3,400 key limit in locale file

Technical Q&A
1

Hi, I’m having an issue with my Shopify theme locale file.

My en.default.json file validates correctly and only has 502 keys.

However, my lv.json file also validates correctly as JSON, but it has around 3,400 translatable value keys. Shopify support suggested that the issue is likely caused by lv.json hitting the 3,400 key limit.

There are no missing commas, broken brackets, or invalid JSON syntax. The file parses correctly.

What is the correct way to fix this? Should I remove unused checkout translation keys from lv.json, split the locale somehow, or is there another recommended Shopify approach?

Thanks.

2

You can download VS Code, and install a json extension like this one to compare and fix.

Screenshot 2026-06-27 034547
Screenshot 2026-06-27 0345471752×894 86.5 KB

3

Hi @ivoivo .

The fix is simple. Your lv.json has way more keys than it needs.

Since your en.default.json only has 502 keys, your lv.json should match that. Any extra keys can be safely removed.

Compare both files and delete any keys from lv.json that do not exist in en.default.json. This will bring it well under the 3400 limit.

Splitting the file is not supported by Shopify, so removing unused keys is the right approach!