Open Claude chat in Cursor (Cmd+L) and ask something like:

"Can you check my IntlPull connection and list my projects?"

If you see your projects listed, you're good. If not, check that your API key is correct - I once spent 20 minutes debugging a connection issue that turned out to be a trailing space in my key.

Workflows That Actually Help

Extracting Strings from Existing Code

This is probably my most-used workflow. Select a component, tell Claude:

"Extract these hardcoded strings to translation keys and update the component to use react-i18next"

What I like: Claude picks reasonable key names and structures them logically.

What to watch for: Sometimes it gets creative with namespaces. I always specify the namespace I want now to avoid cleanup later.

Translating Missing Content

When you've added new strings in English and need translations:

"Translate all missing strings to Spanish and French"

This one works pretty well. The translations are decent for most UI text. For anything nuanced - marketing copy, legal text - I still recommend human review.

Adding a New Language

Had a client request German support mid-project. Instead of spending an afternoon on it:

"Add German to the project and translate all existing strings"

It handled everything: updating the IntlPull project, running translations, the whole thing. Saved me probably 2-3 hours.

Finding Long Translations

This one's more subtle but super useful. German and Finnish translations tend to be longer than English. I've asked:

"Show me all translations that might be too long for typical UI buttons"

Claude looked at the keys, identified ones likely used in buttons based on naming patterns, and flagged a few German translations that were 30+ characters. Helped me avoid a layout bug before it hit production.

Things That Don't Work Great (Yet)

I want to be upfront about the limitations:

Complex pluralization: Claude handles basic plurals fine, but languages like Arabic with their six plural forms? You'll want to double-check those.

Highly contextual translations: If a string could mean different things in different contexts (like "Save" as a verb vs. as a noun), the AI might pick the wrong one. Adding context descriptions helps.

Large batch operations: I tried renaming 200+ keys at once. Cursor started lagging and I had to break it into smaller batches. Keep operations under 50 keys or so for smooth sailing.

Offline work: Obviously needs an internet connection. If you're on a plane a lot, the traditional JSON file workflow still has its place.

Tips from Trial and Error

After a few weeks of daily use, here's what I've learned:

Be specific about naming conventions upfront. Tell Claude: "When creating keys, use the format page.section.element" before you start. Saves refactoring later.

Always review before pushing. Ask "Show me all changes before pushing to IntlPull" to see what's going to happen. I caught a few weird key names this way.

Use translation branches for features. If you're working on a big feature, create a translation branch first. Keeps your main translations clean while you iterate.

Add context for human translators. Even if AI handles the initial translation, your human translators will eventually review things. Context descriptions make their job easier.

Comparison to Other Setups

I've tried a few different approaches:

Plain VS Code + JSON files: Still works, just slow. No shame in it if your project is small.

WebStorm's built-in i18n: Decent extraction tools, but no AI translation. Good for teams who don't want AI in their workflow.

Dedicated TMS web interfaces: Fine for translators and PMs, painful for developers who live in their IDE.

Cursor + MCP: Best developer experience I've found, but requires comfort with AI tools and some setup time.

Quick Reference

Once you're set up, here are prompts that work well:

For project stuff:

For managing keys:

For translations:

Final Thoughts

I'm not going to pretend this setup is for everyone. If you're working on a tiny project with one language, this is overkill. If your company has strict policies about AI tools, you'll need to navigate that first.

But for indie developers, small teams, or anyone who's tired of the traditional i18n dance - this workflow has saved me real time. The cognitive load of context-switching is gone. I stay in my editor, stay in my flow, and translations just... happen.

If you want to try it yourself, IntlPull has a free tier that includes MCP access. Cursor is also free for basic use. The setup takes maybe 15 minutes if you hit no snags.

Worth experimenting with, especially if you've got a new project starting soon. Let me know how it goes.