# How to skip override-overrided localizations
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-skip-override-overrided-localizations/409604
**Category:** Support
**Tags:** translation
**Created:** [August 8, 2026, 8:39pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-skip-override-overrided-localizations/409604 "2026-08-08T20:39:58Z")
**Posts on this page:** 15
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@satonotdead](https://meta.discourse.org/u/satonotdead)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2026, 8:39pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-skip-override-overrided-localizations/409604/1 "2026-08-08T20:39:58Z")
I wonder how I can stop Discourse from overriding my already overridden translations. Our UI/UX is a little customized and it does not follow the current one in Discourse as is.
In Spanish, some people do not understand this `Activar listas inteligentes al escribir en el compositor ` but `Listas automáticas al escribir mensajes`, and the same with a lot of strings.
I found myself editing texts more than three times because the main branch was updated. Previously, I was able to discard the ‘new’ translations, but for months now they always overwrite mine.
I’m open to suggestions, workarounds, or looking into the admin config that I need to check out. Thanks 🙂
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### Author:  [@awesomerobot](https://meta.discourse.org/u/awesomerobot)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2026, 8:12pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-skip-override-overrided-localizations/409604/2 "2026-08-11T20:12:40Z")
how are you editing them? typically translations strings shouldn’t be overridden with an update if you’re editing them from `/admin/customize/site_texts`
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### Author:  [@satonotdead](https://meta.discourse.org/u/satonotdead)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2026, 8:36pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-skip-override-overrided-localizations/409604/3 "2026-08-11T20:36:53Z")
I’m editing on this admin path, and they started to be overridden a couple of months ago. I can’t remember an exact date, but they weren’t being overridden for years.
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### Author:  [@awesomerobot](https://meta.discourse.org/u/awesomerobot)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2026, 7:53pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-skip-override-overrided-localizations/409604/4 "2026-08-12T19:53:51Z")
Strange… was the example you mentioned, `Activar listas inteligentes al escribir en el compositor` one of the strings that’s repeatedly having the issue?
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### Author:  [@satonotdead](https://meta.discourse.org/u/satonotdead)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2026, 8:52pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-skip-override-overrided-localizations/409604/5 "2026-08-12T20:52:10Z")
Every string that is updated (from core) reverts to default.
I hope to find a solution; it’s really hard to maintain. I can debug and test whatever is needed.
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### Author:  [@satonotdead](https://meta.discourse.org/u/satonotdead)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2026, 6:43pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-skip-override-overrided-localizations/409604/6 "2026-08-20T18:43:40Z")
OK, I think I understand that it only happens in the strings I update before Discourse publishes its translations.
> _If I change `Cancel` (Resenha) to `cancelar`, when Discourse publishes the translation, my initial string is lost._
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### Author:  [@pfaffman](https://meta.discourse.org/u/pfaffman)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2026, 7:29pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-skip-override-overrided-localizations/409604/7 "2026-08-20T19:29:35Z")
> [@satonotdead](#):
>
> , I think I understand that it only happens in the strings I update before Discourse publishes its translations.
Are you saying that for (probably new) strings that don’t yet have a Spanish translation, you create one and then it gets overridden when they get around to adding the Spanish string? If so, (without looking at the code) it makes sense that it would insert the new string and ignore yours, though that could well be considered a bug (I can see arguments for both ways, however).
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### Author:  [@satonotdead](https://meta.discourse.org/u/satonotdead)
#### Post date: [August 20, 2026, 10:37pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-skip-override-overrided-localizations/409604/8 "2026-08-20T22:37:45Z")
That’s exactly what happens here. I don’t know if consider it a bug, but rather something need to be careful about.
I mean, translating all the untranslated experimental stuff takes up our time, and a simple update just discards all of it instantly.
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### Author:  [@Moin](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Moin)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2026, 7:37am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-skip-override-overrided-localizations/409604/9 "2026-08-21T07:37:42Z")
Why don’t you spend that time on translating Discourse for everyone?
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### Author:  [@satonotdead](https://meta.discourse.org/u/satonotdead)
#### Post date: [August 21, 2026, 7:44am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-skip-override-overrided-localizations/409604/10 "2026-08-21T07:44:10Z")
The plain truth: because I’m translating slangs, avoiding a lot of rules on purpose… And the translation system that Discourse uses was a little intimidating.
If we’re still here in a couple of months or years, I will put my effort into translating to Esperanto.
I hope we can count on more simple tools 🙂
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### Author:  [@satonotdead](https://meta.discourse.org/u/satonotdead)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2026, 3:34pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-skip-override-overrided-localizations/409604/11 "2026-09-02T15:34:37Z")
Unfortunately, I keep losing translations, and it’s really very frustrating.
> Is there a way to prevent local changes in translation files from being overwritten during Discourse updates?
**I really do not want to receive those updates.** The Spanish language from Crowdin is very flat and _extended_, to my taste. I like the less descriptions as possible from UI/UX perspective. In our community we also use a custom language/aesthetic, with slangs and without capital letters in menus or most messages.
Discourse is innovating a lot in its latest updates, and I would like to keep updating without losing the work invested in the translation overrides. It’s all manual and it really takes time.
Open to suggestions or workarounds.
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### Author:  [@Jagster](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Jagster)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2026, 4:21pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-skip-override-overrided-localizations/409604/12 "2026-09-02T16:21:39Z")
Perhaps I should check this out, but I’m quite sure any of my own translations, in Finnish, aren’t ever overdriven.
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### Author:  [@satonotdead](https://meta.discourse.org/u/satonotdead)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2026, 7:23pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-skip-override-overrided-localizations/409604/13 "2026-09-02T19:23:05Z")
What happens if you update, for example, the translations of the recently shipped Voice plugin and wait for the official Finnish translations on core?
That is the common behavior that reverts everything back, but it could be only related to my instance. I want to solve this for real, and I was thinking about automating a backup of my JSON overrides file with rake tasks.
It could be not elegant and some kind of nuclear, but with the _overriding overrides_ behavior, it is really worst to mantain.
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### Author:  [@Jagster](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Jagster)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2026, 7:38pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-skip-override-overrided-localizations/409604/14 "2026-09-02T19:38:51Z")
> [@satonotdead](#):
>
> What happens if you update, for example, the translations of the recently shipped Voice plugin and wait for the official Finnish translations on core?
Well, we see when I can upgrade my instance 😤 And after that I have to wait for official translations. But I’ve translated new features on my instance before getting translations — but I can’t be sure those survived, I have only such feelings.
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### Author:  [@satonotdead](https://meta.discourse.org/u/satonotdead)
#### Post date: [September 21, 2026, 3:38pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-skip-override-overrided-localizations/409604/15 "2026-09-21T15:38:59Z")
It happened again:
