XLIFF (XML Localization Interchange File Format) is the open standard for moving translatable text between systems. A CMS, design tool, or authoring platform exports an XLIFF file containing the source text broken into segments, with context notes and placeholders for formatting. Translators work on it in their tools, and the completed file is imported back — structure untouched.
The format solves a practical problem: without it, translation happens by copy-pasting text out of files and back in, which breaks layouts, loses formatting tags, and makes version control impossible. XLIFF keeps the text separate from the code, so translators never touch your markup and engineers never touch the translations.
XLIFF also carries the metadata professional workflows depend on: segment status, translator notes, terminology matches, and translation memory leverage. Versions 1.2 and 2.x both remain in wide use; most tools read both.
MediaLocalize accepts and delivers XLIFF natively. If your website, app, or documentation system can export XLIFF, we can plug directly into your release process — translations return as files that import cleanly, with no manual reassembly.