Serializers

All serializers extend BaseTranslatableSerializer, which itself extends DRF's ModelSerializer. They override to_representation to replace translatable field values with their translated equivalents before the response is returned.

Choosing a serializer

Serializer	Field output	Writable
TranslatableDBSerializer	Single string (active language)	No
TranslatableDBDictSerializer	{"en": "...", "es": "..."} dict	No
TranslatableWritableDBDictSerializer	{"en": "...", "es": "..."} dict	Yes
TranslatableGettextSerializer	Single string via gettext	No
TranslatableGettextDictSerializer	Dict via gettext for all languages	No

---

TranslatableDBSerializer

Returns the translation for the active request language as a plain string, falling back to the original field value when no translation exists.

from django_localekit.drf.serializers import TranslatableDBSerializer

class ArticleSerializer(TranslatableDBSerializer):
    class Meta:
        model = Article
        fields = "__all__"

Response (Accept-Language: es):

{
  "id": 1,
  "title": "Hola Mundo",
  "body": "Un artículo de ejemplo."
}

---

TranslatableDBDictSerializer

Returns all available translations as a dictionary keyed by language code. The original language value is always included under LANGUAGE_CODE.

from django_localekit.drf.serializers import TranslatableDBDictSerializer

class ArticleSerializer(TranslatableDBDictSerializer):
    class Meta:
        model = Article
        fields = "__all__"

Response:

{
  "id": 1,
  "title": {"en": "Hello World", "es": "Hola Mundo", "fr": "Bonjour le Monde"},
  "body": {"en": "A sample article.", "es": "Un artículo de ejemplo."}
}

---

TranslatableWritableDBDictSerializer

Same read output as TranslatableDBDictSerializer, but also accepts dict input on create and update. The primary-language value is saved to the model field; all other language values are saved as Translation rows.

from django_localekit.drf.serializers import TranslatableWritableDBDictSerializer

class ArticleSerializer(TranslatableWritableDBDictSerializer):
    class Meta:
        model = Article
        fields = "__all__"

POST / PUT request body:

{
  "title": {"en": "Hello World", "es": "Hola Mundo"},
  "body": {"en": "A sample article.", "es": "Un artículo de ejemplo."}
}

The "en" values are written to the model; the "es" values are stored as translations.

Note

If a field receives a plain string instead of a dict, it is saved as-is (no translations are created for that field).

---

TranslatableGettextSerializer

Returns a single string translated via Django's standard gettext mechanism. Use this when your translations live in .po/.mo files (managed by makemessages / compilemessages) rather than in the database.

from django_localekit.drf.serializers import TranslatableGettextSerializer

class ArticleSerializer(TranslatableGettextSerializer):
    class Meta:
        model = Article
        fields = "__all__"

The active language is determined by the request (via LocaleMiddleware).

---

TranslatableGettextDictSerializer

Returns a dict of gettext translations for all configured languages. Only languages where the translation differs from the source string are included.

from django_localekit.drf.serializers import TranslatableGettextDictSerializer

class ArticleSerializer(TranslatableGettextDictSerializer):
    class Meta:
        model = Article
        fields = "__all__"

Response:

{
  "id": 1,
  "title": {"en": "Hello World", "es": "Hola Mundo"}
}

---

Restricting translatable fields

By default, all fields listed in Model.translatable_fields are translated. Override this in the serializer's Meta:

class ArticleSerializer(TranslatableDBSerializer):
    class Meta:
        model = Article
        fields = "__all__"
        translatable_fields = ["title"]  # only translate title, leave body as-is

Pass "__all__" (string) to explicitly use all of the model's translatable fields:

        translatable_fields = "__all__"