# CFLocale ``` class CFLocale ``` ## Overview Unicode operations such as collation and text boundary determination can be affected by the conventions of a particular language or region. CFLocale objects specify language-specific or region-specific information for locale-sensitive operations. The CFLocale opaque type provides support for obtaining available locales, obtaining localized locale names, and converting among locale data formats. Locale identifiers in macOS follow the IETF’s [BCP 47](http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/bcp/bcp47.txt). CFLocale never uses Script Manager codes (except for the legacy support provided by [`CFLocaleCreateCanonicalLocaleIdentifierFromScriptManagerCodes(_:_:_:)`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleCreateCanonicalLocaleIdentifierFromScriptManagerCodes(_:_:_:)))—the Script Manager and all its concepts are deprecated. For more information on locale identifiers, read [Internationalization and Localization Guide](https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/BPInternational/Introduction/Introduction.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/10000171i). It is also useful to read the ICU’s [User Guide for the Locale Class](http://icu-project.org/userguide/locale.html). CFLocale is “toll-free bridged” with its Cocoa Foundation counterpart, . This means that the Core Foundation type is interchangeable in function or method calls with the bridged Foundation object. Therefore, in a method where you see an `NSLocale *` parameter, you can pass in a `CFLocaleRef`, and in a function where you see a `CFLocaleRef` parameter, you can pass in an `NSLocale` instance. See [Toll-Free Bridged Types](https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/CoreFoundation/Conceptual/CFDesignConcepts/Articles/tollFreeBridgedTypes.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40010677) for more information on toll-free bridging. ## Topics ### Creating a Locale [`CFLocaleCopyCurrent()`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleCopyCurrent()) Returns a copy of the logical locale for the current user. [`CFLocaleCreate(_:_:)`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleCreate(_:_:)) Creates a locale for the given arbitrary locale identifier. [`CFLocaleCreateCopy(_:_:)`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleCreateCopy(_:_:)) Returns a copy of a locale. [`CFLocaleGetSystem()`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleGetSystem()) Returns the root, canonical locale. ### Getting System Locale Information [`CFLocaleCopyAvailableLocaleIdentifiers()`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleCopyAvailableLocaleIdentifiers()) Returns an array of CFString objects that represents all locales for which locale data is available. ### Getting ISO Information [`CFLocaleCopyISOCountryCodes()`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleCopyISOCountryCodes()) Returns an array of CFString objects that represents all known legal ISO country codes. [`CFLocaleCopyISOLanguageCodes()`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleCopyISOLanguageCodes()) Returns an array of CFString objects that represents all known legal ISO language codes. [`CFLocaleCopyISOCurrencyCodes()`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleCopyISOCurrencyCodes()) Returns an array of CFString objects that represents all known legal ISO currency codes. [`CFLocaleCopyCommonISOCurrencyCodes()`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleCopyCommonISOCurrencyCodes()) Returns an array of strings that represents ISO currency codes for currencies in common use. ### Language Preferences [`CFLocaleCopyPreferredLanguages()`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleCopyPreferredLanguages()) Returns the array of canonicalized language IDs that the user prefers. ### Getting Information About a Locale [`CFLocaleCopyDisplayNameForPropertyValue(_:_:_:)`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleCopyDisplayNameForPropertyValue(_:_:_:)) Returns the display name for the given value. [`CFLocaleGetValue(_:_:)`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleGetValue(_:_:)) Returns the corresponding value for the given key of a locale’s key-value pair. [`CFLocaleGetIdentifier(_:)`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleGetIdentifier(_:)) Returns the given locale’s identifier. ### Getting and Creating Locale Identifiers [`CFLocaleCreateCanonicalLocaleIdentifierFromScriptManagerCodes(_:_:_:)`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleCreateCanonicalLocaleIdentifierFromScriptManagerCodes(_:_:_:)) Returns a canonical locale identifier from given language and region codes. [`CFLocaleCreateCanonicalLanguageIdentifierFromString(_:_:)`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleCreateCanonicalLanguageIdentifierFromString(_:_:)) Returns a canonical language identifier by mapping an arbitrary locale identification string to the canonical identifier [`CFLocaleCreateCanonicalLocaleIdentifierFromString(_:_:)`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleCreateCanonicalLocaleIdentifierFromString(_:_:)) Returns a canonical locale identifier by mapping an arbitrary locale identification string to the canonical identifier. [`CFLocaleCreateComponentsFromLocaleIdentifier(_:_:)`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleCreateComponentsFromLocaleIdentifier(_:_:)) Returns a dictionary containing the result from parsing a locale ID consisting of language, script, country or region, variant, and keyword/value pairs. [`CFLocaleCreateLocaleIdentifierFromComponents(_:_:)`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleCreateLocaleIdentifierFromComponents(_:_:)) Returns a locale identifier consisting of language, script, country or region, variant, and keyword/value pairs derived from a dictionary containing the source information. [`CFLocaleCreateLocaleIdentifierFromWindowsLocaleCode(_:_:)`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleCreateLocaleIdentifierFromWindowsLocaleCode(_:_:)) Returns a locale identifier from a Windows locale code. [`CFLocaleGetWindowsLocaleCodeFromLocaleIdentifier(_:)`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleGetWindowsLocaleCodeFromLocaleIdentifier(_:)) Returns a Windows locale code from the locale identifier. ### Getting Line and Character Direction for a Language [`CFLocaleGetLanguageCharacterDirection(_:)`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleGetLanguageCharacterDirection(_:)) Returns the character direction for the specified ISO language code. [`CFLocaleGetLanguageLineDirection(_:)`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleGetLanguageLineDirection(_:)) Returns the line direction for the specified ISO language code. ### Getting the CFLocale Type ID [`CFLocaleGetTypeID()`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleGetTypeID()) Returns the type identifier for the CFLocale opaque type. ### Constants [`CFLocaleLanguageDirection`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleLanguageDirection) These constants describe the text direction for a language. They are returned by the functions [`CFLocaleGetLanguageCharacterDirection(_:)`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleGetLanguageCharacterDirection(_:)) and [`CFLocaleGetLanguageLineDirection(_:)`](/documentation/CoreFoundation/CFLocaleGetLanguageLineDirection(_:)). [Locale Property Keys](/documentation/CoreFoundation/locale-property-keys) Predefined locale keys used to get property values. [Locale Calendar Identifiers](/documentation/CoreFoundation/locale-calendar-identifiers) Predefined locale keys used to get calendar values—values for `kCFLocaleCalendarIdentifier`. [Locale Change Notification](/documentation/CoreFoundation/locale-change-notification) Identifier for notification sent if the current locale changes. ## See Also [Internationalization and Localization Guide](https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/BPInternational/Introduction/Introduction.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/10000171i) --- Copyright © 2026 Apple Inc. 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