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Source: Roblox Creator Hub · CC BY 4.0 · View source · Code samples: MIT Imported 2026-10-03. Formatting adapted for this site.

LocalizationTable

Inherits from: Instance → Object

A LocalizationTable is a database of translations. It contains source strings and translations for various languages. It is used with the Translator and LocalizationService auto-translator system to control text translations in the game. LocalizationTables are designed to be treated as resources, like a texture or a script. They are not optimized to be modified at runtime. Changing the contents of a table will cause the entire contents of the table to be replicated to all players.

LocalizationTable Entries

Each LocalizationTable contains a set of entries. Each entry contains the translations of the text, along with some special fields:

Key is an optional unique key for fast hash lookups in code. If it is non-empty it must be unique in the table.
Source is the original text in the source language that will be used by the LocalizationService automatic text replacement system to match GUI text and render a translation instead. The Source field can be filled by the text capture tools, or can be set manually. For key-based lookups the Source value can be used as a translation for LocalizationTable.SourceLocaleId if the entry doesn't have a translation for that locale. If Source is empty then the entry will not be used by the automatic replacement system.
Context is the full Instance name for the object that the text appeared on. Context is used for disambiguation by the automatic text replacement system. When multiple matches for the Source are found, the system will pick the best match by matching backwards from the end of the Context string. There are other more robust ways to handle disambiguation available as well, like using multiple tables with GuiBase2d.RootLocalizationTable.
Example is whatever you want it to be. If the text capture tool guessed some parameters for a string the Example field will contain an example of them used in context.

All of these fields are optional, but at least either Key or Source must be non-empty. No two entries can have the same Key, Source, and Context.

See Translating Dynamic Content for more information.

Inherits from: Instance

Memory category: Instances

Code samples: View on Creator Hub (LocalizationTable1).

Properties

Name	Type / Returns	Description
LocalizationTable.DevelopmentLanguage	string	The default IETF tag to use if the ''languageKey'' parameter is excluded from the `LocalizationTable:GetString()` method.
LocalizationTable.Root	Instance	The object that is being targeted for localization by this table. Localization is applied to it and all of it's descendants.
LocalizationTable.SourceLocaleId	string	The locale of source strings.

Inherited from Instance

Name	Type / Returns	Description
Instance.Archivable	boolean	Determines if an `Instance` and its descendants can be cloned using `Instance:Clone()`, and can be saved/published.
Instance.archivable	boolean
Instance.Capabilities	SecurityCapabilities	The set of capabilities allowed to be used for scripts inside this container.
Instance.IsInSandbox	boolean	Indicates whether the instance is inside a sandboxed container.
Instance.Name	string	A non-unique identifier of the `Instance`.
Instance.Parent	Instance	Determines the hierarchical parent of the `Instance`.
Instance.PredictionMode	PredictionMode	Reflects the client-side prediction mode applied to the instance under server-authoritative physics.
Instance.RobloxLocked	boolean	A deprecated property that used to protect `CoreGui` objects.
Instance.Sandboxed	boolean	When enabled, the instance can only access abilities in its `Capabilities` list.
Instance.UniqueId	UniqueId	A unique identifier for the instance.

Inherited from Object

Name	Type / Returns	Description
Object.ClassName	string	A read-only string representing the class this `Object` belongs to.
Object.className	string

LocalizationTable.DevelopmentLanguage

Deprecated. This item has been superseded by LocalizationTable.SourceLocaleId which should be used in all new work.

The default IETF tag to use if the ''languageKey'' parameter is excluded from the LocalizationTable:GetString() method.

Field	Value
type	string
tags	["Hidden","NotReplicated","Deprecated"]
security	{"read":"None","write":"None"}
thread safety	ReadSafe
category	Localization
serialization	{"can_load":true,"can_save":false}
capabilities	["Basic"]

LocalizationTable.Root

Deprecated. This item is deprecated. Do not use it for new work.

The object that is being targeted for localization by this table. Localization is applied to it and all of it's descendants.

