> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developers.phrase.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Work with MXLIFF files > Understand Phrase's bilingual MXLIFF file format, export and import it through the Phrase TMS API, and read the full element and attribute reference for generating or parsing MXLIFF. ## What is MXLIFF? MXLIFF (Memsource XLIFF) is Phrase's bilingual file format. It's based on [XLIFF 1.2](http://docs.oasis-open.org/xliff/v1.2/os/xliff-core.html) with an added `m:` namespace that carries Phrase-specific segment and job metadata: translation memory (TM) and machine translation (MT) 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 (Translation Management System) 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)](https://support.phrase.com/hc/en-us/articles/5709739992860--MXLIFF-Files-TMS-) support article. This guide documents the format itself for developers who generate, parse, or round-trip MXLIFF programmatically, and gives the full element and attribute reference under [MXLIFF structure](#mxliff-structure) below. ## 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 ## Working with MXLIFF via the API | Task | API operation | | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Export a job as a bilingual MXLIFF file | [Download bilingual file](/en/api/tms/latest/job/download-bilingual-file-also-used-to-bulk-edit-translations-confirm-or-lockunlock-segments-via-re-import) | | Import a bilingual MXLIFF file into a job | [Upload bilingual file](/en/api/tms/latest/bilingual-file/upload-bilingual-file) | | Store translations from an MXLIFF file into a translation memory | [Import translation memory](/en/api/tms/latest/translation-memory/import-translation-memory) | 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. ## MXLIFF structure This section documents the parts of the MXLIFF format that are specific to Phrase. It also mentions the values used for standard XLIFF elements/attributes where that's relevant. For everything not covered here, MXLIFF follows the [XLIFF 1.2](http://docs.oasis-open.org/xliff/v1.2/os/xliff-core.html) specification. ### Element tree ```

(schema)

(same shape as m:tunit-metadata)

(values) ``` ### `` The Phrase namespace is added with prefix `m` and URI `http://www.memsource.com/mxlf/2.0`. Attributes: * `version`: version of the underlying XLIFF format, always `1.2`. * `m:version`: MXLIFF schema version. New optional elements and attributes are occasionally added as the version increments; unrecognized elements/attributes should be ignored rather than treated as errors. * `m:level`: number representing a workflow level. ```xml theme={null} ``` ### `` Attributes: * `datatype`: `x-undefined`. * `m:file-format`: format of the original file used during import. * `m:task-id`: identifies the task this file belongs to. There is a 1:1 relationship between a job and a task. * `m:begin-group-id`: ID of the first segment (0-indexed) included in the file. * `m:end-group-id`: ID of the last segment included in the file. * `m:transmem-ignore-tag-metadata`: whether tag metadata was ignored for translation memory matching. Values: `yes`, `no`. ```xml theme={null} ``` ### `

` Contains: * Zero or more [``](#note) elements * Zero or one `` element * Zero or one `` element #### `` Attributes: * `m:id`: ID of a note, unique within the same `m:origin`. * `m:category`: categorization of a note. * `m:origin`: path in the original file the note was extracted from; corresponds to `x-file-part` (see [``](#group)). #### `` Describes the schema of all segment-level metadata. Contains one `` element. **`` (schema)**: contains one or more `` elements, each representing a single custom field. `` attributes: * `id`: ID of the metadata field definition. * `type`: one of `text`, `date`, `boolean`, `link`, `number`, `select`, `multi`. Each `` contains one `` element with the field's display name. #### `` Skeleton for the in-context preview shown in editors. Contains segment placeholders like ``, which editors replace with metadata from `` and text from ``/``. Attributes: * `bilingual`: whether the job is bilingual (`true`) or monolingual (`false`). * `skel-omitted`: `true` if the in-context preview is not included. * `size`: length in bytes of the skeleton, set when it's omitted. Contains zero or one embedded HTML document written as CDATA. ```xml theme={null}

]]>

``` ### `` Attributes: * `m:para-id`: identifies a paragraph. Contains: * Zero or one `` element without a `name` attribute, holding general context information: * `x-file-part`: part of the original file the segment was extracted from * `x-key`: context key * `x-key-note`: context note * `x-max-len`: maximum allowed length of a translation * Zero or one `` element with `name="x-plural"`, holding plural information for [PO (gettext)](https://support.phrase.com/hc/en-us/articles/5709623142300--PO-gettext-TMS-) files: * `x-plural-category`: plural rule category (`zero`, `one`, `two`, `few`, `many`, `other`, or a concrete number) * `x-plural-examples`: sample values for the category * `x-plural-source-singular` / `x-plural-source-plural`: source text in singular/plural form * Zero or one `` element * Zero or one `` element ```xml theme={null}

document::variables variable.id.36 References specific product type 30

other 0, 5~∞ I've bought a new chair. I've bought some new chairs. ``` #### `` Group properties. Contains zero or one `` element, a number indicating the order in which to compose target segments (equivalent to [Segments order](http://docs.oasis-open.org/xliff/xliff-core/v2.0/xliff-core-v2.0.html#segorder) in XLIFF 2.0). #### `` Metadata for the in-context preview skeleton, specific to the parent ``. Contains zero or more `` elements, each with an `id` and optional `` / `` text elements. ```xml theme={null}

]]>

