ASP.NET Core Blazor globalization and localization

Note

This isn't the latest version of this article. For the current release, see the .NET 8 version of this article.

This article explains how to render globalized and localized content to users in different cultures and languages.

Globalization and localization

For globalization, Blazor provides number and date formatting. For localization, Blazor renders content using the .NET Resources system.

A limited set of ASP.NET Core's localization features are supported:

Supported: IStringLocalizer and IStringLocalizer<T> are supported in Blazor apps.

Not supported: IHtmlLocalizer, IViewLocalizer, and Data Annotations localization are ASP.NET Core MVC features and not supported in Blazor apps.

This article describes how to use Blazor's globalization and localization features based on:

  • The Accept-Language header, which is set by the browser based on a user's language preferences in browser settings.
  • A culture set by the app not based on the value of the Accept-Language header. The setting can be static for all users or dynamic based on app logic. When the setting is based on the user's preference, the setting is usually saved for reload on future visits.

For additional general information, see the following resources:

Often, the terms language and culture are used interchangeably when dealing with globalization and localization concepts.

In this article, language refers to selections made by a user in their browser's settings. The user's language selections are submitted in browser requests in the Accept-Language header. Browser settings usually use the word "language" in the UI.

Culture pertains to members of .NET and Blazor API. For example, a user's request can include the Accept-Language header specifying a language from the user's perspective, but the app ultimately sets the CurrentCulture ("culture") property from the language that the user requested. API usually uses the word "culture" in its member names.

Note

The code examples in this article adopt nullable reference types (NRTs) and .NET compiler null-state static analysis, which are supported in ASP.NET Core in .NET 6 or later. When targeting ASP.NET Core 5.0 or earlier, remove the null type designation (?) from the article's examples.

Globalization

The @bind attribute directive applies formats and parses values for display based on the user's first preferred language that the app supports. @bind supports the @bind:culture parameter to provide a System.Globalization.CultureInfo for parsing and formatting a value.

The current culture can be accessed from the System.Globalization.CultureInfo.CurrentCulture property.

CultureInfo.InvariantCulture is used for the following field types (<input type="{TYPE}" />, where the {TYPE} placeholder is the type):

  • date
  • number

The preceding field types:

  • Are displayed using their appropriate browser-based formatting rules.
  • Can't contain free-form text.
  • Provide user interaction characteristics based on the browser's implementation.

When using the date and number field types, specifying a culture with @bind:culture isn't recommended because Blazor provides built-in support to render values in the current culture.

The following field types have specific formatting requirements and aren't currently supported by Blazor because they aren't supported by all of the major browsers:

  • datetime-local
  • month
  • week

For current browser support of the preceding types, see Can I use.

.NET globalization and International Components for Unicode (ICU) support (Blazor WebAssembly)

Blazor WebAssembly uses a reduced globalization API and set of built-in International Components for Unicode (ICU) locales. For more information, see .NET globalization and ICU: ICU on WebAssembly.

To load a custom ICU data file to control the app's locales, see WASM Globalization Icu. Currently, manually building the custom ICU data file is required. .NET tooling to ease the process of creating the file is planned for .NET 9 in November, 2024.

Blazor WebAssembly uses a reduced globalization API and set of built-in International Components for Unicode (ICU) locales. For more information, see .NET globalization and ICU: ICU on WebAssembly.

Loading a custom subset of locales in a Blazor WebAssembly app is supported in .NET 8 or later. For more information, access this section for an 8.0 or later version of this article.

Invariant globalization

If the app doesn't require localization, configure the app to support the invariant culture, which is generally based on United States English (en-US). Set the InvariantGlobalization property to true in the app's project file (.csproj):

<PropertyGroup>
  <InvariantGlobalization>true</InvariantGlobalization>
</PropertyGroup>

Alternatively, configure invariant globalization with the following approaches:

  • In runtimeconfig.json:

    {
      "runtimeOptions": {
        "configProperties": {
          "System.Globalization.Invariant": true
        }
      }
    }
    
  • With an environment variable:

    • Key: DOTNET_SYSTEM_GLOBALIZATION_INVARIANT
    • Value: true or 1

For more information, see Runtime configuration options for globalization (.NET documentation).

Demonstration component

The following CultureExample1 component can be used to demonstrate Blazor globalization and localization concepts covered by this article.

CultureExample1.razor:

@page "/culture-example-1"
@using System.Globalization

<h1>Culture Example 1</h1>

<p>
    <b>CurrentCulture</b>: @CultureInfo.CurrentCulture
</p>

<h2>Rendered values</h2>

<ul>
    <li><b>Date</b>: @dt</li>
    <li><b>Number</b>: @number.ToString("N2")</li>
</ul>

<h2><code>&lt;input&gt;</code> elements that don't set a <code>type</code></h2>

<p>
    The following <code>&lt;input&gt;</code> elements use
    <code>CultureInfo.CurrentCulture</code>.
</p>

<ul>
    <li><label><b>Date:</b> <input @bind="dt" /></label></li>
    <li><label><b>Number:</b> <input @bind="number" /></label></li>
</ul>

<h2><code>&lt;input&gt;</code> elements that set a <code>type</code></h2>

<p>
    The following <code>&lt;input&gt;</code> elements use
    <code>CultureInfo.InvariantCulture</code>.
</p>

<ul>
    <li><label><b>Date:</b> <input type="date" @bind="dt" /></label></li>
    <li><label><b>Number:</b> <input type="number" @bind="number" /></label></li>
</ul>

@code {
    private DateTime dt = DateTime.Now;
    private double number = 1999.69;
}

The number string format (N2) in the preceding example (.ToString("N2")) is a standard .NET numeric format specifier. The N2 format is supported for all numeric types, includes a group separator, and renders up to two decimal places.

Optionally, add a menu item to the navigation in the NavMenu component (NavMenu.razor) for the CultureExample1 component.

Dynamically set the culture from the Accept-Language header

Add the Microsoft.Extensions.Localization package to the app.

