Lokalise Cost Tuning

---
name: lokalise-cost-tuning
description: |
  Optimize Lokalise costs through plan selection, usage monitoring, and efficiency.
  Use when analyzing Lokalise billing, reducing costs,
  or implementing usage monitoring and budget alerts.
  Trigger with phrases like "lokalise cost", "lokalise billing",
  "reduce lokalise costs", "lokalise pricing", "lokalise budget".
allowed-tools: Read, Grep
version: 1.0.0
license: MIT
author: Jeremy Longshore <jeremy@intentsolutions.io>
compatible-with: claude-code, codex, openclaw
---
# Lokalise Cost Tuning

## Overview
Optimize Lokalise localization spending across plan costs, contributor seats, and machine translation usage. Lokalise pricing combines per-seat subscription (Team plan: ~$120/user/month) with optional pay-per-use for Translation Memory matches, machine translation, and AI features.

## Prerequisites
- Lokalise Admin role for billing access
- Understanding of translation workflow (human, MT, or hybrid)
- Access to project usage statistics

## Instructions

### Step 1: Audit Current Spending
```bash
set -euo pipefail
# Check project stats: keys, words, languages
curl "https://api.lokalise.com/api2/projects/PROJECT_ID/statistics" \
  -H "X-Api-Token: $LOKALISE_API_TOKEN" | \
  jq '{
    total_keys: .statistics.keys_total,
    words_total: .statistics.words_total,
    languages: .statistics.languages_total,
    translated_pct: .statistics.progress_total
  }'
```

### Step 2: Reduce Per-Seat Costs
```yaml
# Instead of adding every translator as a full seat:
optimization_strategies:
  use_contributor_groups: true  # Share access via groups instead of individual invites
  use_task_based_access: true   # Add translators only when tasks are active, remove after
  leverage_translation_agencies: true  # Agency integration avoids individual seats

# Cost comparison:
# 10 individual seats: ~$1,200/month
# 3 seats + agency integration: ~$360/month + agency per-word fees
```

### Step 3: Maximize Translation Memory Hits
```typescript
// Before sending new keys for translation, check TM coverage
const tmSearch = await lok.translationProviders().list({ project_id: projectId });
// Keys with 100% TM match = $0 translation cost
// Keys with fuzzy match (75-99%) = reduced cost
// Keys with no match = full translation cost

// Strategy: translate similar projects sequentially to build TM, not in parallel
```

### Step 4: Use Machine Translation Strategically
```bash
set -euo pipefail
# Pre-translate low-risk content with MT, reserve human for critical strings
curl -X POST "https://api.lokalise.com/api2/projects/PROJECT_ID/files/download" \
  -H "X-Api-Token: $LOKALISE_API_TOKEN" \
  -d '{
    "format": "json",
    "filter_untranslated": true
  }'
# Identify untranslated keys, apply MT only to: tooltips, help text, logs
# Keep human translation for: UI labels, marketing copy, legal text
```

### Step 5: Clean Up Unused Keys
```bash
set -euo pipefail
# Find keys not used in code (phantom keys waste per-word costs)
curl "https://api.lokalise.com/api2/projects/PROJECT_ID/keys?filter_archived=include&limit=500" \  # HTTP 500 Internal Server Error
  -H "X-Api-Token: $LOKALISE_API_TOKEN" | \
  jq '.keys[] | select(.is_archived == false) | {key_name: .key_name.web, translations_count: (.translations | length), modified: .modified_at}'
# Cross-reference with source code to find orphaned keys
# Archive unused keys to stop paying for their translations
```

## Error Handling
| Issue | Cause | Solution |
|-------|-------|----------|
| High per-word costs | Human translating MT-suitable content | Apply MT to low-risk strings first |
| Seat costs growing | Adding contractors as full seats | Use contributor groups and task-based access |
| TM not matching | Different key naming across projects | Standardize key names to improve TM reuse |
| Budget overrun | New languages added without planning | Budget per-language before adding to projects |

## Examples

**Basic usage**: Apply lokalise cost tuning to a standard project setup with default configuration options.

**Advanced scenario**: Customize lokalise cost tuning for production environments with multiple constraints and team-specific requirements.

## Output

- Configuration files or code changes applied to the project
- Validation report confirming correct implementation
- Summary of changes made and their rationale

## Resources

- Official monitoring documentation
- Community best practices and patterns
- Related skills in this plugin pack