@intlayer/docs 8.4.4 → 8.4.6

package/docs/en-GB/intlayer_with_storybook.md

@@ -0,0 +1,521 @@
+---
+createdAt: 2026-03-20
+updatedAt: 2026-03-20
+title: How to set up Intlayer with Storybook
+description: Learn how to make your design system multilingual using Intlayer with Storybook — compile content declarations, add a locale switcher, and preview your components in any language.
+keywords:
+  - Internationalisation
+  - Documentation
+  - Intlayer
+  - Storybook
+  - React
+  - i18n
+  - TypeScript
+  - Vite
+  - Webpack
+slugs:
+  - doc
+  - storybook
+history:
+  - version: 8.4.5
+    date: 2026-03-20
+    changes: Init doc
+---
+
+# Intlayer with Storybook
+
+## Table of Contents
+
+<TOC/>
+
+## What is Intlayer?
+
+**Intlayer** is an innovative, open-source internationalisation (i18n) library designed to simplify multilingual support in modern web applications. It works at the **component level** — each component owns its content declarations — keeping translations co-located with the code that uses them.
+
+With Intlayer you can:
+
+- **Manage translations declaratively** with per-component content files.
+- **Get full TypeScript support** through auto-generated types and IDE autocompletion.
+- **Switch locales at runtime** without a page reload.
+- **Translate automatically** with built-in AI provider integrations.
+
+---
+
+## Why use Intlayer with Storybook?
+
+Storybook is the industry-standard tool for developing and documenting UI components in isolation. Combining it with Intlayer lets you:
+
+- **Preview every locale** directly inside the Storybook canvas using a toolbar switcher.
+- **Catch missing translations** before they reach production.
+- **Document multilingual components** with real, type-safe content rather than hard-coded strings.
+
+---
+
+## Step-by-Step Setup
+
+<Tabs>
+<Tab value="Vite Setup">
+
+### Step 1: Install Dependencies
+
+```bash packageManager="npm"
+npm install intlayer react-intlayer
+npm install vite-intlayer --save-dev
+```
+
+```bash packageManager="pnpm"
+pnpm add intlayer react-intlayer
+pnpm add vite-intlayer --save-dev
+```
+
+```bash packageManager="yarn"
+yarn add intlayer react-intlayer
+yarn add vite-intlayer --save-dev
+```
+
+```bash packageManager="bun"
+bun add intlayer react-intlayer
+bun add vite-intlayer --dev
+```
+
+| Package          | Role                                                         |
+| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
+| `intlayer`       | Core — config, content compilation, CLI                      |
+| `react-intlayer` | React bindings — `IntlayerProvider`, `useIntlayer` hook      |
+| `vite-intlayer`  | Vite plugin — watches and compiles content declaration files |
+
+---
+
+### Step 2: Create an Intlayer Configuration
+
+Create `intlayer.config.ts` at the root of your project (or inside your design-system package):
+
+```typescript fileName="intlayer.config.ts" codeFormat="typescript"
+import { Locales, type IntlayerConfig } from "intlayer";
+
+const config: IntlayerConfig = {
+  internationalization: {
+    locales: [
+      Locales.ENGLISH,
+      Locales.FRENCH,
+      Locales.SPANISH,
+      // add more locales as needed
+    ],
+    defaultLocale: Locales.ENGLISH,
+  },
+  content: {
+    contentDir: ["./src"], // where your *.content.ts files live
+  },
+};
+
+export default config;
+```
+
+> For the full list of options see the [configuration reference](https://github.com/aymericzip/intlayer/blob/main/docs/docs/en-GB/configuration.md).
+
+---
+
+### Step 3: Add the Vite Plugin to Storybook
+
+Storybook's `viteFinal` hook lets you extend the internal Vite config. Import and add the `intlayer()` plugin there:
+
+```typescript fileName=".storybook/main.ts" codeFormat="typescript"
+import type { StorybookConfig } from "@storybook/react-vite";
+import { defineConfig, mergeConfig } from "vite";
+import { intlayer } from "vite-intlayer";
+
+const config: StorybookConfig = {
+  stories: ["../src/**/*.stories.@(js|jsx|ts|tsx)"],
+  addons: [
+    "@storybook/addon-essentials",
+    // …other addons
+  ],
+  framework: {
+    name: "@storybook/react-vite",
+    options: {},
+  },
+
+  async viteFinal(baseConfig, { configType }) {
+    const env = {
+      command: configType === "DEVELOPMENT" ? "serve" : "build",
+      mode: configType === "DEVELOPMENT" ? "development" : "production",
+    } as const;
+
+    const viteConfig = defineConfig(() => ({
+      plugins: [intlayer()],
+    }));
+
+    return mergeConfig(baseConfig, viteConfig(env));
+  },
+};
+
+export default config;
+```
+
+The `intlayer()` plugin watches your `*.content.ts` files and rebuilds dictionaries automatically whenever they change during Storybook development.