Field	Value
type	Instance
tags	["Hidden","NotReplicated","Deprecated"]
security	{"read":"None","write":"None"}
thread safety	ReadSafe
category	Behavior
serialization	{"can_load":false,"can_save":false}
capabilities	["Basic"]

LocalizationTable.SourceLocaleId

The Roblox locale of the input key strings for this table, for example "en-us" or "es-es." This is typically the "development language" of the game. For a Translator that merges multiple LocalizationTable objects, it's the LocaleId of the Default LocalizationTable. Defaults to "en-us".

Field	Value
type	string
security	{"read":"None","write":"None"}
thread safety	ReadSafe
category	Localization
serialization	{"can_load":true,"can_save":true}
capabilities	["Basic"]

Methods

Name	Type / Returns	Description
LocalizationTable:GetContents	string	Returns the contents of the `LocalizationTable` serialized as a JSON string.
LocalizationTable:GetEntries	Array	Returns an array of dictionaries, where each dictionary represents an entry of localization data.
LocalizationTable:GetString	string	Returns a translation based on the specified language and key.
LocalizationTable:GetTranslator	Instance	Returns a `Translator` for entries in this LocalizationTable, in the specified locale.
LocalizationTable:RemoveEntry	()	Removes an entry from the LocalizationTable, using the specified `key`, `source`, and `context` to narrow down the specific entry to be removed.
LocalizationTable:RemoveEntryValue	()	Removes a single language translation from the LocalizationTable, using the provided `key`, `source`, `context`, and `localeId` to narrow down the specific entry to be removed.
LocalizationTable:RemoveKey	()	Deprecated in favor of `LocalizationTable:RemoveEntry()`.
LocalizationTable:RemoveTargetLocale	()	Removes all translations from the LocalizationTable with the specified localeId.
LocalizationTable:SetContents	()	Sets the contents of the LocalizationTable, via the legacy JSON format.
LocalizationTable:SetEntries	()	Sets the contents of the LocalizationTable.
LocalizationTable:SetEntry	()	Sets the translation `text` for the `targetLocaleId` locale on the entry identified by `key`, creating the entry if it doesn't exist.
LocalizationTable:SetEntryContext	()	Sets the Context field of a LocalizationTable entry to `newContext`, using the specified `key`, `source`, and `context` to narrow down the entry that will have this change applied.
LocalizationTable:SetEntryExample	()	Sets the Example field of a LocalizationTable entry to `example`, using the specified `key`, `source`, and `context` to narrow down the entry that will have this change applied.
LocalizationTable:SetEntryKey	()	Sets the Key field of a LocalizationTable entry to `newKey`, using the specified `key`, `source`, and `context` to narrow down the entry that will have this change applied.
LocalizationTable:SetEntrySource	()	Sets the Source field of a LocalizationTable entry to `newSource`, using the specified `key`, `source`, and `context` to narrow down the entry that will have this change applied.
LocalizationTable:SetEntryValue	()	Sets the text of the specified localeId in a LocalizationTable entry, using the specified `key`, `source`, and `context` to narrow down the entry that will have this change applied.

