title: MissingTranslation parent: Custom Issues nav_order: 5

MissingTranslation

Emitted when __() or trans() references a translation key that does not exist in the application's language files.

Why this is a problem

If the translation key doesn't exist, Laravel returns the key itself as a string instead of the translated text. This silently produces untranslated output at runtime. This check catches typos and missing keys during static analysis.

Examples

// Bad -- typo in the translation key
echo __('mesages.welcome'); // MissingTranslation

// Good -- the key exists in lang/en/messages.php
echo __('messages.welcome');

// Bad -- key was removed from language files
echo trans('auth.old_message'); // MissingTranslation

// Good
echo trans('auth.failed');

How to fix

1. Check that the translation key exists in your language files (e.g., lang/en/messages.php or lang/en.json)
2. Fix any typos in the key name
3. If the translation is provided by a package, use the namespaced syntax (e.g., __('package::file.key')) -- namespaced keys are not checked by this rule

Configuration

This check is disabled by default. Enable it in your psalm.xml:

<plugins>
    <pluginClass class="Psalm\LaravelPlugin\Plugin">
        <findMissingTranslations value="true" />
    </pluginClass>
</plugins>

Limitations

• Only string literal keys are checked -- dynamic or concatenated keys are skipped
• Namespaced package keys (e.g., pagination::pages.next) are skipped
• Only __() and trans() are checked -- trans_choice(), Lang::get(), and Blade [@lang](https://github.com/lang) directives are not detected
• Uses Laravel's Translator to resolve keys, which respects the configured locale and fallback locale