Text Pilot Documentation

1. Overview

While Shopify provides localization support for many native resources, developers often have additional website content such as navigation menus, buttons, banners, headings, forms, product labels, error messages, and other UI text that is hardcoded directly into their Hydrogen application.

Traditionally, managing these translations requires maintaining JSON files, integrating third-party translation libraries, or building custom translation systems.

Text Pilot simplifies this process by storing all custom website translations directly inside Shopify Metaobjects, allowing merchants and developers to manage translations from the Shopify Admin without relying on external databases or translation platforms.

2. Why Text Pilot?

Text Pilot helps you centralize all of your custom storefront translations in Shopify by providing:

• Native Shopify Metaobject storage
• Individual language management
• Bulk translation updates
• CSV import support
• Free auto translation
• Hydrogen integration
• No external database required
• No JSON translation files
• No additional infrastructure

3. Key Features

Native Shopify Storage

All translations are stored securely inside your own Shopify store using Metaobjects. There is no external database or translation hosting service required.

Benefits:

• Your translation data remains inside Shopify.
• No external synchronization.
• No vendor lock-in.
• No additional storage costs.

Per-Language Editor

Manage every language independently through an easy-to-use editor.

You can:

• Add translation keys
• Edit translations
• Create flat root keys
• Create nested field groups
• Delete translation entries
• Undo changes before saving

This gives you complete control over every language from a single interface.

Bulk & CSV Update

Managing hundreds or thousands of translations becomes much easier with bulk operations.

You can:

• Add translation keys to multiple languages at once
• Select individual languages or all languages
• Import translations using CSV files
• Track import progress with a real-time progress bar

Perfect for migrating existing translations into Shopify.

Free Auto Translation

Enable Free Auto Translation to automatically generate translations whenever new keys are added. Auto Translation works in both Single Language Management and Multi Language Management workflows.

Note: Free Auto Translation sends translation text to third-party endpoints (including Google Translate endpoints and the third-party proxy lingva.ml) to perform the translation. These requests do not contain merchant-identifiable or customer-identifiable information. Because free translation services are used, translation quality cannot be guaranteed. Always review translations before saving or publishing.

Hydrogen Ready

Text Pilot is built specifically for Shopify Hydrogen. Your Hydrogen storefront can retrieve translations directly from Shopify Metaobjects using a single GraphQL query.

This means you no longer need to:

• Maintain JSON translation files
• Bundle language files with every deployment
• Install additional i18n libraries
• Create custom translation APIs

Direct Store Integration

Your translation data stays inside Shopify. There are no external database hosting requirements, translation storage services, or extra subscription infrastructure costs. Your Hydrogen storefront reads translations directly from Shopify Metaobjects at runtime.

4. Frequently Asked Questions

What is Text Pilot?

Text Pilot is a translation management application designed specifically for Shopify Hydrogen storefronts.

Although Shopify supports translations for many native resources, developers often have custom website text that exists only inside their Hydrogen application. This includes navigation labels, buttons, headings, banners, forms, error messages, and other interface content.

Without Text Pilot, these translations are commonly managed through JSON files, hardcoded translation objects, or third-party translation services. Text Pilot centralizes all of these translations by storing them inside Shopify Metaobjects, making them easy to manage directly from the Shopify Admin.

Can I edit translations for individual languages?

Yes. The Per-Language Editor allows you to manage each language separately.

You can:

• Add translation keys
• Edit existing translations
• Create nested translation groups
• Remove translation entries
• Undo changes before saving

This provides complete control over every supported language.

Can I update multiple languages at once?

Yes. Text Pilot includes powerful bulk management tools that let you update multiple languages in a single operation.

You can:

• Add translation keys across multiple languages
• Select specific languages or all available languages
• Import translations using CSV files
• Monitor progress with a real-time progress indicator

This significantly reduces repetitive work for multilingual stores.

What is Free Auto Translation?

Free Auto Translation automatically generates translations for newly added translation keys using free translation services. This helps you quickly populate translations across supported languages.

