# Translating the map

> Change every word the map shows, without touching any code.

Every piece of text on the map lives in one plain file:

```
config/locales/en.json
```

## 1. Copy it

Copy `en.json` to a new file named after your language, for example `lt.json`, in the same folder.

## 2. Translate it

Open it in any text editor. It looks like this:

```json
{
  "search.placeholder": "Search locations, zones, postal codes...",
  "pause.resume": "Resume",
  "ui.rotation_north": "North up"
}
```

Change the text on the **right** of each colon — never the keys on the left, and never remove the quotes or the commas. Leave anything in `{curly braces}` as it is: `{count} online` becomes `{count} prisijungę`, not `{skaičius} prisijungę`.

## 3. Switch to it

In `config/config.lua`:

```lua
locale = 'lt',
```

Restart the resource: `restart nobit_map`.

> [!TIP]
> **A partial translation is safe.** Anything you leave out stays in English, so you can translate ten lines today and the rest next week. A translation made for an older version keeps working after an update.

> [!WARNING]
> Updates may replace `en.json`. Keep your translation in its **own** file (like `lt.json`) so an update never overwrites it.