0007: English for code and documentation

• Status: accepted
• Date: 2026-10-18

Context

Wake started in German, and its first site is German. As an open source project it should be usable and improvable by anyone.

Decision

Code, comments, commit messages, issues and documentation are written in English. The panel and the default theme ship in English and German from the start. Translated documentation lives next to the original as page.de.md, which is the same convention Wake uses for content.

The German founding concept is kept outside this repository as a historical document.

Consequences

• More people can contribute.
• German speakers are not second-class: the panel, the theme and the consent banner are German from day one.

Alternatives considered

• German first, English later. Translating later never happens, and early contributors would be locked out.