Inherited from Instance

Name	Type / Returns	Description
Instance:AddTag	()	Applies a tag to the instance.
Instance:children	Instances	Returns an array of the object's children.
Instance:ClearAllChildren	()	This method destroys all of an instance's children.
Instance:Clone	Instance	Create a copy of an instance and all its descendants, ignoring instances that are not `Archivable`.
Instance:clone	Instance
Instance:Destroy	()	Sets the `Instance.Parent` property to `nil`, locks the `Instance.Parent` property, disconnects all connections, and calls `Destroy()` on all children.
Instance:destroy	()
Instance:FindFirstAncestor	Instance?	Returns the first ancestor of the `Instance` whose `Instance.Name` is equal to the given name.
Instance:FindFirstAncestorOfClass	Instance?	Returns the first ancestor of the `Instance` whose `Object.ClassName` is equal to the given className.
Instance:FindFirstAncestorWhichIsA	Instance?	Returns the first ancestor of the `Instance` for whom `Object:IsA()` returns true for the given className.
Instance:FindFirstChild	Instance?	Returns the first child of the `Instance` found with the given name.
Instance:findFirstChild	Instance
Instance:FindFirstChildOfClass	Instance?	Returns the first child of the `Instance` whose `ClassName` is equal to the given class name.
Instance:FindFirstChildWhichIsA	Instance?	Returns the first child of the `Instance` for whom `Object:IsA()` returns true for the given className.
Instance:FindFirstDescendant	Instance?	Returns the first descendant found with the given `Instance.Name`.
Instance:GetActor	Actor?	Returns the `Actor` associated with the Instance, if any.
Instance:GetAttribute	Variant	Returns the value which has been assigned to the given attribute name.
Instance:GetAttributeChangedSignal	RBXScriptSignal	Returns an event that fires when the given attribute changes.
Instance:GetAttributes	Dictionary	Returns a dictionary of the instance's attributes.
Instance:GetChildren	Instances	Returns an array containing all of the instance's children.
Instance:getChildren	Instances
Instance:GetDebugId	string	Returns a coded string of the debug ID used internally by Roblox.
Instance:GetDescendants	Instances	Returns an array containing all of the descendants of the instance.
Instance:GetFullName	string	Returns a string describing the instance's ancestry.
Instance:GetStyled	Variant	Returns the styled or explicitly modified value of the specified property, or else the default property value if it hasn't been styled/modified.
Instance:GetStyledPropertyChangedSignal	RBXScriptSignal	Returns an event that fires when the given style property changes on the instance.
Instance:GetTags	Array	Gets an array of all tags applied to the instance.
Instance:HasTag	boolean	Check whether the instance has a given tag.
Instance:IsAncestorOf	boolean	Returns true if an `Instance` is an ancestor of the given descendant.
Instance:IsDescendantOf	boolean	Returns `true` if an `Instance` is a descendant of the given ancestor.
Instance:isDescendantOf	boolean
Instance:IsPropertyModified	boolean	Returns `true` if the value stored in the specified property is not equal to the code-instantiated default.
Instance:QueryDescendants	Instances	Returns an array containing all descendants of the instance that match the `selector` string.
Instance:Remove	()	Sets the object's `Parent` to `nil`, and does the same for all its descendants.
Instance:remove	()
Instance:RemoveTag	()	Removes a tag from the instance.
Instance:ResetPropertyToDefault	()	Resets a property to its default value.
Instance:SetAttribute	()	Sets the attribute with the given name to the given value.
Instance:WaitForChild	Instance	Returns the child of the `Instance` with the given name. If the child does not exist, it will yield the current thread until it does.

Inherited from Object

Name	Type / Returns	Description
Object:GetPropertyChangedSignal	RBXScriptSignal	Get an event that fires when a given property of the object changes.
Object:IsA	boolean	Returns true if an object's class matches or inherits from a given class.
Object:isA	boolean

LocalizationTable:GetContents

Deprecated. This item has been superseded by LocalizationTable:GetEntries() which should be used in all new work.

Deprecated. Prefer LocalizationTable:GetEntries(), which returns the same data as a structured array of dictionaries. Returns all entries in the LocalizationTable encoded as a JSON-formatted string, the legacy serialized representation of the table's contents. Each entry is an object containing its key, context, examples, and source fields (each omitted when empty) along with a values map of locale IDs to translated strings.

Returns

Type	Description
string	The table's entries encoded as a JSON-formatted string.

Field	Value
tags	["Deprecated"]
security	None
thread safety	Unsafe
capabilities	["Basic"]

LocalizationTable:GetEntries

The GetEntries function returns an array of dictionaries contained in a given LocalizationTable, where each dictionary represents an entry of localization data.

To set the entries of a LocalizationTable, you can use LocalizationTable:SetEntries().

Each dictionary in the array contains the following fields:

Index	Type	Description
Key	`Library.string`	A lookup key for this specific entry in the LocalizationTable.
Source	`Library.string`	The string used to format the localized string. Used as a lookup if a key is not provided.
Context	`Library.string`	An `Class.Instance:GetFullName()` path to the object that was used to generate the LocalizationTable. Used as a lookup if a key is not provided.
Example	`Library.string`	The string used to format the localization. Optional.
Values	`Dictionary`	A dictionary of language translations for this localization entry. The keys of this dictionary are locale ids, and the values are strings that are used to apply localization for the language corresponding to the locale id.

Returns

Type	Description
Array	An array of dictionaries, where each dictionary represents an entry of localization data.

