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EPIC(docs): review, partially restructure, and fully localize documentation to Chinese #5482

Description

@SparkofSpike

Why

CodeWhale is a large project with a growing Chinese user base. Many docs under
docs/ are English-only, which creates a real barrier for Chinese-speaking
users who aren't fluent in English. Machine translation introduces errors, and
worse, several source documents are already stale or carry outdated information.
Maintaining the docs — auditing them, restructuring where needed, and delivering
a complete Chinese localization — is no longer optional.

The Indonesian localization (10 .id.md files) already proves the pattern works.
Chinese deserves the same treatment, and the existing .zh-CN.md suffix pattern
(two files: LSP_PHP_CUSTOM.zh-CN.md, WINDOWS_BEGINNER.zh-CN.md) should be
consolidated into a zh_hans/ folder for discoverability and maintainability.

Tier 1 — audit and restructure the docs tree

Audit every English doc for freshness, then restructure the tree so translated
docs live in a dedicated zh_hans/ folder alongside the existing .id.md suffix
files (which should also eventually move to id/).

  • Audit all top-level docs/*.md for correctness against the current
    v0.9.x codebase; flag stale content, broken links, and outdated commands.
    Priority: INSTALL.md, GUIDE.md, CONFIGURATION.md, FLEET.md,
    KEYBINDINGS.md, MODES.md, PROVIDERS.md.
  • Move the two existing Chinese translations into docs/zh_hans/:
    LSP_PHP_CUSTOM.zh-CN.md → docs/zh_hans/LSP_PHP_CUSTOM.md
    WINDOWS_BEGINNER.zh-CN.md → docs/zh_hans/WINDOWS_BEGINNER.md
    Keep the original .zh-CN.md files as symlinks or redirect stubs for one
    release cycle, then remove.
  • Add a docs/zh_hans/README.md (简体中文阅读指南) — a guided reading index
    for Chinese users, ordered by experience level:
    1. 零基础 (absolute beginner): WINDOWS_BEGINNER.md, HarmonyOS.md, INSTALL.md
    2. 入门用户 (getting started): GUIDE.md, KEYBINDINGS.md, MODES.md, PROVIDERS.md
    3. 进阶用户 (power user): CONFIGURATION.md, FLEET.md, MCP.md, HOOKS.md, SUBAGENTS.md, TOOL_SURFACE.md, AGENT_RUNTIME.md
    4. 开发者 (developer): ARCHITECTURE.md, CONTRIBUTING.md, CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md, RUNTIME_API.md

Tier 2 — complete Chinese localization (user-facing docs, priority order)

Translate every user-facing doc. These are the docs a Chinese user hits when
installing, configuring, or troubleshooting CodeWhale. Each translation lives
in docs/zh_hans/<name>.md and keeps the English filename stem so the mapping
is obvious.

Must-have (blocking for a "complete" Chinese docs experience)

  • INSTALL.md → docs/zh_hans/INSTALL.md (39 KB — every user's first stop)
  • GUIDE.md → docs/zh_hans/GUIDE.md (27 KB — first-hour walkthrough)
  • CONFIGURATION.md → docs/zh_hans/CONFIGURATION.md (154 KB — largest doc;
    can ship in sections: core config first, advanced options later)
  • KEYBINDINGS.md → docs/zh_hans/KEYBINDINGS.md (19 KB)
  • FLEET.md → docs/zh_hans/FLEET.md (38 KB)
  • MODES.md → docs/zh_hans/MODES.md (21 KB)
  • MCP.md → docs/zh_hans/MCP.md (17 KB)
  • PROVIDERS.md → docs/zh_hans/PROVIDERS.md (91 KB — Chinese users
    especially need this for domestic model providers)
  • HOOKS.md → docs/zh_hans/HOOKS.md (29 KB)
  • SUBAGENTS.md → docs/zh_hans/SUBAGENTS.md (35 KB)
  • SKILLS.md → docs/zh_hans/SKILLS.md (15 KB)
  • AGENT_RUNTIME.md → docs/zh_hans/AGENT_RUNTIME.md (17 KB)
  • TELEMETRY.md → docs/zh_hans/TELEMETRY.md (29 KB)
  • TOOL_LIFECYCLE.md → docs/zh_hans/TOOL_LIFECYCLE.md (26 KB)

Should-have (important but can follow the must-have wave)

