In minipim a translated product isn’t a copy of the product. It’s the same product with extra values for the fields that change by language — so prices, SKUs and images stay in one place.
1. Add the language
Go to Locales, click New locale, and enter a code (like fr_CA) and a label. Your default locale stays the default.
2. Make sure the right fields are translatable
Only attributes marked Localizable take a value per language — usually titles, descriptions, bullet points and SEO fields. Codes, measurements and prices normally aren’t. If a field you need to translate isn’t localizable, ask whoever manages your product types to switch it on.
3. See what needs translating
Add the new locale to the channel that sells in that language (on the Channels page). Channel readiness then counts every required localizable field once per locale, so each product’s readiness card shows exactly which translations are missing — “Needs description (fr_CA)“.
4. Enter translations
Open a product. When your organisation has more than one locale, the editor shows a Locale switcher. Switch to French and you’re editing the French values; fields that aren’t localizable stay shared and appear as they are.
There’s also a channel switcher, for the rarer case where one channel needs its own wording in a language.
Doing it at scale
minipim doesn’t machine-translate on its own. Two practical options for large catalogs:
- An AI agent. Through the MCP server, Claude can find products missing a locale and write the translations, one attribute across many products at a time.
- Your translation workflow. Export values through the API, translate them however you like, and write them back with the locale set.
Bulk edit and CSV import write to en_US only, so use the product editor, an agent or the API for other languages.
How your storefront gets them
Your storefront asks for a product with ?locale=fr_CA, and minipim returns the closest value for each field — the French one where it exists, the shared value where it doesn’t.