The Accept-Language header is set by the browser and controlled by the user's language preferences in browser settings. In browser settings, a user sets one or more preferred languages in order of preference. The order of preference is used by the browser to set quality values (q, 0-1) for each language in the header. The following example specifies United States English, English, and Costa Rican Spanish with a preference for United States English or English:

Accept-Language: en-US,en;q=0.9,es-CR;q=0.8

The app's culture is set by matching the first requested language that matches a supported culture of the app.

In client-side development, set the BlazorWebAssemblyLoadAllGlobalizationData property to true in the client-side app's project file (.csproj):

<PropertyGroup>
  <BlazorWebAssemblyLoadAllGlobalizationData>true</BlazorWebAssemblyLoadAllGlobalizationData>
</PropertyGroup>

In client-side development, dynamically setting the culture from the Accept-Language header isn't supported.

Note

If the app's specification requires limiting the supported cultures to an explicit list, see the Dynamically set the client-side culture by user preference section of this article.

Apps are localized using Localization Middleware. Add localization services to the app with AddLocalization.

Add the following line to the Program file where services are registered:

builder.Services.AddLocalization();

In server-side development, you can specify the app's supported cultures immediately after Routing Middleware is added to the processing pipeline. The following example configures supported cultures for United States English and Costa Rican Spanish:

app.UseRequestLocalization(new RequestLocalizationOptions()
    .AddSupportedCultures(new[] { "en-US", "es-CR" })
    .AddSupportedUICultures(new[] { "en-US", "es-CR" }));

For information on ordering the Localization Middleware in the middleware pipeline of the Program file, see ASP.NET Core Middleware.

Use the CultureExample1 component shown in the Demonstration component section to study how globalization works. Issue a request with United States English (en-US). Switch to Costa Rican Spanish (es-CR) in the browser's language settings. Request the webpage again.

Note

Some browsers force you to use the default language setting for both requests and the browser's own UI settings. This can make changing the language back to one that you understand difficult because all of the setting UI screens might end up in a language that you can't read. A browser such as Opera is a good choice for testing because it permits you to set a default language for webpage requests but leave the browser's settings UI in your language.

When the culture is United States English (en-US), the rendered component uses month/day date formatting (6/7), 12-hour time (AM/PM), and comma separators in numbers with a dot for the decimal value (1,999.69):

  • Date: 6/7/2021 6:45:22 AM
  • Number: 1,999.69

When the culture is Costa Rican Spanish (es-CR), the rendered component uses day/month date formatting (7/6), 24-hour time, and period separators in numbers with a comma for the decimal value (1.999,69):

  • Date: 7/6/2021 6:49:38
  • Number: 1.999,69

Statically set the client-side culture

Set the BlazorWebAssemblyLoadAllGlobalizationData property to true in the app's project file (.csproj):

<PropertyGroup>
  <BlazorWebAssemblyLoadAllGlobalizationData>true</BlazorWebAssemblyLoadAllGlobalizationData>
</PropertyGroup>

By default, the Intermediate Language (IL) Linker configuration for client-side rendering strips out internationalization information except for locales explicitly requested. For more information, see Configure the Linker for ASP.NET Core Blazor.

The app's culture can be set in JavaScript when Blazor starts with the applicationCulture Blazor start option. The following example configures the app to launch using the United States English (en-US) culture.

Prevent Blazor autostart by adding autostart="false" to Blazor's <script> tag:

<script src="{BLAZOR SCRIPT}" autostart="false"></script>

In the preceding example, the {BLAZOR SCRIPT} placeholder is the Blazor script path and file name. For the location of the script, see ASP.NET Core Blazor project structure.

Add the following <script> block after Blazor's <script> tag and before the closing </body> tag:

Blazor Web App:

<script>
  Blazor.start({
    webAssembly: {
      applicationCulture: 'en-US'
    }
  });
</script>

Standalone Blazor WebAssembly:

<script>
  Blazor.start({
    applicationCulture: 'en-US'
  });
</script>

The value for applicationCulture must conform to the BCP-47 language tag format. For more information on Blazor startup, see ASP.NET Core Blazor startup.

An alternative to setting the culture Blazor's start option is to set the culture in C# code. Set CultureInfo.DefaultThreadCurrentCulture and CultureInfo.DefaultThreadCurrentUICulture in the Program file to the same culture.

Add the System.Globalization namespace to the Program file:

using System.Globalization;

Add the culture settings before the line that builds and runs the WebAssemblyHostBuilder (await builder.Build().RunAsync();):

CultureInfo.DefaultThreadCurrentCulture = new CultureInfo("en-US");
CultureInfo.DefaultThreadCurrentUICulture = new CultureInfo("en-US");

Important

Always set DefaultThreadCurrentCulture and DefaultThreadCurrentUICulture to the same culture in order to use IStringLocalizer and IStringLocalizer<T>.

Use the CultureExample1 component shown in the Demonstration component section to study how globalization works. Issue a request with United States English (en-US). Switch to Costa Rican Spanish (es-CR) in the browser's language settings. Request the webpage again. When the requested language is Costa Rican Spanish, the app's culture remains United States English (en-US).

Statically set the server-side culture

Server-side apps are localized using Localization Middleware. Add localization services to the app with AddLocalization.

In the Program file:

builder.Services.AddLocalization();

Specify the static culture in the Program file immediately after Routing Middleware is added to the processing pipeline. The following example configures United States English:

app.UseRequestLocalization("en-US");

The culture value for UseRequestLocalization must conform to the BCP-47 language tag format.

For information on ordering the Localization Middleware in the middleware pipeline of the Program file, see ASP.NET Core Middleware.

Server-side apps are localized using Localization Middleware. Add localization services to the app with AddLocalization.

In Startup.ConfigureServices (Startup.cs):

services.AddLocalization();

Specify the static culture in Startup.Configure (Startup.cs) immediately after Routing Middleware is added to the processing pipeline. The following example configures United States English:

app.UseRequestLocalization("en-US");

The culture value for UseRequestLocalization must conform to the BCP-47 language tag format.

