From 567ee506a190c8e531ca163ba1d73d6bfac444e9 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: ASTROWwwW <loulouyt113@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, 21 Jul 2026 16:50:25 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] feat(es_extended): fall back to English for missing locale
 keys

When a key is absent from the active locale, Translate now borrows the English string instead of returning a placeholder. Locale loading is factored out so the target and English tables are lazily cached. Toggle with the esx:localeFallback convar (on by default) or per-resource Config.LocaleFallback.
---
 [core]/es_extended/locale.lua             | 44 +++++++++++++++++------
 [core]/es_extended/shared/config/main.lua |  5 +++
 2 files changed, 39 insertions(+), 10 deletions(-)

diff --git a/[core]/es_extended/locale.lua b/[core]/es_extended/locale.lua
index 3f059b62..8b909f30 100644
--- a/[core]/es_extended/locale.lua
+++ b/[core]/es_extended/locale.lua
@@ -1,20 +1,35 @@
 Locales = {}
 
+--- English fallback for missing keys. locale.lua runs in every resource VM, so
+--- a resource may opt out through its own Config.LocaleFallback; otherwise the
+--- shared "esx:localeFallback" convar decides (enabled by default).
+local function localeFallbackEnabled()
+    if Config.LocaleFallback ~= nil then
+        return Config.LocaleFallback
+    end
+
+    return GetConvar("esx:localeFallback", "true") ~= "false"
+end
+
+--- Lazily load and cache a locale file, false if it cannot be read
+local function loadLocale(locale)
+    if Locales[locale] == nil then
+        local success, result = pcall(function()
+            return assert(load(LoadResourceFile(GetCurrentResourceName(), ("locales/%s.lua"):format(locale))))()
+        end)
+
+        Locales[locale] = success and result or false
+    end
+
+    return Locales[locale]
+end
+
 function Translate(str, ...) -- Translate string
     if not str then
         error(("Resource ^5%s^1 You did not specify a parameter for the Translate function or the value is nil!"):format(GetInvokingResource() or GetCurrentResourceName()))
     end
 
-    --- Load the locale file if it hasn't been loaded yet
-    if Locales[Config.Locale] == nil then
-        local success, result = pcall(function()
-            return assert(load(LoadResourceFile(GetCurrentResourceName(), ("locales/%s.lua"):format(Config.Locale))))()
-        end)
-
-        Locales[Config.Locale] = success and result or false
-    end
-
-    local translations = Locales[Config.Locale]
+    local translations = loadLocale(Config.Locale)
     if not translations then
         if Config.Locale == "en" then
             return "Locale [en] does not exist"
@@ -29,6 +44,15 @@ function Translate(str, ...) -- Translate string
         return translations[str]:format(...)
     end
 
+    -- The locale exists but is missing this key: borrow the English string
+    -- rather than surfacing a placeholder.
+    if Config.Locale ~= "en" and localeFallbackEnabled() then
+        local english = loadLocale("en")
+        if english and english[str] then
+            return english[str]:format(...)
+        end
+    end
+
     return ("Translation [%s][%s] does not exist"):format(Config.Locale, str)
 end
 
diff --git a/[core]/es_extended/shared/config/main.lua b/[core]/es_extended/shared/config/main.lua
index 0bb55117..a1194e45 100644
--- a/[core]/es_extended/shared/config/main.lua
+++ b/[core]/es_extended/shared/config/main.lua
@@ -4,6 +4,11 @@ local txAdminLocale = GetConvar("txAdmin-locale", "en")
 local esxLocale = GetConvar("esx:locale", "invalid")
 Config.Locale = (esxLocale ~= "invalid") and esxLocale or (txAdminLocale ~= "custom" and txAdminLocale) or "en"
 
+-- When a key is missing from the active locale, fall back to the English string
+-- instead of returning a placeholder. Set convar "esx:localeFallback" to "false"
+-- to keep the placeholder (useful when authoring a new translation).
+Config.LocaleFallback = GetConvar("esx:localeFallback", "true") ~= "false"
+
 -- For ox inventory, this will automatically be adjusted, do not change! For other inventories, leave as false unless specifically instructed to change.
 Config.CustomInventory = false