+
+---
+
+### Step 4: Add the `IntlayerProvider` Decorator and a Locale Toolbar
+
+Storybook's `preview` file is the right place to wrap every story with the `IntlayerProvider` and expose a locale switcher in the toolbar:
+
+```tsx fileName=".storybook/preview.tsx" codeFormat="typescript"
+import type { Preview, StoryContext } from "@storybook/react";
+import { IntlayerProvider } from "react-intlayer";
+
+const preview: Preview = {
+  // Wrap every story inside the IntlayerProvider
+  decorators: [
+    (Story, context: StoryContext) => {
+      const locale = context.globals.locale ?? "en";
+      return (
+        <IntlayerProvider locale={locale}>
+          <Story />
+        </IntlayerProvider>
+      );
+    },
+  ],
+
+  // Expose a locale switcher in the Storybook toolbar
+  globalTypes: {
+    locale: {
+      description: "Active locale",
+      defaultValue: "en",
+      toolbar: {
+        title: "Locale",
+        icon: "globe",
+        items: [
+          { value: "en", title: "English" },
+          { value: "fr", title: "Français" },
+          { value: "es", title: "Español" },
+        ],
+        dynamicTitle: true,
+      },
+    },
+  },
+
+  parameters: {
+    controls: {
+      matchers: {
+        color: /(background|color)$/i,
+        date: /Date$/i,
+      },
+    },
+  },
+};
+
+export default preview;
+```
+
+> The `locale` values must match the locales declared in your `intlayer.config.ts`.
+
+</Tab>
+<Tab value="Webpack Setup">
+
+### Step 1: Install Dependencies
+
+```bash packageManager="npm"
+npm install intlayer react-intlayer
+npm install @intlayer/webpack --save-dev
+```
+
+```bash packageManager="pnpm"
+pnpm add intlayer react-intlayer
+pnpm add @intlayer/webpack --save-dev
+```
+
+```bash packageManager="yarn"
+yarn add intlayer react-intlayer
+yarn add @intlayer/webpack --save-dev
+```
+
+```bash packageManager="bun"
+bun add intlayer react-intlayer
+bun add @intlayer/webpack --dev
+```
+
+---
+
+### Step 2: Create an Intlayer Configuration
+
+Create `intlayer.config.ts` at the root of your project:
+
+```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: {
+    contentDir: ["./src"],
+  },
+};
+
+export default config;
+```
+
+---
+
+### Step 3: Configure Storybook's Webpack
+
+For Webpack-based Storybook setups (e.g. `@storybook/react-webpack5`), extend the webpack config via `webpackFinal` to add the Intlayer aliases and loader:
+
+```typescript fileName=".storybook/main.ts" codeFormat="typescript"
+import type { StorybookConfig } from "@storybook/react-webpack5";
+import { IntlayerWebpackPlugin } from "@intlayer/webpack";
+
+const config: StorybookConfig = {
+  stories: ["../src/**/*.stories.@(js|jsx|ts|tsx)"],
+  addons: ["@storybook/addon-essentials"],
+  framework: {
+    name: "@storybook/react-webpack5",
+    options: {},
+  },
+
+  webpackFinal: async (baseConfig) => {
+    baseConfig.plugins = [
+      ...(baseConfig.plugins ?? []),
+      new IntlayerWebpackPlugin(),
+    ];
+    return baseConfig;
+  },
+};
+
+export default config;
+```
+
+---
+
+### Step 4: Add the `IntlayerProvider` Decorator and a Locale Toolbar
+
+Same as the Vite setup — add the decorator and global locale type in `.storybook/preview.tsx`:
+
+```tsx fileName=".storybook/preview.tsx" codeFormat="typescript"
+import type { Preview, StoryContext } from "@storybook/react";
+import { IntlayerProvider } from "react-intlayer";
+
+const preview: Preview = {
+  decorators: [
+    (Story, context: StoryContext) => {
+      const locale = context.globals.locale ?? "en";
+      return (
+        <IntlayerProvider locale={locale}>
+          <Story />
+        </IntlayerProvider>
+      );
+    },
+  ],
+
+  globalTypes: {
+    locale: {
+      description: "Active locale",
+      defaultValue: "en",
+      toolbar: {
+        title: "Locale",
+        icon: "globe",
+        items: [
+          { value: "en", title: "English" },
+          { value: "fr", title: "Français" },
+          { value: "es", title: "Español" },
+        ],
+        dynamicTitle: true,
+      },
+    },
+  },
+};
+
+export default preview;
+```
+
+</Tab>
+</Tabs>
+
+---
+
+## Declaring Content
+
+Create a `*.content.ts` file next to each component. Intlayer picks it up automatically during compilation.