For information on ordering the Localization Middleware in the middleware pipeline of Startup.Configure, see ASP.NET Core Middleware.

Use the CultureExample1 component shown in the Demonstration component section to study how globalization works. Issue a request with United States English (en-US). Switch to Costa Rican Spanish (es-CR) in the browser's language settings. Request the webpage again. When the requested language is Costa Rican Spanish, the app's culture remains United States English (en-US).

Dynamically set the client-side culture by user preference

Examples of locations where an app might store a user's preference include in browser local storage (common for client-side scenarios), in a localization cookie or database (common for server-side scenarios), or in an external service attached to an external database and accessed by a web API. The following example demonstrates how to use browser local storage.

Add the Microsoft.Extensions.Localization package to the app.

Note

For guidance on adding packages to .NET apps, see the articles under Install and manage packages at Package consumption workflow (NuGet documentation). Confirm correct package versions at NuGet.org.

Set the BlazorWebAssemblyLoadAllGlobalizationData property to true in the project file:

<PropertyGroup>
  <BlazorWebAssemblyLoadAllGlobalizationData>true</BlazorWebAssemblyLoadAllGlobalizationData>
</PropertyGroup>

The app's culture for client-side rendering is set using the Blazor framework's API. A user's culture selection can be persisted in browser local storage.

Provide JS functions after Blazor's <script> tag to get and set the user's culture selection with browser local storage:

<script>
  window.blazorCulture = {
    get: () => window.localStorage['BlazorCulture'],
    set: (value) => window.localStorage['BlazorCulture'] = value
  };
</script>

Note

The preceding example pollutes the client with global functions. For a better approach in production apps, see JavaScript isolation in JavaScript modules.

Add the namespaces for System.Globalization and Microsoft.JSInterop to the top of the Program file:

using System.Globalization;
using Microsoft.JSInterop;

Remove the following line:

- await builder.Build().RunAsync();

Replace the preceding line with the following code. The code adds Blazor's localization service to the app's service collection with AddLocalization and uses JS interop to call into JS and retrieve the user's culture selection from local storage. If local storage doesn't contain a culture for the user, the code sets a default value of United States English (en-US).

builder.Services.AddLocalization();

var host = builder.Build();

const string defaultCulture = "en-US";

var js = host.Services.GetRequiredService<IJSRuntime>();
var result = await js.InvokeAsync<string>("blazorCulture.get");
var culture = CultureInfo.GetCulture(result ?? defaultCulture);

if (result == null)
{
    await js.InvokeVoidAsync("blazorCulture.set", defaultCulture);
}

CultureInfo.DefaultThreadCurrentCulture = culture;
CultureInfo.DefaultThreadCurrentUICulture = culture;

await host.RunAsync();

Important

Always set DefaultThreadCurrentCulture and DefaultThreadCurrentUICulture to the same culture in order to use IStringLocalizer and IStringLocalizer<T>.

The following CultureSelector component shows how to perform the following actions:

  • Set the user's culture selection into browser local storage via JS interop.
  • Reload the component that they requested (forceLoad: true), which uses the updated culture.

CultureSelector.razor:

@using  System.Globalization
@inject IJSRuntime JS
@inject NavigationManager Navigation

<p>
    <label>
        Select your locale:
        <select @bind="Culture">
            @foreach (var culture in supportedCultures)
            {
                <option value="@culture">@culture.DisplayName</option>
            }
        </select>
    </label>
</p>

@code
{
    private CultureInfo[] supportedCultures = new[]
    {
        new CultureInfo("en-US"),
        new CultureInfo("es-CR"),
    };

    private CultureInfo Culture
    {
        get => CultureInfo.CurrentCulture;
        set
        {
            if (CultureInfo.CurrentCulture != value)
            {
                var js = (IJSInProcessRuntime)JS;
                js.InvokeVoid("blazorCulture.set", value.Name);

                Navigation.NavigateTo(Navigation.Uri, forceLoad: true);
            }
        }
    }
}

Inside the closing tag of the </main> element in the MainLayout component (MainLayout.razor), add the CultureSelector component:

<article class="bottom-row px-4">
    <CultureSelector />
</article>

Use the CultureExample1 component shown in the Demonstration component section to study how the preceding example works.

Dynamically set the server-side culture by user preference

Examples of locations where an app might store a user's preference include in browser local storage (common for client-side scenarios), in a localization cookie or database (common for server-side scenarios), or in an external service attached to an external database and accessed by a web API. The following example demonstrates how to use a localization cookie.

Note

The following example assumes that the app adopts global interactivity by specifying the interactive server-side rendering (interactive SSR) on the Routes component in the App component (Components/App.razor):

<Routes @rendermode="InteractiveServer" />

If the app adopts per-page/component interactivity, see the remarks at the end of this section to modify the render modes of the example's components.

Add the Microsoft.Extensions.Localization package to the app.

Note

For guidance on adding packages to .NET apps, see the articles under Install and manage packages at Package consumption workflow (NuGet documentation). Confirm correct package versions at NuGet.org.

Server-side apps are localized using Localization Middleware. Add localization services to the app with AddLocalization.

In the Program file:

builder.Services.AddLocalization();

Set the app's default and supported cultures with RequestLocalizationOptions.

Before the call to app.MapRazorComponents in the request processing pipeline, place the following code:

After the call to app.UseRouting in the request processing pipeline, place the following code:

var supportedCultures = new[] { "en-US", "es-CR" };
var localizationOptions = new RequestLocalizationOptions()
    .SetDefaultCulture(supportedCultures[0])
    .AddSupportedCultures(supportedCultures)
    .AddSupportedUICultures(supportedCultures);

app.UseRequestLocalization(localizationOptions);

For information on ordering the Localization Middleware in the middleware pipeline, see ASP.NET Core Middleware.

The following example shows how to set the current culture in a cookie that can be read by the Localization Middleware.

