Enabling Multi-Language Translations

Recipe Kit integrates with Shopify's translation system so your recipes can be displayed in any language your store supports. This guide walks you through the one-time setup wizard.

How It Works

Recipe Kit syncs your recipes and UI labels to Shopify as translatable data (called metaobjects). Once synced, you can use Shopify's free Translate & Adapt app to translate your recipe content into any language your store supports. Shopify automatically displays the correct language based on your customer's locale.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• A published Shopify theme that supports app blocks (most modern themes do)
• At least one secondary language added under Settings > Languages in Shopify admin
• A translation app installed. We recommend the free Translate & Adapt app

The setup wizard helps you check each of these as you go.

Starting the Setup Wizard

1. Open Recipe Kit from your Shopify admin
2. Go to Settings
3. Scroll to the Translations and Labels section and click to expand it
4. Next to Automatic translations, click Set Up

The setup wizard appears with three steps. You must complete each step in order.

Note: If you only see manual label translation options (no Set Up button), the new automatic translation system may not yet be available on your account. Reach out to support if you need it enabled.

Step 1: Verify Theme Setup

Automatic translations require the new Recipe Kit app block on your theme. The legacy widget and manually installed snippets (like recipekit.liquid    ) won't work — they need to be replaced with the app block.

When you enter Step 1, Recipe Kit checks your published theme automatically:

If the app block is detected: You'll see a green confirmation banner. The step is marked complete and you can move on.

If the app block is not detected:

1. Click Add to theme — this opens the Shopify theme editor with the Recipe Kit block ready to add
2. Place the block where you want recipes to appear (typically inside the blog post template)
3. Save the theme
4. Return to Recipe Kit and click Re-check

For more detailed instructions, please see the Installation Guide

If you've already set up the widget but the auto-check can't detect it (for example, on a vintage theme), click Skip — I'll set this up later and verify on your storefront manually.

Step 2: Install a Translation App

Recipe Kit doesn't translate recipes itself — it integrates with a translation app you choose. Shopify's Translate & Adapt app is free and works out of the box.

If you don't have a translation app yet:

1. Click Install Translate & Adapt to open the App Store
2. Install the app
3. Return to Recipe Kit and click I've installed it — continue

If you already use a translation app:

Click I already have a translation app to skip ahead. Recipe Kit will work with any Shopify-compatible translation app that supports metaobjects.

Step 3: Enable Translation System

This step syncs your existing recipes and UI labels to Shopify's translation-compatible metaobject format. This is the heaviest step — once it's done, ongoing changes sync automatically.

1. Click Enable Translations
2. Shopify will prompt you to approve additional permissions if Recipe Kit doesn't have them yet — click Approve
3. The sync starts immediately

You'll see a progress bar showing how many recipes have been synced (e.g. "Syncing recipes... 12/47"). For larger catalogs this can take a few minutes.

Tip: The sync runs in the background. You can safely leave the page and come back later.

When sync finishes, all three steps show a green checkmark and the wizard marks setup complete.

What Gets Synced

When Step 3 runs, Recipe Kit syncs the following to Shopify metaobjects:

Per recipe:

• Title, description, and recipe note
• Ingredients, directions, equipment
• Category, cuisine, and tags
• Prep time and cook time labels

Store-wide UI labels:

• Section headings (Ingredients, Directions, Equipment)
• Time labels (Prep Time, Cook Time, Servings)
• Nutrition labels (Calories, Fat, Protein, etc.)
• Action text (Add to Cart, Print, Share)

Non-translatable data (nutrition values, ratings, images) is also synced but doesn't need translation.

After Setup

Once setup is complete, the Translations section in Settings shows:

• Configured languages — badges for each secondary locale on your store
• Manage Translations — opens the Translate & Adapt app directly to your Recipe Kit metaobjects
• More actions menu (three-dot icon) with:
  • Re-sync metaobjects — force a fresh sync of all recipes and labels
  • Refresh stats — recompute the translation status counts
  • Disable translations — turn off the system (your data is preserved unless you opt to delete)

A new View translation details button also appears, showing per-locale translation progress for both labels and recipes.

Ongoing Sync

After setup, Recipe Kit keeps everything in sync automatically:

• New recipes are synced when you save them
• Updated recipes are re-synced when you save changes
• Label changes in the Customize Labels section sync when you save settings

You don't need to run the wizard again unless you disable and re-enable translations.

Troubleshooting

"Translation permissions were revoked"

If you see this banner, the metaobject permissions were removed from Recipe Kit:

1. Click Re-enable Permissions
2. Approve the permissions when Shopify prompts you
3. Your existing translations are preserved — no data is lost

Sync progress appears stuck

If the progress bar hasn't moved for over a minute:

• Close the page and come back later — the sync continues in the background
• If the wizard still shows it stuck on return, click Retry Migration to restart

Some recipes failed to sync

A warning banner shows how many recipes failed. Click Retry Failed to attempt syncing just those recipes. If failures persist, check that the recipes are saved (not in a broken or unsaved state).

Theme verification keeps failing

• Make sure you're checking your published theme, not a draft
• Confirm the Recipe Kit app block (not the legacy snippet) is added to the blog post template
• If your theme is vintage or unusual, use Skip — I'll set this up later and verify manually on your storefront

What's Next?

• Translating Recipes with Translate and Adapt — Translate your recipes into other languages
• Translating Custom Labels — Translate UI labels (Ingredients, Directions, Add to Cart, etc.)
• Maintaining Recipe Translations — Keep translations up to date as your recipes change