  • PLUGINS.md → docs/zh_hans/PLUGINS.md (4.5 KB)
  • PLUGIN_BUNDLES.md → docs/zh_hans/PLUGIN_BUNDLES.md (19 KB)
  • MEMORY.md → docs/zh_hans/MEMORY.md (8 KB)
  • SANDBOX.md → docs/zh_hans/SANDBOX.md (9 KB)
  • WEB.md → docs/zh_hans/WEB.md (3.7 KB)
  • WORKFLOW_AUTHORING.md → docs/zh_hans/WORKFLOW_AUTHORING.md (7.7 KB)
  • FLEET_WORKFLOW_TUTORIAL.md → docs/zh_hans/FLEET_WORKFLOW_TUTORIAL.md (10.8 KB)
  • DOCKER.md → docs/zh_hans/DOCKER.md (10.5 KB)
  • TERMUX.md → docs/zh_hans/TERMUX.md (5.4 KB)
  • ACCESSIBILITY.md → docs/zh_hans/ACCESSIBILITY.md (6.8 KB)
  • CACHE.md → docs/zh_hans/CACHE.md (5.7 KB)
  • CATALOG_REFRESH.md → docs/zh_hans/CATALOG_REFRESH.md (10 KB)
  • BUILD_PERFORMANCE.md → docs/zh_hans/BUILD_PERFORMANCE.md (24 KB)
  • VOICE.md → docs/zh_hans/VOICE.md (2.5 KB)
  • LOCALIZATION.md → docs/zh_hans/LOCALIZATION.md (17 KB)
  • REBRAND.md → docs/zh_hans/REBRAND.md (11 KB)
  • HarmonyOS.md → docs/zh_hans/HarmonyOS.md (5.5 KB — especially relevant
    for Chinese users on Huawei devices)
  • CNB_MIRROR.md → docs/zh_hans/CNB_MIRROR.md (8.7 KB — especially
    relevant for Chinese users behind the GFW)

Tier 3 — developer and internal docs (nice-to-have, lower priority)

These docs are primarily for contributors and power users. Translate them when
Tier 2 is complete and there is community demand.

  • ARCHITECTURE.md → docs/zh_hans/ARCHITECTURE.md (21.5 KB)
  • AGENT_ETHOS.md → docs/zh_hans/AGENT_ETHOS.md (3 KB)
  • AUTHORIZATION_ORDER.md → docs/zh_hans/AUTHORIZATION_ORDER.md (9 KB)
  • AUTOMATIC_WORKFLOWS.md → docs/zh_hans/AUTOMATIC_WORKFLOWS.md (7 KB)
  • COMMAND_CONTROL_PLANE.md → docs/zh_hans/COMMAND_CONTROL_PLANE.md (7 KB)
  • ENVIRONMENTS.md → docs/zh_hans/ENVIRONMENTS.md (2 KB)
  • LEGACY_PATHS.md → docs/zh_hans/LEGACY_PATHS.md (3 KB)
  • LIVE_SMOKE.md → docs/zh_hans/LIVE_SMOKE.md (8 KB)
  • OPERATIONS_RUNBOOK.md → docs/zh_hans/OPERATIONS_RUNBOOK.md (3.7 KB)
  • RUNTIME_API.md → docs/zh_hans/RUNTIME_API.md (53 KB)
  • TOOL_SURFACE.md → docs/zh_hans/TOOL_SURFACE.md (14 KB)
  • WORKROOM_ARCHITECTURE.md → docs/zh_hans/WORKROOM_ARCHITECTURE.md (5 KB)
  • WORKROOM_SECURITY.md → docs/zh_hans/WORKROOM_SECURITY.md (4 KB)

Out of scope (not suitable for translation)

  • docs/rfcs/* — internal design RFCs; change frequently, audience is
    contributors who read English
  • docs/design/* — design notes; same reasoning
  • docs/architecture/* — architecture notes; same reasoning
  • docs/decisions/* — decision records; same reasoning
  • docs/skills/* — skill definitions already include English identifiers
  • docs/schemas/* — machine-readable schemas
  • docs/examples/* — code/config examples; code stays English
  • docs/images/* — binary assets
  • docs/releases/* — release notes
  • CHANGELOG_ARCHIVE.md — 276 KB historical archive; not worth translating
  • CONTRIBUTORS.md — 57 KB contributor list; auto-generated
  • ACP_REGISTRY_SUBMISSION.md, CLAUDE_PLUGIN_COMPAT.md, ISSUE_TRIAGE.md,
    MOTION_CONTRACT.md, POST_0_9_1_SEAMS.md, PREVIEW_REQUEST.md,
    RECEIPTS.md, RELEASE_CHECKLIST.md, RELEASE_RUNBOOK.md,
    SETTINGS_PICKER_FRAMEWORK.md, WORKFLOW_EXPERIMENTAL_SEARCH.md,
    CLASSROOM_INSTALL.md, INTEGRATIONS_DSH.md, MODEL_LAB.md —
    internal process docs; English-only is fine

Mechanism

  • Each translated doc lives at docs/zh_hans/<name>.md with the same filename
    stem as the English source.
  • docs/zh_hans/README.md is the canonical Chinese reading index.
  • English docs link to their Chinese counterparts with a language switcher
    banner at the top (e.g. > 阅读简体中文版:[zh_hans/INSTALL.md]).
  • Chinese docs include a back-link to the English source and a "last synced
    with English revision" date so staleness is visible.
  • LOCALIZATION.md gains a "Docs translations" table tracking per-doc status
    (shipped / partial / planned / deferred).

Activity

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