Jay
sphinx-doc/sphinx

fix: correct format specifiers in fa and el PO translations

Fixed three Python brace-format string errors in Sphinx fa and el locale .po files that cause msgfmt compilation failures. Each msgstr now uses the correct format field names matching its msgid.

CLOSEDsphinx-doc/sphinxPR #144522026-05-27
Problem
  • Issue #14347 reported that msgfmt compilation fails for fa and el locale .po files with format specifier errors.
  • fa/LC_MESSAGES/sphinx.po line 599: msgstr uses {permitted} instead of {default.__name__}
  • el/LC_MESSAGES/sphinx.po line 591: msgstr has unterminated format specifiers ({name]) and wrong bracket type ([current__name__})
  • el/LC_MESSAGES/sphinx.po line 598: msgstr uses {current__name__} and {default__name__} (underscore) instead of {current.__name__} and {default.__name__} (dot notation)
  • No overlapping PR found for #14347.
What changed
  • sphinx/locale/fa/LC_MESSAGES/sphinx.po: changed {permitted} to {default.__name__} in msgstr
  • sphinx/locale/el/LC_MESSAGES/sphinx.po: fixed unterminated {name] to {name} and [current__name__} to {current.__name__}
  • sphinx/locale/el/LC_MESSAGES/sphinx.po: fixed {current__name__} to {current.__name__} and {default__name__} to {default.__name__}
Tests
  • Verified each fixed msgstr parses to the same set of Python format fields as its msgid using string.Formatter
  • msgfmt not available on build machine - verified correctness through field name matching
Files changed
  • sphinx/locale/el/LC_MESSAGES/sphinx.po
  • sphinx/locale/fa/LC_MESSAGES/sphinx.po
Updates / timeline
  • 2026-05-27T22:10:24Z — Read the Docs build completed successfully for PR #14452. Combined CI status is now all green (success). Open
Lessons learned
  • Translation .po files with python-brace-format must have identical format field names in msgstr as msgid
  • The format specifier dots (current.__name__) are significant in Python brace format strings
  • Sphinx locale files are maintained in the main sphinx repo under sphinx/locale/
  • Translation errors in .po files block django-admin compilemessages for the entire Sphinx package
Next steps
  • Waiting for maintainer review now that CI is fully green.

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