``` ### `` Attributes: * `xml:space`: `preserve` * `m:score`: score of an automatically filled translation (e.g. during pre-translation). When `m:trans-origin` is `mt`, this is a quality performance score (QPS). * `m:gross-score`: same as `m:score` before penalization. Only differs from `m:score` for translation memory matches. * `m:trans-origin`: origin of the filled translation: `mt` (machine translation), `tm` (translation memory), `nt` (non-translatable), or `rb` (deprecated, superseded by `nt`). * `m:trans-origin-detail`: detail about the origin, e.g. the specific engine used. * `m:confirmed`: workflow level at which the segment is confirmed. * `m:locked`: whether the segment is locked/editable. Values: `true`, `false`. * `m:locked-by`: what locked the segment. * `m:locked-by-detail`: detail when `locked-by` is `ex`. * `m:para-id`: paragraph ID, matching `m:para-id` on the parent [``](#group). * `m:repetition-exception`: `true` when a linguist unmarked the segment as a repetition. * `m:created-at` / `m:created-by`: when and by whom the segment was created. * `m:modified-at` / `m:modified-by`: when and by whom the segment was last modified. * `m:level-edited`: legacy attribute, always `false`. Contains: * Two `` elements, distinguished by `origin`: * `machine-trans`: `match-quality` (MT quality score), `m:mt-id` (MT connector ID), `` (MT-provided translation) * `memsource-tm`: `match-quality` (TM match score), `tm-id` (translation memory ID, if known), `` (TM-provided translation) * Zero or one ``, holding metadata about sub-units (segments nested within another segment): * `x-type`: type of sub-unit (currently only `ICU`) * `x-subtype`: more granular type, e.g. the ICU variable type * `x-category`: differentiates sub-units belonging to the same segment and tag (for ICU, the plural variable form) * `x-parent-trans-unit`: ID of the parent `` * `x-parent-mark-id`: ID of the parent mark * `x-examples`: sample values (used for ICU plural variables) * Zero or one ``, holding a context key used when a `` contains multiple `` elements in a hierarchy: * `x-key`: the segment's context key * Zero or one `` element * Zero or one `` element * Zero or one `` element * Zero or one `` element * Zero or one `` element * Zero or one `` element ```xml theme={null}

icu plural few aB2cd4eF_dc2:1:5 3 2~4

string.id.29:I bought {p, plural, one {:} other {some books}}. ``` #### `` Deprecated: no longer written or read since converter version 25.8. Historically held a single segment comment (not the same as editor comment functionality), such as extraction details. Attributes: `created-at`, `created-by`, `modified-at`, `modified-by`, `resolved` (`true`/`false`). #### `` Metadata of the latest translation selected in an editor. Contains `` elements with a `name` attribute: 1. `score`: same as `m:score` 2. `gross-score`: same as `m:gross-score` 3. `origin`: same as `m:trans-origin` 4. `origin-detail`: same as `m:trans-origin-detail` 5. `processed-by`: whether the segment was last processed by an AI service such as MT Optimize or Auto Adapt 6. `target-quality`: QPS score from MT Optimize or a third-party service, in the range `0.0` to `1.0` ```xml theme={null}

0.89

0.94

2936

auto-adapt

0.85

``` #### `` Metadata for marks inside ``, encoded as `{1}` or `{2>translatable<2}`. Contains zero or more `` elements, each with an `id` and: * ``: type of the mark * ``: the mark's content * ``: comma-separated list of translatable attributes, each following in a subsequent `` under the same `` ```xml theme={null} b <b> img <img alt="" src="logo.png"/>

alt

attribute alt ``` #### `` Same shape as [``](#mtunit-metadata), but describes marks inside `` instead of ``. #### `` Editing statistics for a segment. Contains one `` and one `` element (both numbers, in the same unit). How the times are tracked: 1. When a user clicks into a segment, both thinking time and editing time start counting. 2. When the user starts editing, thinking time stops but editing time continues. 3. When the user clicks into a different segment, editing time stops. 4. Re-entering a segment resumes counting and adds to the previous totals; if re-entering results in no edits, the times are left unchanged even if the segment is re-confirmed. #### `` Contains one or more `` elements. Attributes: * `category`: currently only `LIONBRIDGE` is used. * `type`: optional, more specific annotation type. * `translate`: whether the annotated text is translatable (`yes`/`no`). * `excludeFromCharCount`: whether to exclude the text from word/character counts (`yes`/`no`). * `offset`: offset into `` where the annotation starts. * `position`: 1-indexed order of the annotated text within ``. Contains one `` element with the annotated text. ```xml theme={null} linguist Phrase ``` #### `` Custom metadata values for a segment. Contains one `` element. **`` (values)**: one or more `` elements, each with an `rid` attribute referencing the corresponding field in [``](#mmetadata-schema). A field's value is either plain text, or one or more `` elements when the field type is `multi`. ### `` Additional information about the whole MXLIFF document. Contains one `` element, which lists every user (via ``) who created or modified any task included in the file.