I get woocommerce-de_DE.po duplicated

I added this line to wp-config.php :

add_filter( 'auto_update_translation', '__return_false' );

I deleted the system po file and will wait and see if it remains this way, hopefully it will!

It worked!!! Thank you Tim for your advices! Have a great day!!

I have the same problem with Woocommerce translations and I too put the php code to mu-plugins directory like was told here : https://gist.github.com/timwhitlock/8d4d2fa35c0ab312d040223ef6990e5b . Still, for some reason the double .po file appears after a while and overwrites the working translation file. I think this has something to do with the new WordPress 6.5.2 version update. Any ideas what to try next?

I need to be clear about the two problems here, which seem to get discussed as if they are the same thing:

1. Getting “duplicate” files: This is normal, and in fact desirable. The system file should be used as the template for your custom file. See how to customize translations.
2. Custom translations not taking priority: This is potentially an actual bug in my plugin. The function is intended to work with the system file in place.

Re no.1) Preventing system files from being installed is outside the remit of my support. This is a WordPress function, and the code given in the Gist above is not something I’ve tested thoroughly; nor something I re-test every time a new WordPress version comes out. See the WordPress documentation for the auto_update_translation filter.

The original topic of this thread (“I get woocommerce-de_DE.po duplicated”) falls into this category, and as such this topic is marked as resolved.

Re no.2) I need simple, repeatable steps to reproduce this problem. Nobody (in any thread) has so far been able to do this. On my own, I’ve not been able to reproduce it either. There are many layers of complexity to this: People use multiple localization plugins at once; they add dynamic language switchers; they use use custom WooCommerce-compatible themes. I’ve even seen people add Google Translate to their pages, and wonder why the translations are not what they entered.

It is entirely possible that recent WordPress version updates (6.5.x) could have changed something at some level that I’m yet to discover. So please open a new thread if you can help with this.

Yes, I do see now that the double file is not the problem. I tried to reproduce this problem on my other site that has same Astra theme and versions of Loco, Woocommerce and WordPress and there is no problem at all. Other plugins are not identical between the sites so I am beginning to think that this might be some clash between some other plugins as you suggested. I’ll open a new thread.