XLIFF

Also known as XML Localization Interchange File Format

XLIFF (XML Localization Interchange File Format) is an XML-based bitext format created to standardize the way localizable data are passed between and among tools during a localization process and a common format for CAT tool exchange. The XLIFF Technical Committee (TC) first convened at OASIS in December 2001 (first meeting in January 2002), but the first fully ratified version of XLIFF appeared as XLIFF Version 1.2 in February 2008. Its current specification is v2.2 released on 2025-03-13, which is backwards compatible with v2.1 released on 2018-02-13.

Key facts

File format.name: XLIFF
File format.extension: .xlf
File format.mime: before 2.0: application/x-xliff+xml (private), 2.0 and after: application/xliff+xml (standard tree)
File format.latest release version: 2.2
File format.extended from: XML
File format.standard: OASIS Standard, also ratified as ISO 21720:2017
File format.url: https://docs.oasis-open.org/xliff/xliff-core/v2.2/xliff-extended-v2.2-part2.html

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

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file extension: xlf
media type: application/xliff+xml
file format identification pattern: 3C

Sources (2)

via Wikidata · CC0

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Article

5 sections

Contents

XLIFF 2.0 and higher (the current OASIS ratified format)
XLIFF 1.2 - legacy format
See also
References
External links

The specification is aimed at the localization industry. It specifies elements and attributes to store content extracted from various original file formats and its corresponding translation. The goal was to abstract the localization skills from the engineering skills related to specific formats such as HTML.