The following namespaces are required for the App component:

Add the following to the top of the App component file (Components/App.razor):

@using System.Globalization
@using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Localization

Add the following @code block to the bottom of the App component file:

@code {
    [CascadingParameter]
    public HttpContext? HttpContext { get; set; }

    protected override void OnInitialized()
    {
        HttpContext?.Response.Cookies.Append(
            CookieRequestCultureProvider.DefaultCookieName,
            CookieRequestCultureProvider.MakeCookieValue(
                new RequestCulture(
                    CultureInfo.CurrentCulture,
                    CultureInfo.CurrentUICulture)));
    }
}

Modifications to the Pages/_Host.cshtml file require the following namespaces:

Add the following to the file:

@using System.Globalization
@using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Localization
@{
    this.HttpContext.Response.Cookies.Append(
        CookieRequestCultureProvider.DefaultCookieName,
        CookieRequestCultureProvider.MakeCookieValue(
            new RequestCulture(
                CultureInfo.CurrentCulture,
                CultureInfo.CurrentUICulture)));
}

For information on ordering the Localization Middleware in the middleware pipeline, see ASP.NET Core Middleware.

If the app isn't configured to process controller actions:

  • Add MVC services by calling AddControllers on the service collection in the Program file:

    builder.Services.AddControllers();
    
  • Add controller endpoint routing in the Program file by calling MapControllers on the IEndpointRouteBuilder (app):

    app.MapControllers();
    

To provide UI to allow a user to select a culture, use a redirect-based approach with a localization cookie. The app persists the user's selected culture via a redirect to a controller. The controller sets the user's selected culture into a cookie and redirects the user back to the original URI. The process is similar to what happens in a web app when a user attempts to access a secure resource, where the user is redirected to a sign-in page and then redirected back to the original resource.

Controllers/CultureController.cs:

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Localization;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;

[Route("[controller]/[action]")]
public class CultureController : Controller
{
    public IActionResult Set(string culture, string redirectUri)
    {
        if (culture != null)
        {
            HttpContext.Response.Cookies.Append(
                CookieRequestCultureProvider.DefaultCookieName,
                CookieRequestCultureProvider.MakeCookieValue(
                    new RequestCulture(culture, culture)));
        }

        return LocalRedirect(redirectUri);
    }
}

Warning

Use the LocalRedirect action result, as shown in the preceding example, to prevent open redirect attacks. For more information, see Prevent open redirect attacks in ASP.NET Core.

The following CultureSelector component shows how to call the Set method of the CultureController with the new culture. The component is placed in the Shared folder for use throughout the app.

CultureSelector.razor:

@using System.Globalization
@inject NavigationManager Navigation

<p>
    <label>
        Select your locale:
        <select @bind="Culture">
            @foreach (var culture in supportedCultures)
            {
                <option value="@culture">@culture.DisplayName</option>
            }
        </select>
    </label>
</p>

@code
{
    private CultureInfo[] supportedCultures = new[]
    {
        new CultureInfo("en-US"),
        new CultureInfo("es-CR"),
    };

    protected override void OnInitialized()
    {
        Culture = CultureInfo.CurrentCulture;
    }

    private CultureInfo Culture
    {
        get => CultureInfo.CurrentCulture;
        set
        {
            if (CultureInfo.CurrentCulture != value)
            {
                var uri = new Uri(Navigation.Uri)
                    .GetComponents(UriComponents.PathAndQuery, UriFormat.Unescaped);
                var cultureEscaped = Uri.EscapeDataString(value.Name);
                var uriEscaped = Uri.EscapeDataString(uri);

                Navigation.NavigateTo(
                    $"Culture/Set?culture={cultureEscaped}&redirectUri={uriEscaped}",
                    forceLoad: true);
            }
        }
    }
}

Add the CultureSelector component to the MainLayout component. Place the following markup inside the closing </main> tag in the Components/Layout/MainLayout.razor file:

Add the CultureSelector component to the MainLayout component. Place the following markup inside the closing </main> tag in the Shared/MainLayout.razor file:

<article class="bottom-row px-4">
    <CultureSelector />
</article>

Use the CultureExample1 component shown in the Demonstration component section to study how the preceding example works.

The preceding example assumes that the app adopts global interactivity by specifying the Interactive Server render mode on the Routes component in the App component (Components/App.razor):

<Routes @rendermode="InteractiveServer" />

If the app adopts per-page/component interactivity, make the following changes:

  • Add the Interactive Server render mode to the top of the CultureExample1 component file (Components/Pages/CultureExample1.razor):

    @rendermode InteractiveServer
    
  • In the app's main layout (Components/Layout/MainLayout.razor), apply the Interactive Server render mode to the CultureSelector component:

    <CultureSelector @rendermode="InteractiveServer" />
    

Dynamically set the culture in a Blazor Web App by user preference

This section applies to Blazor Web Apps that adopt Auto (Server and WebAssembly) interactivity.

Examples of locations where an app might store a user's preference include in browser local storage (common for client-side scenarios), in a localization cookie or database (common for server-side scenarios), both local storage and a localization cookie (Blazor Web Apps with server and WebAssembly components), or in an external service attached to an external database and accessed by a web API. The following example demonstrates how to use browser local storage for client-side rendered (CSR) components and a localization cookie for server-side rendered (SSR) components.

Updates to the .Client project

Add the Microsoft.Extensions.Localization package to the .Client project.

Note

For guidance on adding packages to .NET apps, see the articles under Install and manage packages at Package consumption workflow (NuGet documentation). Confirm correct package versions at NuGet.org.