Field	Value
security	None
thread safety	Unsafe
capabilities	["Basic"]

Code samples: View on Creator Hub (LocalizationTable-GetEntries).

LocalizationTable:GetString

Deprecated. This item has been superseded by LocalizationTable:GetTranslator() which should be used in all new work.

The GetString function returns a translation based on the specified language and key.

Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Description
targetLocaleId	string		Specified language.
key	string		An optional unique key for fast hash lookups in code. If it is non-empty it must be unique in the table.

Returns

Type	Description
string	Translated string.

Field	Value
tags	["Deprecated"]
security	None
thread safety	Unsafe
capabilities	["Basic"]

LocalizationTable:GetTranslator

Returns a Translator for entries in this LocalizationTable, in the specified language. The translator will first search in this table and then look in ancestor tables.

Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Description
localeId	string		A Roblox locale identifier (for example, "en-us" or "es-es") specifying the language the returned Translator should target.

Returns

Type	Description
Instance	The `Translator` instance for the specified locale.

Field	Value
security	None
thread safety	Unsafe
capabilities	["Basic"]

LocalizationTable:RemoveEntry

Removes an entry from the LocalizationTable, using the specified key, source, and context to narrow down the specific entry to be removed.

The entry is identified by the (key, source, context) triple. If key is non-empty it alone identifies the entry because keys are unique within the table. If key is empty the entry is matched by the (source, context) pair. When no matching entry exists the call is a silent no-op.

Removing an entry deletes all of its translations and metadata. To remove only a single locale's translation from an entry while keeping the entry itself, use LocalizationTable:RemoveEntryValue() instead.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
key	string	The unique key of the entry to remove. If non-empty, identifies the entry by itself.
source	string	The source text of the entry. Used with context to identify the entry when key is empty.
context	string	The `Instance:GetFullName()` path used for disambiguation. Used with source to identify the entry when key is empty.

Returns

Type	Description
()

Field	Value
security	None
thread safety	Unsafe
capabilities	["Basic"]

LocalizationTable:RemoveEntryValue

Removes a single language translation from the LocalizationTable, using the provided key, source, context, and localeId to narrow down the specific entry to be modified.

The entry is identified by the (key, source, context) triple (see LocalizationTable:RemoveEntry() for lookup rules). Once the entry is found, only the translation for localeId is erased; the entry itself and all other locale translations remain intact. The localeId is case-insensitive (it is canonicalized internally). If no matching entry exists, or the entry has no translation for localeId, the call is a silent no-op.

To remove the entire entry including all translations, use LocalizationTable:RemoveEntry(). To remove every translation of a given locale across all entries, use LocalizationTable:RemoveTargetLocale().

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
key	string	The unique key of the entry. If non-empty, identifies the entry by itself.
source	string	The source text of the entry. Used with context to identify the entry when key is empty.
context	string	The `Instance:GetFullName()` path used for disambiguation. Used with source to identify the entry when key is empty.
localeId	string	The locale identifier (for example, "fr-fr") whose translation should be removed from the entry.

Returns

Type	Description
()

Field	Value
security	None
thread safety	Unsafe
capabilities	["Basic"]

LocalizationTable:RemoveKey

Deprecated. This item has been superseded by LocalizationTable:RemoveEntry() which should be used in all new work

Deprecated in favor of LocalizationTable:RemoveEntry(). Calling RemoveKey is the same as making the following call to RemoveEntry:

Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Description
key	string		The unique key of the entry to remove.

Returns

Type	Description
()

Field	Value
tags	["Deprecated"]
security	None
thread safety	Unsafe
capabilities	["Basic"]

Code samples: View on Creator Hub (LocalizationTable-RemoveKey).

LocalizationTable:RemoveTargetLocale

Removes all translations from the LocalizationTable with the specified localeId.

This is a bulk operation that iterates every entry in the table and erases the translation for localeId from each one. Entries themselves are not removed even if they have no remaining translations after this call. To remove a single translation from one specific entry, use LocalizationTable:RemoveEntryValue() instead.

Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Description
localeId	string		A Roblox locale identifier (for example, "fr-fr") specifying which language's translations to remove from all entries.

