Issue updating source strings in XLIFF with English (Developer) source

[ddeveloperuch]

Hello Weblate Team,

I’d like to clarify the correct procedure when using English (Developer) as the source language, since this setup seems to behave differently than expected.

Here are the current project settings:

• File format: XLIFF 1.2 translation file
• File mask: _Translations/*.xliff
• Source language: English (Developer)

As a result, the component includes the following languages:

• English
• English (Developer)
• French
• German
• Italian

At first glance this configuration looks logical, and everything appears fine. The confusion arises in a typical use case where:

• Some strings are newly added, and
• Some existing strings are no longer used.

Current pseudo state of en.xliff:

• String_A.outdated - deleted
• String_B.outdated - deleted
• String_C.active
• String_D.outdated - deleted
• String_E.new
• String_F.new

Expected behavior

When uploading the new en.xliff, I would expect Weblate to:

1. Update the English (Developer) and English source sets so that they contain only:

• String_C.active
• String_E.new
• String_F.new

2. For all other target languages:

• Remove the obsolete strings ( String_A.outdated, String_B.outdated, String_D.outdated)
• Add the new strings (String_E.new, String_F.new)

Actual behavior and findings

From what I can see, there are currently two possible approaches:

• Via wlc: unfortunately, wlc upload does not support XLIFF at all (Error: The file format does not support updating source strings #16691)
• Via Git repository: after pushing the new en.xliff file and syncing, only the English language was updated. The English (Developer) source set remained unchanged, and the other target languages were not updated either.

Could you please clarify the correct workflow to update the source strings in this setup?

• How should English (Developer) be updated when using XLIFF as the file format?
• What is the proper process to ensure that obsolete strings are removed and new ones are added across all languages, while preserving existing translations?