Set the BlazorWebAssemblyLoadAllGlobalizationData property to true in the .Client project file:

<PropertyGroup>
  <BlazorWebAssemblyLoadAllGlobalizationData>true</BlazorWebAssemblyLoadAllGlobalizationData>
</PropertyGroup>

Add the namespaces for System.Globalization and Microsoft.JSInterop to the top of the .Client project's Program file:

using System.Globalization;
using Microsoft.JSInterop;

Remove the following line:

- await builder.Build().RunAsync();

Replace the preceding line with the following code. The code adds Blazor's localization service to the app's service collection with AddLocalization and uses JS interop to call into JS and retrieve the user's culture selection from local storage. If local storage doesn't contain a culture for the user, the code sets a default value of United States English (en-US).

builder.Services.AddLocalization();

var host = builder.Build();

const string defaultCulture = "en-US";

var js = host.Services.GetRequiredService<IJSRuntime>();
var result = await js.InvokeAsync<string>("blazorCulture.get");
var culture = CultureInfo.GetCulture(result ?? defaultCulture);

if (result == null)
{
    await js.InvokeVoidAsync("blazorCulture.set", defaultCulture);
}

CultureInfo.DefaultThreadCurrentCulture = culture;
CultureInfo.DefaultThreadCurrentUICulture = culture;

await host.RunAsync();

Important

Always set DefaultThreadCurrentCulture and DefaultThreadCurrentUICulture to the same culture in order to use IStringLocalizer and IStringLocalizer<T>.

Add the following CultureSelector component to the .Client project.

The component adopts the following approaches to work for either SSR or CSR components:

  • The display name of each available culture in the dropdown list is provided by a dictionary because client-side globalization data include localized text of culture display names that server-side globalization data provides. For example, server-side localization displays English (United States) when en-US is the culture and Ingles () when a different culture is used. Because localization of the culture display names isn't available with Blazor WebAssembly globalization, the display name for United States English on the client for any loaded culture is just en-US. Using a custom dictionary permits the component to at least display full English culture names.
  • When user changes the culture, JS interop sets the culture in local browser storage and a controller action updates the localization cookie with the culture. The controller is added to the app later in the Server project updates section.

Pages/CultureSelector.razor:

@using System.Globalization
@using System.Runtime.InteropServices
@inject IJSRuntime JS
@inject NavigationManager Navigation

<p>
    <label>
        Select your locale:
        <select @bind="Culture">
            @foreach (var culture in supportedCultures)
            {
                <option value="@culture">@cultureDict[culture.Name]</option>
            }
        </select>
    </label>
</p>

@code
{
    private Dictionary<string, string> cultureDict = 
        new()
        {
            { "en-US", "English (United States)" },
            { "es-CR", "Spanish (Costa Rica)" }
        };

    private CultureInfo[] supportedCultures = new[]
    {
        new CultureInfo("en-US"),
        new CultureInfo("es-CR"),
    };

    private CultureInfo Culture
    {
        get => CultureInfo.CurrentCulture;
        set
        {
            if (CultureInfo.CurrentCulture != value)
            {
                JS.InvokeVoidAsync("blazorCulture.set", value.Name);

                var uri = new Uri(Navigation.Uri)
                    .GetComponents(UriComponents.PathAndQuery, UriFormat.Unescaped);
                var cultureEscaped = Uri.EscapeDataString(value.Name);
                var uriEscaped = Uri.EscapeDataString(uri);

                Navigation.NavigateTo(
                    $"Culture/Set?culture={cultureEscaped}&redirectUri={uriEscaped}",
                    forceLoad: true);
            }
        }
    }
}

In the .Client project, place the following CultureClient component to study how globalization works for CSR components.

Pages/CultureClient.razor:

@page "/culture-client"
@rendermode InteractiveWebAssembly
@using System.Globalization

<PageTitle>Culture Client</PageTitle>

<h1>Culture Client</h1>

<p>
    <b>CurrentCulture</b>: @CultureInfo.CurrentCulture
</p>

<h2>Rendered values</h2>

<ul>
    <li><b>Date</b>: @dt</li>
    <li><b>Number</b>: @number.ToString("N2")</li>
</ul>

<h2><code>&lt;input&gt;</code> elements that don't set a <code>type</code></h2>

<p>
    The following <code>&lt;input&gt;</code> elements use
    <code>CultureInfo.CurrentCulture</code>.
</p>

<ul>
    <li><label><b>Date:</b> <input @bind="dt" /></label></li>
    <li><label><b>Number:</b> <input @bind="number" /></label></li>
</ul>

<h2><code>&lt;input&gt;</code> elements that set a <code>type</code></h2>

<p>
    The following <code>&lt;input&gt;</code> elements use
    <code>CultureInfo.InvariantCulture</code>.
</p>

<ul>
    <li><label><b>Date:</b> <input type="date" @bind="dt" /></label></li>
    <li><label><b>Number:</b> <input type="number" @bind="number" /></label></li>
</ul>

@code {
    private DateTime dt = DateTime.Now;
    private double number = 1999.69;
}

Server project updates

Add the Microsoft.Extensions.Localization package to the server project.

Note

For guidance on adding packages to .NET apps, see the articles under Install and manage packages at Package consumption workflow (NuGet documentation). Confirm correct package versions at NuGet.org.

Server-side apps are localized using Localization Middleware. Add localization services to the app with AddLocalization.

In the server project's Program file where services are registered:

builder.Services.AddLocalization();

Set the app's default and supported cultures with RequestLocalizationOptions.

Before the call to app.MapRazorComponents in the request processing pipeline, place the following code:

var supportedCultures = new[] { "en-US", "es-CR" };
var localizationOptions = new RequestLocalizationOptions()
    .SetDefaultCulture(supportedCultures[0])
    .AddSupportedCultures(supportedCultures)
    .AddSupportedUICultures(supportedCultures);

app.UseRequestLocalization(localizationOptions);

The following example shows how to set the current culture in a cookie that can be read by the Localization Middleware.

The following namespaces are required for the App component:

Add the following to the top of the App component file (Components/App.razor):

@using System.Globalization
@using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Localization

The app's culture for client-side rendering is set using the Blazor framework's API. A user's culture selection can be persisted in browser local storage for CSR components.

