Languages API

The Languages API provides endpoints for managing languages and language overrides in Joomla.

Base URL

/api/index.php/v1/languages

Endpoints Overview

Content Languages

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/languages/content	Retrieve all content languages
GET	/languages/content/{id}	Retrieve specific language
POST	/languages/content	Create new content language
PATCH	/languages/content/{id}	Update content language
DELETE	/languages/content/{id}	Delete content language

Language Overrides

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	/languages/overrides/{app}/{lang}	Retrieve overrides
POST	/languages/overrides/{app}/{lang}	Create override
PATCH	/languages/overrides/{app}/{lang}/{key}	Update override
DELETE	/languages/overrides/{app}/{lang}/{key}	Delete override

Content Languages

Retrieve all content languages

GET /api/index.php/v1/languages/content

Response

{
    "data": [
        {
            "type": "languages",
            "id": "1",
            "attributes": {
                "lang_code": "en-GB",
                "title": "English (UK)",
                "title_native": "English",
                "sef": "en",
                "image": "en_gb",
                "description": "",
                "metakey": "",
                "metadesc": "",
                "sitename": "",
                "published": 1,
                "access": 1,
                "ordering": 1
            }
        }
    ]
}

Create content language

POST /api/index.php/v1/languages/content

Request Body

{
    "lang_code": "de-DE",
    "title": "German (DE)",
    "title_native": "Deutsch",
    "sef": "de",
    "image": "de_de",
    "published": 1,
    "access": 1
}

Required fields

Field	Type	Description
lang_code	string	Language code (e.g. en-GB)
title	string	Language title
title_native	string	Native name of the language
sef	string	SEF prefix for URLs

Optional fields

Field	Type	Default	Description
image	string	""	Flag image code
description	string	""	Description
metakey	string	""	Meta keywords
metadesc	string	""	Meta description
sitename	string	""	Site name for language
published	int	1	Publication status
access	int	1	Access level

Example

curl -X POST "https://yoursite.com/api/index.php/v1/languages/content" \
  -H "X-Joomla-Token: YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "lang_code": "fr-FR",
    "title": "French (FR)",
    "title_native": "Français",
    "sef": "fr"
  }'

Update content language

PATCH /api/index.php/v1/languages/content/{id}

Example

curl -X PATCH "https://yoursite.com/api/index.php/v1/languages/content/1" \
  -H "X-Joomla-Token: YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "sitename": "My English Site"
  }'

Language Overrides

Language overrides allow you to customize default Joomla translations.

Retrieve overrides

GET /api/index.php/v1/languages/overrides/{app}/{lang}

Parameter	Values	Description
app	site, administrator	Frontend or backend
lang	en-GB, nl-NL, etc.	Language code

Example

curl -X GET "https://yoursite.com/api/index.php/v1/languages/overrides/site/en-GB" \
  -H "X-Joomla-Token: YOUR_API_TOKEN"

Response

{
    "data": [
        {
            "type": "language-overrides",
            "attributes": {
                "key": "MOD_LOGIN_VALUE_USERNAME",
                "value": "Username",
                "app": "site",
                "language": "en-GB"
            }
        }
    ]
}

Create override

POST /api/index.php/v1/languages/overrides/{app}/{lang}

Request Body

{
    "key": "CUSTOM_LANGUAGE_STRING",
    "value": "My custom text"
}

Example

curl -X POST "https://yoursite.com/api/index.php/v1/languages/overrides/site/en-GB" \
  -H "X-Joomla-Token: YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "key": "MOD_LOGIN_VALUE_USERNAME",
    "value": "Email address"
  }'

Update override

PATCH /api/index.php/v1/languages/overrides/{app}/{lang}/{key}

Example

curl -X PATCH "https://yoursite.com/api/index.php/v1/languages/overrides/site/en-GB/MOD_LOGIN_VALUE_USERNAME" \
  -H "X-Joomla-Token: YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "value": "New translation"
  }'

Delete override

DELETE /api/index.php/v1/languages/overrides/{app}/{lang}/{key}

Example

curl -X DELETE "https://yoursite.com/api/index.php/v1/languages/overrides/site/en-GB/MOD_LOGIN_VALUE_USERNAME" \
  -H "X-Joomla-Token: YOUR_API_TOKEN"

Installed Languages

Retrieve installed languages

GET /api/index.php/v1/languages/installed

This shows all installed language packages.

Language States

Value	Status
-2	Trash
0	Unpublished
1	Published

Common Language Codes

Code	Language
en-GB	English (UK)
en-US	English (US)
nl-NL	Dutch
de-DE	German
fr-FR	French
es-ES	Spanish
it-IT	Italian
pt-BR	Portuguese (BR)

Multilingual Site Setup

For a multilingual site you need:

1. Install language packages via Extension Manager
2. Create Content Languages via this API
3. Activate Language Filter plugin
4. Link languages to menu items

tip

Use the System - Language Filter plugin to automatically detect the correct language based on browser settings or URL prefix.

Example: Search language strings

To find which key to override:

# Search in Joomla language files
grep -r "Username" /path/to/joomla/language/en-GB/

Or use the Language Overrides tool in the Joomla administrator.