MUI Internationalization & RTL Support
1. RTL Setup
Set the document direction and configure the MUI theme:
// index.html — set dir on <html>
<html dir="rtl" lang="ar">
// theme.ts
import { createTheme } from '@mui/material/styles';
const rtlTheme = createTheme({
direction: 'rtl',
});Install the Emotion RTL plugin for automatic style flipping:
npm install stylis-plugin-rtl stylisWrap the app with the RTL-aware cache provider:
import { CacheProvider } from '@emotion/react';
import createCache from '@emotion/cache';
import { ThemeProvider } from '@mui/material/styles';
import rtlPlugin from 'stylis-plugin-rtl';
import { prefixer } from 'stylis';
const cacheRtl = createCache({
key: 'muirtl',
stylisPlugins: [prefixer, rtlPlugin],
});
function App() {
return (
<CacheProvider value={cacheRtl}>
<ThemeProvider theme={rtlTheme}>
{/* All MUI components now render RTL */}
<MyApplication />
</ThemeProvider>
</CacheProvider>
);
}2. Emotion RTL Cache
The RTL cache intercepts all Emotion-generated styles and flips directional properties (margin-left becomes margin-right, padding-left becomes padding-right, etc.).
import createCache from '@emotion/cache';
import rtlPlugin from 'stylis-plugin-rtl';
import { prefixer } from 'stylis';
// RTL cache — use for Arabic, Hebrew, Persian, Urdu
const rtlCache = createCache({
key: 'muirtl',
stylisPlugins: [prefixer, rtlPlugin],
});
// LTR cache — use for English, French, German, etc.
const ltrCache = createCache({
key: 'muiltr',
stylisPlugins: [prefixer],
});Key points:
- The
keymust be unique per cache instance (e.g.'muirtl'vs'muiltr'). prefixeradds vendor prefixes and should always be included.rtlPluginmust come afterprefixerin the array.
3. Dynamic Direction Switching
Toggle between LTR and RTL at runtime using React state:
import { useState, useMemo } from 'react';
import { createTheme, ThemeProvider } from '@mui/material/styles';
import { CacheProvider } from '@emotion/react';
import createCache from '@emotion/cache';
import rtlPlugin from 'stylis-plugin-rtl';
import { prefixer } from 'stylis';
import CssBaseline from '@mui/material/CssBaseline';
import IconButton from '@mui/material/IconButton';
import FormatTextdirectionLToRIcon from '@mui/icons-material/FormatTextdirectionLToR';
import FormatTextdirectionRToLIcon from '@mui/icons-material/FormatTextdirectionRToL';
const rtlCache = createCache({
key: 'muirtl',
stylisPlugins: [prefixer, rtlPlugin],
});
const ltrCache = createCache({
key: 'muiltr',
stylisPlugins: [prefixer],
});
function App() {
const [direction, setDirection] = useState<'ltr' | 'rtl'>('ltr');
const theme = useMemo(
() => createTheme({ direction }),
[direction],
);
const toggleDirection = () => {
const newDir = direction === 'ltr' ? 'rtl' : 'ltr';
setDirection(newDir);
document.dir = newDir; // sync <html> dir attribute
};
return (
<CacheProvider value={direction === 'rtl' ? rtlCache : ltrCache}>
<ThemeProvider theme={theme}>
<CssBaseline />
<IconButton onClick={toggleDirection}>
{direction === 'ltr'
? <FormatTextdirectionRToLIcon />
: <FormatTextdirectionLToRIcon />}
</IconButton>
<MyApplication />
</ThemeProvider>
</CacheProvider>
);
}Important: always sync document.dir with the theme direction so native browser layout matches MUI.
