w3strings encoder NG

While the original w3strings encoder is an excellent tool, being a closed-source Windows-only executable introduces several limitations:

• []It can only be used on Windows.[/]

  []The source code is unavailable, making it impossible to embed or integrate into other tools.[/]

To address this, we referenced the w3strings binary loading and parsing logic from the WolvenKit project and recreated it as an open-source Rust library and command-line tool.

Special thanks to rmemr, the author of the original w3strings encoder, and the WolvenKit team.

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w3strings-rust (w3strings-ng)

A fast, safe, and open-source Rust library and CLI tool for encoding and decoding The Witcher 3 localization files (.w3strings / .wstrings).

■ Key Features

• []Cross-Platform Support: Runs and builds seamlessly on Windows, macOS, and Linux.[/]

  []Open Source & Embeddable: Designed as a library, making it easy to integrate into other Rust projects, custom modding tools, or build pipelines.[/]

  []Fast and Safe: Leverages Rust's memory safety and high-performance capabilities to process large localization files instantly.[/]

  []Automatic Key Recovery: Automatically searches for and loads a dictionary file (w3strings.txt or vanilla.w3strings.txt) to restore original string keys (e.g., panel_Mods) during decoding.[/]

  ■ CLI Usage

  This tool is executed via the command line.

  1. Decode (.w3strings ➔ .csv)

  Converts a binary localization file into an editable CSV text file.

  w3strings-ng decode <path_to_w3strings> <path_to_output_csv>Example:

  w3strings-ng.exe decode en.w3strings en.w3strings.csv※ Place w3strings.txt or vanilla.w3strings.txt in the active directory, the target file's directory, or the tool's directory to automatically resolve hash values back to their original string keys (key(str)).

  2. Encode (.csv ➔ .w3strings)

  Compiles an edited CSV file back into the encrypted binary format ready for the game.

  w3strings-ng encode <path_to_csv> <path_to_output_w3strings>Example:

  w3strings-ng.exe encode en.w3strings.csv en.w3strings

  ■ CSV Format Specification

  The CSV files use a pipe (|) separator and follow this structure:

  ; id      |key(hex)|key(str)| text

  174131|77971da9||Stamina damage

  2114127085||panel_Mods|Mods

  [*]Line 1: Language metadata (