Two questions most users have before connecting a repo: what exactly gets changed, and can it break anything?
What the scan does (read-only)
Connecting your repo triggers a scan: globalize.now reads the codebase to detect your framework, whether an i18n library is already configured, and how much hardcoded text there is. The scan changes nothing — it just decides the path and shows you what it found.
What the conversion changes
If you approve the preparation step, globalize.now works on a clone of your repo — doing the i18n work and translations in parallel, safely — and makes the i18n groundwork changes: components rewritten to use translation keys instead of hardcoded strings, the right i18n library installed and configured, locale files generated, translations filled in. It also installs the globalize skills — plain-text instructions that set your coding agent up to work with globalize, with no separate install.
Will it change your code permanently?
No. The result arrives on a globalize branch, not your default branch. You review the full diff like any pull request — inspect every change, run the app locally, and merge only when satisfied.
What if something looks wrong?
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Don't merge. Your default branch is untouched.
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Fix specific files on the branch before merging.
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Ask us. Chat is in the app — tell us what looks off.
Nothing is force-pushed to your default branch — that's a design constraint, not a promise.
What about the ongoing translations?
Same model. When you push new text, globalize.now translates it and opens a pull request with updated locale files. You review, you merge. The app never commits directly to your default branch.
Setting up from your agent instead?
The agent path (skills in Claude Code, Cursor, or Codex) makes the same kind of changes, but locally in your editor on a branch you create — see "App, MCP, CLI, or skills — which one do I need?". The skill files themselves install to your agent's skills directory (.claude/skills/ or .agents/skills/) and never touch your app code. If you ran the in-app conversion, they're already installed.