4. Component Localization
MUI ships built-in locale strings for 50+ languages. Pass a locale object as the second argument to createTheme:
import { createTheme } from '@mui/material/styles';
import { deDE } from '@mui/material/locale';
// German locale — translates MUI component strings
// (e.g. TablePagination "Rows per page" -> "Zeilen pro Seite")
const theme = createTheme(
{
palette: {
primary: { main: '#1976d2' },
},
},
deDE, // locale object as second argument
);Common locale imports:
import { enUS } from '@mui/material/locale'; // English (default)
import { frFR } from '@mui/material/locale'; // French
import { esES } from '@mui/material/locale'; // Spanish
import { jaJP } from '@mui/material/locale'; // Japanese
import { zhCN } from '@mui/material/locale'; // Chinese (Simplified)
import { arSA } from '@mui/material/locale'; // Arabic (Saudi Arabia)
import { heIL } from '@mui/material/locale'; // Hebrew (Israel)
import { koKR } from '@mui/material/locale'; // Korean
import { ptBR } from '@mui/material/locale'; // Portuguese (Brazil)
import { trTR } from '@mui/material/locale'; // TurkishFor RTL languages, combine direction with locale:
import { arSA } from '@mui/material/locale';
const arabicTheme = createTheme(
{
direction: 'rtl',
typography: {
fontFamily: '"Noto Sans Arabic", "Roboto", sans-serif',
},
},
arSA,
);5. MUI X Localization
MUI X components (DataGrid, DatePicker, TreeView) have their own locale strings, imported separately:
import { createTheme } from '@mui/material/styles';
import { deDE as coreDeDE } from '@mui/material/locale';
import { deDE as dataGridDeDE } from '@mui/x-data-grid/locales';
import { deDE as datePickerDeDE } from '@mui/x-date-pickers/locales';
// Combine core + DataGrid + DatePicker locales
const theme = createTheme(
{
palette: { primary: { main: '#1976d2' } },
},
dataGridDeDE, // DataGrid locale
datePickerDeDE, // DatePicker locale
coreDeDE, // Core MUI locale (last to allow overrides)
);DataGrid locale strings cover:
- Column menu labels (
columnMenuLabel,columnMenuSortAsc,columnMenuFilter) - Toolbar labels (
toolbarColumns,toolbarFilters,toolbarExport) - Pagination (
MuiTablePaginationlabels) - Filter panel labels (
filterPanelOperator,filterPanelColumns,filterPanelInputLabel) - No rows overlay (
noRowsLabel,noResultsOverlayLabel)
DatePicker locale strings cover:
- Field placeholders and labels
- Calendar navigation (
previousMonth,nextMonth) - Toolbar labels (
datePickerToolbarTitle,timePickerToolbarTitle) - Action bar labels (
okButtonLabel,cancelButtonLabel,clearButtonLabel)
6. Custom Locale
Override individual translation strings by deep-merging with a built-in locale:
import { createTheme } from '@mui/material/styles';
import { enUS } from '@mui/material/locale';
import { enUS as dataGridEnUS } from '@mui/x-data-grid/locales';
import deepmerge from 'deepmerge';
// Custom locale: override specific DataGrid strings
const customDataGridLocale = deepmerge(dataGridEnUS, {
components: {
MuiDataGrid: {
defaultProps: {
localeText: {
noRowsLabel: 'No records found',
footerRowSelected: (count: number) =>
count === 1
? '1 record selected'
: `${count.toLocaleString()} records selected`,
toolbarExport: 'Download',
toolbarExportCSV: 'Download as CSV',
toolbarExportPrint: 'Print view',
},
},
},
},
});
// Custom locale: override core MUI strings
const customCoreLocale = deepmerge(enUS, {
components: {
MuiTablePagination: {
defaultProps: {
labelRowsPerPage: 'Items per page:',
labelDisplayedRows: ({ from, to, count }: { from: number; to: number; count: number }) =>
`Showing ${from}-${to} of ${count !== -1 ? count : `more than ${to}`}`,
},
},
MuiAlert: {
defaultProps: {
closeText: 'Dismiss',
},
},
},
});
const theme = createTheme(
{ palette: { primary: { main: '#1976d2' } } },
customDataGridLocale,
customCoreLocale,
);Per-component override (without theme-level locale):
import { DataGrid } from '@mui/x-data-grid';
<DataGrid
rows={rows}
columns={columns}
localeText={{
noRowsLabel: 'Nothing here yet',
toolbarFilters: 'Search filters',
columnMenuSortAsc: 'Sort A to Z',
columnMenuSortDesc: 'Sort Z to A',
}}
/>7. Portal Components & RTL
Portal-based components (Dialog, Popper, Menu, Popover, Snackbar, Tooltip) render outside the main React tree into document.body. They inherit the document direction from document.dir, but they need the Emotion cache and theme context to style correctly.
