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What is MXLIFF?

MXLIFF (Memsource XLIFF) is Phrase’s bilingual file format. It’s based on XLIFF 1.2 with an added m: namespace that carries Phrase-specific segment and job metadata — translation memory and machine translation matches, confirmation and lock state, tag metadata, custom field values, and more. MXLIFF is the format used to move translation content into and out of Phrase TMS jobs for editing outside the platform, and to feed translated content back into a translation memory. For a product-level introduction, see the MXLIFF Files (TMS) support article. This guide documents the format itself for developers who generate, parse, or round-trip MXLIFF programmatically. For the full element and attribute reference, see MXLIFF structure.

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When to use it

Reach for MXLIFF when you need to:
  • Export a job’s segments — source, target, TM/MT matches, confirmation and lock state — for editing with an external tool
  • Re-import edited segments back into a job
  • Store translations from a bilingual file into a translation memory

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Working with MXLIFF via the API

The same actions are available from the Phrase TMS web UI: Project → Jobs → Select job(s) → Download → Bilingual MXLIFF to export, and Project → Jobs → Tools → Upload → Select MXLIFF to import.
The m:version attribute on the root <xliff> element identifies the MXLIFF schema version of a given file. New optional elements and attributes are occasionally added as the version increments; unrecognized elements/attributes should be ignored rather than treated as errors.