MSGCMP(1)

NAME
msgcmp - compare message catalog and template

SYNOPSIS
msgcmp [OPTION] def.po ref.pot

DESCRIPTION

Compare two Uniforum style .po files to check that both contain the same set of msgid strings. The def.po file is an existing PO file with the translations. The ref.pot file is the last created PO file, or a PO Template file (generally created by xgettext). This is useful for checking that you have translated each and every message in your program. Where an exact match cannot be found, fuzzy matching is used to produce better diagnostics.

Mandatory arguments to long options are mandatory for short options too.

  Input file location:

def.po
    translations

ref.pot
    references to the sources

-D, --directory=DIRECTORY
    add DIRECTORY to list for input files search

  Operation modifiers:

-m, --multi-domain
    apply ref.pot to each of the domains in def.po

-N, --no-fuzzy-matching
    do not use fuzzy matching

--use-fuzzy
    consider fuzzy entries

--use-untranslated
    consider untranslated entries

  Input file syntax:

-P, --properties-input
    input files are in Java .properties syntax

--stringtable-input
    input files are in NeXTstep/GNUstep .strings syntax

  Informative output:

-h, --help
    display this help and exit

-V, --version
    output version information and exit

AUTHOR
Written by Peter Miller.

REPORTING BUGS
Report bugs in the bug tracker at <https://savannah.gnu.org/projects/gettext> or by email to <bug-gettext@gnu.org>.

COPYRIGHT
Copyright © 1995-2026 Free Software Foundation, Inc. License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <https://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>
This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it. There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.

SEE ALSO
The full documentation for msgcmp is maintained as a Texinfo manual. If the info and msgcmp programs are properly installed at your site, the command

    info msgcmp

should give you access to the complete manual.