This works automatically when:
document.diris set to'rtl'- The
CacheProviderwithrtlCachewraps the app root
// Dialogs automatically flip their layout in RTL
import Dialog from '@mui/material/Dialog';
import DialogTitle from '@mui/material/DialogTitle';
import DialogContent from '@mui/material/DialogContent';
import DialogActions from '@mui/material/DialogActions';
import Button from '@mui/material/Button';
function RTLDialog({ open, onClose }: { open: boolean; onClose: () => void }) {
return (
<Dialog open={open} onClose={onClose}>
<DialogTitle>{"title"}</DialogTitle>
<DialogContent>
{/* Content flows right-to-left automatically */}
<p>{"content"}</p>
</DialogContent>
<DialogActions>
{/* Buttons position correctly: primary action on left in RTL */}
<Button onClick={onClose}>{"cancel"}</Button>
<Button onClick={onClose} variant="contained">{"confirm"}</Button>
</DialogActions>
</Dialog>
);
}If using multiple directions in the same page (e.g., an LTR widget inside an RTL page), wrap the LTR section:
import { ThemeProvider, createTheme } from '@mui/material/styles';
import { CacheProvider } from '@emotion/react';
function LTRSection({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
const ltrTheme = createTheme({ direction: 'ltr' });
return (
<div dir="ltr">
<CacheProvider value={ltrCache}>
<ThemeProvider theme={ltrTheme}>
{children}
</ThemeProvider>
</CacheProvider>
</div>
);
}8. Bidirectional Layout Tips
Icons that need flipping
Some icons have directional meaning and should be mirrored in RTL:
import { useTheme } from '@mui/material/styles';
import ArrowForwardIcon from '@mui/icons-material/ArrowForward';
import ArrowBackIcon from '@mui/icons-material/ArrowBack';
import SendIcon from '@mui/icons-material/Send';
function DirectionalIcon() {
const theme = useTheme();
const isRtl = theme.direction === 'rtl';
// Option 1: Swap icons based on direction
const NextIcon = isRtl ? ArrowBackIcon : ArrowForwardIcon;
const PrevIcon = isRtl ? ArrowForwardIcon : ArrowBackIcon;
// Option 2: CSS flip for icons that should mirror
return (
<SendIcon
sx={{
transform: isRtl ? 'scaleX(-1)' : 'none',
}}
/>
);
}Icons that should NOT flip: icons without directional meaning (close, add, delete, search, settings).
Icons that SHOULD flip: arrows, navigation chevrons, send, reply, undo/redo, text indent, list bullets, external link.
Spacing in RTL
Use logical properties in the sx prop instead of physical ones:
// BAD: physical properties — break in RTL
<Box sx={{ marginLeft: 2, paddingRight: 1 }} />
// GOOD: logical properties — work in both LTR and RTL
<Box sx={{ marginInlineStart: 2, paddingInlineEnd: 1 }} />
// ALSO GOOD: MUI shorthand with theme-aware flipping
// ml/mr are auto-flipped by the RTL plugin
<Box sx={{ ml: 2, pr: 1 }} />The stylis-plugin-rtl automatically converts margin-left to margin-right (and vice versa), so MUI shorthand (ml, mr, pl, pr) works correctly. However, if you use inline styles (style={{marginLeft: 16}}), those are NOT flipped — always prefer sx.
Logical CSS properties reference
| Physical (avoid) | Logical (prefer) |
|---|---|
left / right | inset-inline-start / inset-inline-end |
margin-left / margin-right | margin-inline-start / margin-inline-end |
padding-left / padding-right | padding-inline-start / padding-inline-end |
border-left / border-right | border-inline-start / border-inline-end |
text-align: left | text-align: start |
float: left | float: inline-start |
Opt out of RTL flipping
For elements that should remain LTR even in an RTL context (e.g., code blocks, phone numbers, LTR brand names):
// Use the noflip directive in sx
<Box
sx={{
/* @noflip */
textAlign: 'left',
direction: 'ltr',
}}
/>
// Or wrap in a dir="ltr" container
<span dir="ltr" style={{ unicodeBidi: 'embed' }}>
+1 (555) 123-4567
</span>TextField and input alignment
Text inputs automatically inherit direction. For mixed-direction inputs (e.g., a search field that might contain Arabic or English):
import TextField from '@mui/material/TextField';
<TextField
label="Search"
inputProps={{
dir: 'auto', // browser auto-detects direction from content
}}
/>RTL testing checklist
- Verify
document.dir="rtl"is set - Check
createTheme({direction: 'rtl'})is configured - Confirm
CacheProviderwithrtlCachewraps the app - Test all Dialogs, Menus, and Drawers open/close correctly
- Verify navigation icons (arrows, chevrons) point correctly
- Check form layouts and label alignment
- Verify DataGrid column order and sort icons
- Test text truncation with ellipsis in RTL
- Check absolute/fixed positioned elements
- Verify scrollbar position (should be on the left in RTL)