After the Blazor's <script> tag, provide JS functions to get and set the user's culture selection with browser local storage:

<script>
  window.blazorCulture = {
    get: () => window.localStorage['BlazorCulture'],
    set: (value) => window.localStorage['BlazorCulture'] = value
  };
</script>

Note

The preceding example pollutes the client with global functions. For a better approach in production apps, see JavaScript isolation in JavaScript modules.

Add the following @code block to the bottom of the App component file:

@code {
    [CascadingParameter]
    public HttpContext? HttpContext { get; set; }

    protected override void OnInitialized()
    {
        HttpContext?.Response.Cookies.Append(
            CookieRequestCultureProvider.DefaultCookieName,
            CookieRequestCultureProvider.MakeCookieValue(
                new RequestCulture(
                    CultureInfo.CurrentCulture,
                    CultureInfo.CurrentUICulture)));
    }
}

If the server project isn't configured to process controller actions:

  • Add MVC services by calling AddControllers on the service collection in the Program file:

    builder.Services.AddControllers();
    
  • Add controller endpoint routing in the Program file by calling MapControllers on the IEndpointRouteBuilder (app):

    app.MapControllers();
    

To allow a user to select a culture for SSR components, use a redirect-based approach with a localization cookie. The app persists the user's selected culture via a redirect to a controller. The controller sets the user's selected culture into a cookie and redirects the user back to the original URI. The process is similar to what happens in a web app when a user attempts to access a secure resource, where the user is redirected to a sign-in page and then redirected back to the original resource.

Controllers/CultureController.cs:

using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Localization;
using Microsoft.AspNetCore.Mvc;

[Route("[controller]/[action]")]
public class CultureController : Controller
{
    public IActionResult Set(string culture, string redirectUri)
    {
        if (culture != null)
        {
            HttpContext.Response.Cookies.Append(
                CookieRequestCultureProvider.DefaultCookieName,
                CookieRequestCultureProvider.MakeCookieValue(
                    new RequestCulture(culture, culture)));
        }

        return LocalRedirect(redirectUri);
    }
}

Warning

Use the LocalRedirect action result, as shown in the preceding example, to prevent open redirect attacks. For more information, see Prevent open redirect attacks in ASP.NET Core.

Add the CultureSelector component to the MainLayout component. Place the following markup inside the closing </main> tag in the Components/Layout/MainLayout.razor file:

<article class="bottom-row px-4">
    <CultureSelector @rendermode="InteractiveAuto" />
</article>

Use the CultureExample1 component shown in the Demonstration component section to study how the preceding example works.

In the server project, place the following CultureServer component to study how globalization works for SSR components.

Components/Pages/CultureServer.razor:

@page "/culture-server"
@rendermode InteractiveServer
@using System.Globalization

<PageTitle>Culture Server</PageTitle>

<h1>Culture Server</h1>

<p>
    <b>CurrentCulture</b>: @CultureInfo.CurrentCulture
</p>

<h2>Rendered values</h2>

<ul>
    <li><b>Date</b>: @dt</li>
    <li><b>Number</b>: @number.ToString("N2")</li>
</ul>

<h2><code>&lt;input&gt;</code> elements that don't set a <code>type</code></h2>

<p>
    The following <code>&lt;input&gt;</code> elements use
    <code>CultureInfo.CurrentCulture</code>.
</p>

<ul>
    <li><label><b>Date:</b> <input @bind="dt" /></label></li>
    <li><label><b>Number:</b> <input @bind="number" /></label></li>
</ul>

<h2><code>&lt;input&gt;</code> elements that set a <code>type</code></h2>

<p>
    The following <code>&lt;input&gt;</code> elements use
    <code>CultureInfo.InvariantCulture</code>.
</p>

<ul>
    <li><label><b>Date:</b> <input type="date" @bind="dt" /></label></li>
    <li><label><b>Number:</b> <input type="number" @bind="number" /></label></li>
</ul>

@code {
    private DateTime dt = DateTime.Now;
    private double number = 1999.69;
}

Add both the CultureClient and CultureServer components to the sidebar navigation in Components/Layout/NavMenu.razor:

<div class="nav-item px-3">
    <NavLink class="nav-link" href="culture-server">
        <span class="bi bi-list-nested-nav-menu" aria-hidden="true"></span> Culture (Server)
    </NavLink>
</div>
<div class="nav-item px-3">
    <NavLink class="nav-link" href="culture-client">
        <span class="bi bi-list-nested-nav-menu" aria-hidden="true"></span> Culture (Client)
    </NavLink>
</div>

Interactive Auto components

The guidance in this section also works for components that adopt the Interactive Auto render mode:

@rendermode InteractiveAuto

Localization

If the app doesn't already support dynamic culture selection, add the Microsoft.Extensions.Localization package to the app.

Note

For guidance on adding packages to .NET apps, see the articles under Install and manage packages at Package consumption workflow (NuGet documentation). Confirm correct package versions at NuGet.org.

Client-side localization

Set the BlazorWebAssemblyLoadAllGlobalizationData property to true in the app's project file (.csproj):

<PropertyGroup>
  <BlazorWebAssemblyLoadAllGlobalizationData>true</BlazorWebAssemblyLoadAllGlobalizationData>
</PropertyGroup>

In the Program file, add namespace the namespace for System.Globalization to the top of the file:

using System.Globalization;

Add Blazor's localization service to the app's service collection with AddLocalization:

builder.Services.AddLocalization();

Server-side localization

Use Localization Middleware to set the app's culture.

If the app doesn't already support dynamic culture selection:

  • Add localization services to the app with AddLocalization.
  • Specify the app's default and supported cultures in the Program file. The following example configures supported cultures for United States English and Costa Rican Spanish.
builder.Services.AddLocalization();

Immediately after Routing Middleware is added to the processing pipeline:

var supportedCultures = new[] { "en-US", "es-CR" };
var localizationOptions = new RequestLocalizationOptions()
    .SetDefaultCulture(supportedCultures[0])
    .AddSupportedCultures(supportedCultures)
    .AddSupportedUICultures(supportedCultures);

app.UseRequestLocalization(localizationOptions);

For information on ordering the Localization Middleware in the middleware pipeline, see ASP.NET Core Middleware.

