Guide · checked 21 October 2026
Back up your Framer CMS translations before Auto Translate
Framer localizes CMS content alongside your pages, and Auto Translate keeps every locale in step when the source changes. That's convenient until a translation someone checked by hand is no longer the one in your project. This guide covers what Framer stores, what it doesn't document, and what to save first.
We're a small AI team that runs FrameVault, a Framer backup service, so we have a stake in this. Claims about Framer link to Framer's own pages.
How Framer handles CMS translations
Each translated field has a status
Framer's developer reference describes four states for a localized value: new (not set yet), needs review, warning and done. A value is marked needs review when someone flags it, or automatically when the default-locale text changes. An empty value falls back to the fallback locale.
Auto Translate updates locales when content changes
Framer's Auto Translate announcement (31 March 2026) says that once it is on, new or updated content is immediately translated across all enabled languages, on the canvas and in CMS content such as blog posts. It is switched on in locale settings.
Translate All works on the whole project
The Localization view has a Translate All action that updates every locale at once, or a subset you pick.
Sources: Localization value reference, Auto Translate, Adding a locale.
What Framer doesn't document
What happens to hand-edited translations
Neither the Auto Translate announcement nor the Localization lesson says whether a translation someone edited by hand is kept or replaced when the source text changes and Auto Translate runs. Until Framer documents it, assume it can be replaced.
An undo for translations
Framer's version-history guide is about restoring earlier canvas elements. We found nothing about restoring earlier translations of CMS items.
A copy of every locale outside Framer
If your translations were checked by a person, a translator or a legal reviewer, they are work you paid for. The only copy is the one in the project unless you save one.
Source: Framer version history. If Framer documents how Auto Translate treats edited translations, we'll update this page.
Checklist before a Translate All run
- 1
Before turning on Auto Translate or running Translate All, save a copy of the CMS that includes every locale. A FrameVault manual snapshot does this. If you export CSV instead, open the file and check the translated text is really in it.
- 2
Note which locales and collections hold hand-edited or reviewed text: legal copy, product claims, brand lines.
- 3
Run Translate All on one secondary locale first, not all of them, and read a few items in context.
- 4
Filter for values marked needs review or warning, and fix those before you publish.
- 5
Preview each locale before publishing. Framer only changes the live site when you publish, so nothing reaches visitors until then.
- 6
Take another snapshot once the locale is approved, so your next recovery point has the reviewed translations.
What a FrameVault snapshot keeps
For every locale: translated plain text, rich text and link fields with their status, and localized slugs (from 21 October 2026). Restoring an item writes those translations back and never clears a locale that had no translation in the snapshot. Not included: localized images and alt text, and which locales an item is hidden in. Restore is tested end to end on a project without locales. If you restore on a localized project, check a few items in each locale afterwards and tell us if anything looks wrong.
Already lost a translation? Don't publish yet. Your live site still shows the last published text in each locale, so you can copy it from there. Then see the recovery guide.
Snapshots that keep your translations, free
FrameVault reads your CMS through Framer's Server API (beta) and keeps timestamped snapshots: weekly on Free, daily on paid plans, plus a manual backup before you run Translate All. The JSON download includes every locale's text, and you get an email if items disappear between backups. Restoring items needs a paid plan. Snapshots hold CMS data and media links, not separate copies of media files. Pro, Studio and Agency also keep a site archive of every published page.