Returns

Type	Description
()

Field	Value
security	None
thread safety	Unsafe
capabilities	["Basic"]

LocalizationTable:SetContents

Deprecated. This item has been superseded by LocalizationTable:SetEntries() which should be used in all new work

The SetContents function sets the contents of the LocalizationTable, via the legacy JSON format.

Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Description
contents	string		A JSON-formatted string encoding the table's entries, in the same format returned by `LocalizationTable:GetContents()`.

Returns

Type	Description
()

Field	Value
tags	["Deprecated"]
security	None
thread safety	Unsafe
capabilities	["Basic"]

LocalizationTable:SetEntries

Sets the contents of the LocalizationTable.

The entries parameter should be an array of dictionaries in the same format as the one returned from the LocalizationTable:GetEntries() function.

Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Description
entries	Variant		An array of dictionaries in the same format returned by `LocalizationTable:GetEntries()`, each containing Key, Source, Context, Example, and Values fields.

Returns

Type	Description
()

Field	Value
security	None
thread safety	Unsafe
capabilities	["Basic"]

LocalizationTable:SetEntry

Deprecated. This item has been superseded by LocalizationTable:SetEntries() which should be used in all new work.

Deprecated. Prefer LocalizationTable:SetEntryValue() for matching an entry by key, source, and context, or LocalizationTable:SetEntries() to set many entries at once. Sets the translation text for the locale targetLocaleId on the LocalizationTable entry identified by key, creating a new entry with an empty source and context if no entry with that key exists. When targetLocaleId matches the table's LocalizationTable.SourceLocaleId, the entry's Source field is also set to text.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
key	string	The unique key identifying the entry. If no entry with this key exists, a new entry is created.
targetLocaleId	string	The Roblox locale identifier (for example, "en-us" or "fr-fr") for the translation to set.
text	string	The translation text to store for the specified locale.

Returns

Type	Description
()

Field	Value
tags	["Deprecated"]
security	None
thread safety	Unsafe
capabilities	["Basic"]

LocalizationTable:SetEntryContext

Sets the Context field of a LocalizationTable entry to newContext, using the specified key, source, and context to narrow down the entry that will have this change applied.

The entry is identified by the (key, source, context) triple (see LocalizationTable:RemoveEntry() for lookup rules). If no matching entry exists, a new entry is created with the provided key, source, and newContext. The method throws an error if setting the new context would cause the entry to conflict with another existing entry that shares the same key, source, and context combination.

The Context field stores an Instance:GetFullName() path that the automatic text replacement system uses for disambiguation when multiple entries share the same Source string.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
key	string	The unique key of the entry. If non-empty, identifies the entry by itself.
source	string	The source text of the entry. Used with context to identify the entry when key is empty.
context	string	The current `Instance:GetFullName()` path of the entry. Used with source to identify the entry when key is empty.
newContext	string	The new context string to assign to the entry.

Returns

Type	Description
()

Field	Value
security	None
thread safety	Unsafe
capabilities	["Basic"]

LocalizationTable:SetEntryExample

Sets the Example field of a LocalizationTable entry to example, using the specified key, source, and context to narrow down the entry that will have this change applied.

The entry is identified by the (key, source, context) triple (see LocalizationTable:RemoveEntry() for lookup rules). If no matching entry exists, a new entry is created with the provided key, source, and context. The new example value always overwrites any existing example text on the entry.

The Example field is an arbitrary metadata string. The text-capture tools use it to store a sample of parameterized content in context, but developers may store any helpful annotation.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
key	string	The unique key of the entry. If non-empty, identifies the entry by itself.
source	string	The source text of the entry. Used with context to identify the entry when key is empty.
context	string	The `Instance:GetFullName()` path of the entry. Used with source to identify the entry when key is empty.
example	string	The new example text to assign to the entry, typically a sample of parameterized content in context.

Returns

Type	Description
()

Field	Value
security	None
thread safety	Unsafe
capabilities	["Basic"]

LocalizationTable:SetEntryKey

Sets the Key field of a LocalizationTable entry to newKey, using the specified key, source, and context to narrow down the entry that will have this change applied.