  • Add localization services to the app with AddLocalization.
  • Specify the app's default and supported cultures in Startup.Configure (Startup.cs). The following example configures supported cultures for United States English and Costa Rican Spanish.

In Startup.ConfigureServices (Startup.cs):

services.AddLocalization();

In Startup.Configure immediately after Routing Middleware is added to the processing pipeline:

var supportedCultures = new[] { "en-US", "es-CR" };
var localizationOptions = new RequestLocalizationOptions()
    .SetDefaultCulture(supportedCultures[0])
    .AddSupportedCultures(supportedCultures)
    .AddSupportedUICultures(supportedCultures);

app.UseRequestLocalization(localizationOptions);

For information on ordering the Localization Middleware in the middleware pipeline of Startup.Configure, see ASP.NET Core Middleware.

If the app should localize resources based on storing a user's culture setting, use a localization culture cookie. Use of a cookie ensures that the WebSocket connection can correctly propagate the culture. If localization schemes are based on the URL path or query string, the scheme might not be able to work with WebSockets, thus fail to persist the culture. Therefore, the recommended approach is to use a localization culture cookie. See the Dynamically set the server-side culture by user preference section of this article to see an example Razor expression that persists the user's culture selection.

Example of localized resources

The example of localized resources in this section works with the prior examples in this article where the app's supported cultures are English (en) as a default locale and Spanish (es) as a user-selectable or browser-specified alternate locale.

Create a resource file for each locale. In the following example, resources are created for a Greeting string in English and Spanish:

  • English (en): Hello, World!
  • Spanish (es): ¡Hola, Mundo!

Note

The following resource file can be added in Visual Studio by right-clicking the Pages folder and selecting Add > New Item > Resources File. Name the file CultureExample2.resx. When the editor appears, provide data for a new entry. Set the Name to Greeting and Value to Hello, World!. Save the file.

If using Visual Studio Code, we recommend installing Tim Heuer's ResX Viewer and Editor. Add an empty CultureExample2.resx file to the Pages folder. The extension automatically takes over managing the file in the UI. Select the Add New Resource button. Follow the instructions to add an entry for Greeting (key), Hello, World! (value), and None (comment). Save the file. If you close and re-open the file, you can see the Greeting resource.

Tim Heuer's ResX Viewer and Editor isn't owned or maintained by Microsoft and isn't covered by any Microsoft Support Agreement or license.

The following demonstrates a typical resource file. You can manually place resource files into the app's Pages folder if you prefer not to use built-in tooling with an integrated development environment (IDE), such as Visual Studio's built-in resource file editor or Visual Studio Code with an extension for creating and editing resource files.

Pages/CultureExample2.resx:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<root>
  <xsd:schema id="root" xmlns="" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:msdata="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:xml-msdata">
    <xsd:import namespace="http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace" />
    <xsd:element name="root" msdata:IsDataSet="true">
      <xsd:complexType>
        <xsd:choice maxOccurs="unbounded">
          <xsd:element name="metadata">
            <xsd:complexType>
              <xsd:sequence>
                <xsd:element name="value" type="xsd:string" minOccurs="0" />
              </xsd:sequence>
              <xsd:attribute name="name" use="required" type="xsd:string" />
              <xsd:attribute name="type" type="xsd:string" />
              <xsd:attribute name="mimetype" type="xsd:string" />
              <xsd:attribute ref="xml:space" />
            </xsd:complexType>
          </xsd:element>
          <xsd:element name="assembly">
            <xsd:complexType>
              <xsd:attribute name="alias" type="xsd:string" />
              <xsd:attribute name="name" type="xsd:string" />
            </xsd:complexType>
          </xsd:element>
          <xsd:element name="data">
            <xsd:complexType>
              <xsd:sequence>
                <xsd:element name="value" type="xsd:string" minOccurs="0" msdata:Ordinal="1" />
                <xsd:element name="comment" type="xsd:string" minOccurs="0" msdata:Ordinal="2" />
              </xsd:sequence>
              <xsd:attribute name="name" type="xsd:string" use="required" msdata:Ordinal="1" />
              <xsd:attribute name="type" type="xsd:string" msdata:Ordinal="3" />
              <xsd:attribute name="mimetype" type="xsd:string" msdata:Ordinal="4" />
              <xsd:attribute ref="xml:space" />
            </xsd:complexType>
          </xsd:element>
          <xsd:element name="resheader">
            <xsd:complexType>
              <xsd:sequence>
                <xsd:element name="value" type="xsd:string" minOccurs="0" msdata:Ordinal="1" />
              </xsd:sequence>
              <xsd:attribute name="name" type="xsd:string" use="required" />
            </xsd:complexType>
          </xsd:element>
        </xsd:choice>
      </xsd:complexType>
    </xsd:element>
  </xsd:schema>
  <resheader name="resmimetype">
    <value>text/microsoft-resx</value>
  </resheader>
  <resheader name="version">
    <value>2.0</value>
  </resheader>
  <resheader name="reader">
    <value>System.Resources.ResXResourceReader, System.Windows.Forms, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089</value>
  </resheader>
  <resheader name="writer">
    <value>System.Resources.ResXResourceWriter, System.Windows.Forms, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089</value>
  </resheader>
  <data name="Greeting" xml:space="preserve">
    <value>Hello, World!</value>
  </data>
</root>

Note

The following resource file can be added in Visual Studio by right-clicking the Pages folder and selecting Add > New Item > Resources File. Name the file CultureExample2.es.resx. When the editor appears, provide data for a new entry. Set the Name to Greeting and Value to ¡Hola, Mundo!. Save the file.

If using Visual Studio Code, we recommend installing Tim Heuer's ResX Viewer and Editor. Add an empty CultureExample2.resx file to the Pages folder. The extension automatically takes over managing the file in the UI. Select the Add New Resource button. Follow the instructions to add an entry for Greeting (key), ¡Hola, Mundo! (value), and None (comment). Save the file. If you close and re-open the file, you can see the Greeting resource.