+
+```typescript fileName="src/components/CopyButton/CopyButton.content.ts" codeFormat="typescript"
+import { type Dictionary, t } from "intlayer";
+
+const copyButtonContent = {
+  key: "copy-button",
+  content: {
+    label: t({
+      en: "Copy content",
+      fr: "Copier le contenu",
+      es: "Copiar contenido",
+    }),
+  },
+} satisfies Dictionary;
+
+export default copyButtonContent;
+```
+
+```javascript fileName="src/components/CopyButton/CopyButton.content.mjs" codeFormat="esm"
+import { t } from "intlayer";
+
+/** @type {import('intlayer').Dictionary} */
+const copyButtonContent = {
+  key: "copy-button",
+  content: {
+    label: t({
+      en: "Copy content",
+      fr: "Copier le contenu",
+      es: "Copiar contenido",
+    }),
+  },
+};
+
+export default copyButtonContent;
+```
+
+```javascript fileName="src/components/CopyButton/CopyButton.content.cjs" codeFormat="commonjs"
+const { t } = require("intlayer");
+
+/** @type {import('intlayer').Dictionary} */
+const copyButtonContent = {
+  key: "copy-button",
+  content: {
+    label: t({
+      en: "Copy content",
+      fr: "Copier le contenu",
+      es: "Copiar contenido",
+    }),
+  },
+};
+
+module.exports = copyButtonContent;
+```
+
+> For more content declaration formats and features see the [content declaration documentation](https://github.com/aymericzip/intlayer/blob/main/docs/docs/en-GB/dictionary/content_file.md).
+
+---
+
+## Using `useIntlayer` in a Component
+
+```tsx fileName="src/components/CopyButton/index.tsx" codeFormat="typescript"
+"use client";
+
+import { type FC } from "react";
+import { useIntlayer } from "react-intlayer";
+
+type CopyButtonProps = {
+  content: string;
+};
+
+export const CopyButton: FC<CopyButtonProps> = ({ content }) => {
+  const { label } = useIntlayer("copy-button");
+
+  return (
+    <button
+      onClick={() => navigator.clipboard.writeText(content)}
+      aria-label={label.value}
+      title={label.value}
+    >
+      Copy
+    </button>
+  );
+};
+```
+
+`useIntlayer` returns the compiled dictionary for the current locale provided by the nearest `IntlayerProvider`. Switching the locale in the Storybook toolbar automatically re-renders the story with updated translations.
+
+---
+
+## Writing Stories for Internationalised Components
+
+With the `IntlayerProvider` decorator in place, your stories work exactly as before. The locale toolbar controls the active locale for the entire canvas:
+
+```tsx fileName="src/components/CopyButton/CopyButton.stories.tsx" codeFormat="typescript"
+import type { Meta, StoryObj } from "@storybook/react";
+import { CopyButton } from ".";
+
+const meta: Meta<typeof CopyButton> = {
+  title: "Components/CopyButton",
+  component: CopyButton,
+  tags: ["autodocs"],
+  argTypes: {
+    content: { control: "text" },
+  },
+};
+
+export default meta;
+type Story = StoryObj<typeof CopyButton>;
+
+/** Default story — switch the locale in the toolbar to preview translations. */
+export const Default: Story = {
+  args: {
+    content: "npm install intlayer react-intlayer",
+  },
+};
+
+/** Renders the button inside a code block, a common real-world use case. */
+export const InsideCodeBlock: Story = {
+  render: (args) => (
+    <div style={{ position: "relative", display: "inline-block" }}>
+      <pre style={{ background: "#1e1e1e", color: "#fff", padding: "1rem" }}>
+        <code>{args.content}</code>
+      </pre>
+      <CopyButton
+        content={args.content}
+        style={{ position: "absolute", top: 8, right: 8 }}
+      />
+    </div>
+  ),
+  args: {
+    content: "npx intlayer init",
+  },
+};
+```
+
+> Each story inherits the `locale` global from the toolbar, so you can verify every locale without changing any story code.
+
+---
+
+## Testing Translations in Stories
+
+Use Storybook's `play` functions to assert that the correct translated text is rendered for a given locale:
+
+```tsx fileName="src/components/CopyButton/CopyButton.stories.tsx" codeFormat="typescript"
+import type { Meta, StoryObj } from "@storybook/react";
+import { expect, within } from "@storybook/test";
+import { CopyButton } from ".";
+
+const meta: Meta<typeof CopyButton> = {
+  title: "Components/CopyButton",
+  component: CopyButton,
+  tags: ["autodocs"],
+};
+
+export default meta;
+type Story = StoryObj<typeof CopyButton>;
+
+export const AccessibleLabel: Story = {
+  args: { content: "Hello World" },
+  play: async ({ canvasElement }) => {
+    const canvas = within(canvasElement);
+    const button = canvas.getByRole("button");
+
+    // Verify the button has a non-empty accessible name
+    await expect(button).toHaveAccessibleName();
+    // Verify the button is not disabled
+    await expect(button).not.toBeDisabled();
+    // Verify keyboard accessibility
+    await expect(button).toHaveAttribute("tabindex", "0");
+  },
+};
+```
+
+---
+
+## Additional Resources
+
+- [Intlayer configuration reference](https://github.com/aymericzip/intlayer/blob/main/docs/docs/en-GB/configuration.md)
+- [Content declaration documentation](https://github.com/aymericzip/intlayer/blob/main/docs/docs/en-GB/dictionary/content_file.md)
+- [Intlayer CLI documentation](https://github.com/aymericzip/intlayer/blob/main/docs/docs/en-GB/cli/index.md)
+- [Storybook documentation](https://storybook.js.org/docs)