getzola/zola · error

Translation key '{}' for language '{}' is missing

Error message

Translation key '{}' for language '{}' is missing

What it means

`Config::get_translation` looks up a translation string for a language code and key defined under `[languages.<lang>.translations]` in config.toml. It errors when the language exists but the requested key is absent from its translations map (or when the language itself is missing, with a different message). This surfaces in templates via the `trans()` Tera function.

Source

Thrown at components/config/src/config/mod.rs:380

    }

    pub fn enable_serve_mode(&mut self) {
        self.mode = Mode::Serve;
    }

    pub fn enable_check_mode(&mut self) {
        self.mode = Mode::Check;
        // Disable syntax highlighting since the results won't be used and it is slow
        self.markdown.highlighting = None;
    }

    pub fn get_translation(&self, lang: &str, key: &str) -> Result<String> {
        if let Some(options) = self.languages.get(lang) {
            options
                .translations
                .get(key)
                .ok_or_else(|| {
                    anyhow!("Translation key '{}' for language '{}' is missing", key, lang)
                })
                .cloned()
        } else {
            bail!("Language '{}' not found.", lang)
        }
    }

    pub fn has_taxonomy(&self, name: &str, lang: &str) -> bool {
        if let Some(lang_options) = self.languages.get(lang) {
            lang_options.taxonomies.iter().any(|t| t.name == name)
        } else {
            false
        }
    }

    pub fn serialize(&self, lang: &str) -> SerializedConfig<'_> {
        let options = &self.languages[lang];

View on GitHub (pinned to 61d3082821)

Solutions

1. Add the missing key under `[languages.<lang>.translations]` in config.toml (e.g. `languages.fr.translations.title = "Titre"`), or under `[translations]` for the default language
2. Check the key spelling in the template's `trans(key=...)` call matches config.toml exactly
3. Verify the language code passed to trans/get_translation matches a `[languages.<code>]` section

Example fix

// before (config.toml)
[languages.fr]
# no translations table
// after
[languages.fr]
[languages.fr.translations]
title = "Titre"

let lang = "fr"; let key = "title";
let defined = config.languages.get(lang)
    .map(|o| o.translations.contains_key(key))
    .unwrap_or(false);
if !defined { /* fallback to default-language translation or fix config */ }

fn translation_exists(config: &Config, lang: &str, key: &str) -> bool {
    config.languages.get(lang).map(|o| o.translations.contains_key(key)).unwrap_or(false)
}

match config.get_translation(lang, key) {
    Ok(t) => t,
    Err(e) if e.to_string().contains("is missing") => default_translation_for(key),
    Err(e) => return Err(e),
}

When it happens

Trigger: Calling `get_translation(lang, key)` (directly or via the `trans(key, lang)` template function) where `config.languages[lang].translations` has no entry for `key`.

Common situations: Typo in the translation key used in a template vs config.toml; key defined for the default language but not for an added `[languages.xx]`; forgetting to add the `translations` table for a new language; calling `trans` before translations were loaded.

Related errors

• Failed to find directory containing the config file.
• Cannot merge config.toml with theme.toml because the followi
• Invalid filter type : {filter}. Valid values: nearest, trian
• {} not found in current directory or ancestors, current_dir
• zola.toml (or config.toml) not found in current directory or

AI-assisted analysis of getzola/zola@61d3082821 (2026-09-03). Data as JSON: /api/errors/1d7a1f7efd838332. Report an issue: GitHub.