The following demonstrates a typical resource file. You can manually place resource files into the app's Pages folder if you prefer not to use built-in tooling with an integrated development environment (IDE), such as Visual Studio's built-in resource file editor or Visual Studio Code with an extension for creating and editing resource files.

Pages/CultureExample2.es.resx:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<root>
  <xsd:schema id="root" xmlns="" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema" xmlns:msdata="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:xml-msdata">
    <xsd:import namespace="http://www.w3.org/XML/1998/namespace" />
    <xsd:element name="root" msdata:IsDataSet="true">
      <xsd:complexType>
        <xsd:choice maxOccurs="unbounded">
          <xsd:element name="metadata">
            <xsd:complexType>
              <xsd:sequence>
                <xsd:element name="value" type="xsd:string" minOccurs="0" />
              </xsd:sequence>
              <xsd:attribute name="name" use="required" type="xsd:string" />
              <xsd:attribute name="type" type="xsd:string" />
              <xsd:attribute name="mimetype" type="xsd:string" />
              <xsd:attribute ref="xml:space" />
            </xsd:complexType>
          </xsd:element>
          <xsd:element name="assembly">
            <xsd:complexType>
              <xsd:attribute name="alias" type="xsd:string" />
              <xsd:attribute name="name" type="xsd:string" />
            </xsd:complexType>
          </xsd:element>
          <xsd:element name="data">
            <xsd:complexType>
              <xsd:sequence>
                <xsd:element name="value" type="xsd:string" minOccurs="0" msdata:Ordinal="1" />
                <xsd:element name="comment" type="xsd:string" minOccurs="0" msdata:Ordinal="2" />
              </xsd:sequence>
              <xsd:attribute name="name" type="xsd:string" use="required" msdata:Ordinal="1" />
              <xsd:attribute name="type" type="xsd:string" msdata:Ordinal="3" />
              <xsd:attribute name="mimetype" type="xsd:string" msdata:Ordinal="4" />
              <xsd:attribute ref="xml:space" />
            </xsd:complexType>
          </xsd:element>
          <xsd:element name="resheader">
            <xsd:complexType>
              <xsd:sequence>
                <xsd:element name="value" type="xsd:string" minOccurs="0" msdata:Ordinal="1" />
              </xsd:sequence>
              <xsd:attribute name="name" type="xsd:string" use="required" />
            </xsd:complexType>
          </xsd:element>
        </xsd:choice>
      </xsd:complexType>
    </xsd:element>
  </xsd:schema>
  <resheader name="resmimetype">
    <value>text/microsoft-resx</value>
  </resheader>
  <resheader name="version">
    <value>2.0</value>
  </resheader>
  <resheader name="reader">
    <value>System.Resources.ResXResourceReader, System.Windows.Forms, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089</value>
  </resheader>
  <resheader name="writer">
    <value>System.Resources.ResXResourceWriter, System.Windows.Forms, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089</value>
  </resheader>
  <data name="Greeting" xml:space="preserve">
    <value>¡Hola, Mundo!</value>
  </data>
</root>

The following component demonstrates the use of the localized Greeting string with IStringLocalizer<T>. The Razor markup @Loc["Greeting"] in the following example localizes the string keyed to the Greeting value, which is set in the preceding resource files.

Add the namespace for Microsoft.Extensions.Localization to the app's _Imports.razor file:

@using Microsoft.Extensions.Localization

CultureExample2.razor:

@page "/culture-example-2"
@using System.Globalization
@inject IStringLocalizer<CultureExample2> Loc

<h1>Culture Example 2</h1>

<p>
    <b>CurrentCulture</b>: @CultureInfo.CurrentCulture
</p>

<h2>Greeting</h2>

<p>
    @Loc["Greeting"]
</p>

<p>
    @greeting
</p>

@code {
    private string? greeting;

    protected override void OnInitialized()
    {
        greeting = Loc["Greeting"];
    }
}

Optionally, add a menu item for the CultureExample2 component to the navigation in the NavMenu component (NavMenu.razor).

WebAssembly culture provider reference source

To further understand how the Blazor framework processes localization, see the WebAssemblyCultureProvider class in the ASP.NET Core reference source.

Note

Documentation links to .NET reference source usually load the repository's default branch, which represents the current development for the next release of .NET. To select a tag for a specific release, use the Switch branches or tags dropdown list. For more information, see How to select a version tag of ASP.NET Core source code (dotnet/AspNetCore.Docs #26205).

Shared resources

To create localization shared resources, adopt the following approach.

  • Create a dummy class with an arbitrary class name. In the following example:

    • The app uses the BlazorSample namespace, and localization assets use the BlazorSample.Localization namespace.
    • The dummy class is named SharedResource.
    • The class file is placed in a Localization folder at the root of the app.

    Localization/SharedResource.cs:

    namespace BlazorSample.Localization;
    
    public class SharedResource
    {
    }
    
  • Create the shared resource files with a Build Action of Embedded resource. In the following example:

    • The files are placed in the Localization folder with the dummy SharedResource class (Localization/SharedResource.cs).

    • Name the resource files to match the name of the dummy class. The following example files include a default localization file and a file for Spanish (es) localization.

    • Localization/SharedResource.resx

    • Localization/SharedResource.es.resx

    Note

    Localization is resource path that can be set via LocalizationOptions.

  • To reference the dummy class for an injected IStringLocalizer<T> in a Razor component, either place an @using directive for the localization namespace or include the localization namespace in the dummy class reference. In the following examples:

    • The first example states the Localization namespace for the SharedResource dummy class with an @using directive.
    • The second example states the SharedResource dummy class's namespace explicitly.

    In a Razor component, use either of the following approaches:

    @using Localization
    @inject IStringLocalizer<SharedResource> Loc
    
    @inject IStringLocalizer<Localization.SharedResource> Loc
    

For additional guidance, see Globalization and localization in ASP.NET Core.

Additional resources