The entry is identified by the (key, source, context) triple (see LocalizationTable:RemoveEntry() for lookup rules). If no matching entry exists, a new entry is created with newKey, the provided source, and context. The method throws an error if newKey would conflict with an existing entry's key, because keys must be unique within the table. If newKey equals the entry's current key the call is a no-op.

The Key field is an optional unique identifier for fast hash lookups via Translator:FormatByKey(). When non-empty it must be unique across the entire table.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
key	string	The current unique key of the entry. If non-empty, identifies the entry by itself.
source	string	The source text of the entry. Used with context to identify the entry when key is empty.
context	string	The `Instance:GetFullName()` path of the entry. Used with source to identify the entry when key is empty.
newKey	string	The new key string to assign to the entry. Must be unique within the table if non-empty.

Returns

Type	Description
()

Field	Value
security	None
thread safety	Unsafe
capabilities	["Basic"]

LocalizationTable:SetEntrySource

Sets the Source field of a LocalizationTable entry to newSource, using the specified key, source, and context to narrow down the entry that will have this change applied.

The entry is identified by the (key, source, context) triple (see LocalizationTable:RemoveEntry() for lookup rules). If no matching entry exists, a new entry is created with the provided key, newSource, and context. The method throws an error if the resulting (key, newSource, context) combination would conflict with an existing entry. If newSource equals the entry's current source the call is a no-op.

The Source field is the original text in the source language used by the LocalizationService automatic text replacement system to match GUI text at runtime. Changing the source also recomputes the internal expression matcher, so parameterized format strings (e.g. {1:translate}) are re-parsed immediately.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
key	string	The unique key of the entry. If non-empty, identifies the entry by itself.
source	string	The current source text of the entry. Used with context to identify the entry when key is empty.
context	string	The `Instance:GetFullName()` path of the entry. Used with source to identify the entry when key is empty.
newSource	string	The new source text to assign to the entry. Used by the automatic text replacement system for matching GUI text at runtime.

Returns

Type	Description
()

Field	Value
security	None
thread safety	Unsafe
capabilities	["Basic"]

LocalizationTable:SetEntryValue

Sets the text of the specified localeId in a LocalizationTable entry, using the specified key, source, and context to narrow down the entry that will have this change applied.

The entry is identified by the (key, source, context) triple (see LocalizationTable:RemoveEntry() for lookup rules). If no matching entry exists, a new entry is created with the provided key, source, and context — this throws an error if both key and source are empty. The localeId is case-insensitive (it is canonicalized internally).

If text is non-empty the translation is stored (or replaced) for localeId on that entry. The text must be a valid format string (parameters like {1:translate} must be well-formed or the call throws). If text is an empty string the translation for localeId is removed from the entry, equivalent to calling LocalizationTable:RemoveEntryValue().

To set multiple entries at once, use LocalizationTable:SetEntries().

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
key	string	The unique key of the entry. If non-empty, identifies the entry by itself.
source	string	The source text of the entry. Used with context to identify the entry when key is empty.
context	string	The `Instance:GetFullName()` path of the entry. Used with source to identify the entry when key is empty.
localeId	string	The Roblox locale identifier (for example, "fr-fr") for the translation to set or remove.
text	string	The translation text to store. If empty, the translation for the specified locale is removed from the entry.

Returns

Type	Description
()

Field	Value
security	None
thread safety	Unsafe
capabilities	["Basic"]

Events

Inherited from Instance

Name	Type / Returns	Description
Instance.AncestryChanged		Fires when the `Instance.Parent` property of this object or one of its ancestors is changed.
Instance.AttributeChanged		Fires whenever an attribute is changed on the `Instance`.
Instance.ChildAdded		Fires after an object is parented to this `Instance`.
Instance.childAdded
Instance.ChildRemoved		Fires after a child is removed from this `Instance`.
Instance.DescendantAdded		Fires after a descendant is added to the `Instance`.
Instance.DescendantRemoving		Fires immediately before a descendant of the `Instance` is removed.
Instance.Destroying		Fires immediately before (or is deferred until after) the instance is destroyed via `Instance:Destroy()`.
Instance.StyledPropertiesChanged		Fires whenever any style property is changed on the instance, including when a property is set to `nil`.

Inherited from Object

Name	Type / Returns	Description
Object.Changed		Fires immediately after a property of the object changes, with some limitations.