Important: Free Auto Translation sends translation text to third-party endpoints (including Google Translate endpoints and the third-party proxy lingva.ml) to generate translations. These requests do not contain merchant-identifiable or customer-identifiable information. Because free translation services are used, translation quality cannot be guaranteed. Always review generated translations before saving or publishing.

How do I connect Text Pilot with my Hydrogen storefront?

Text Pilot includes a complete Developer Guide that explains how to integrate your Hydrogen storefront.

The guide covers:

• Connecting your Hydrogen project
• Querying Shopify Metaobjects
• Fetching translation data using GraphQL
• Rendering translated content throughout your storefront

After setup, your storefront can retrieve translations directly from Shopify without maintaining local translation files.

Where are my translations stored?

All translations are stored inside your own Shopify store using Shopify Metaobjects.

Text Pilot does not require:

• External databases
• Third-party translation storage
• JSON translation files
• Separate hosting infrastructure

Your translations remain fully owned by you and are available directly through Shopify.

What are the subscription plans for Text Pilot?

Text Pilot offers two subscription plans:

• Free Plan ($0/month): Includes support for 1 language definition, standard translation management, auto translation for new content, and native Shopify storage.
• Advance Plan ($5/month): Unlocks unlimited language definitions, translation key synchronization across all languages, and automatic bulk translation.

All subscription and recurring charges are processed securely through Shopify's official Billing API.

How do I cancel my subscription?

You can cancel your paid subscription at any time. To cancel:

• Go to the Plans & Billing page in the app.
• Click the Cancel Subscription button under the Active Plan card.
• Confirm the cancellation in the Polaris confirmation popup modal.

Once confirmed, your account will immediately downgrade to the Free Plan. All future charges will be halted, and any billing adjustments or refunds are handled automatically by Shopify's billing system. Your translation data and settings will remain safe inside your Shopify store, but paid features will be disabled.

How many languages does Text Pilot support?

Text Pilot currently supports 80 languages: Afrikaans, Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Armenian, Assamese, Azerbaijani, Basque, Bengali, Bulgarian, Burmese, Catalan, Cherokee, Chinese (Hong Kong), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English (UK), English (US), Estonian, Filipino, Finnish, French, French (Canada), Galician, Georgian, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Indonesian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Kazakh, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Malayalam, Marathi, Mongolian, Nepali, Norwegian, Odia, Persian, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Portuguese (Portugal), Punjabi, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Sinhala, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Spanish (Latin America), Swahili, Swedish, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uzbek, Vietnamese, Welsh, Zulu.

5. Managing Languages

Text Pilot provides three different workflows for managing translations. The instructions below summarize the available actions in the app.

1. Add Language Definitions

Use the Add Definition page to create new language definitions. You can:

• Create an empty language definition.
• Sync translation keys from an existing language.
• Preview synced keys before creating the language.
• Preview existing language definitions.
• Remove language definitions when they are no longer needed.

2. Manage Individual Languages

Each language can be managed independently. Available features include:

• Add translation keys
• Edit translations
• Search translation keys
• Export translations as CSV
• Import translation keys
• Import keys with translations
• Sync missing translation keys
• Filter translated and untranslated entries
• Generate automatic translations
• Save or discard changes

3. Manage Multiple Languages

The Multi Language page allows you to update several languages simultaneously. You can:

• Select multiple languages
• Add translation keys in bulk
• Import translation keys via CSV
• Generate automatic translations
• Preview changes before applying them

This workflow is recommended when introducing new translation keys across your entire storefront.

6. Best Practices

For the best experience with Text Pilot:

• Keep translation keys consistent across all languages.
• Review automatically generated translations before publishing.
• Use CSV imports for large translation updates.
• Organize related translations using nested field groups.
• Preview bulk updates before saving.
• Regularly export translations for backup purposes.

7. Summary

Text Pilot provides a centralized, Shopify-native way to manage custom Hydrogen storefront translations. By storing translations in Shopify Metaobjects, it eliminates the need for separate JSON files, external databases, and third-party translation infrastructure while giving merchants and developers a simple interface to manage multilingual storefronts efficiently.

Contact Us

If you have any questions, feedback, or require assistance with Text Pilot, please contact our support team.