Real plurals: the web's sync messages and Android's tag counts

Web: one counted(n, one, other) helper. The sync screen's three "(s)"
messages (attachments that didn't download, changes refused, files that
didn't upload) now say "1 file" / "2 files". The six hand-written ternaries
(SyncView x2, ImportNotes, GroupList, ShareDialog, LabelsModal) use it too.

Android: tags_count was two strings chosen in code, and is now <plurals>.
The delete confirmation read "It is on 1 notes … removed from all of them"
and now has a one form of its own.

Operator decision on #5371, 2026-10-08.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

android/app/src/main/java/com/fabledsword/inkwell/ui/TagsScreen.kt

@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ import androidx.compose.runtime.setValue
 import androidx.compose.ui.Alignment
 import androidx.compose.ui.Modifier
 import androidx.compose.ui.draw.clip
+import androidx.compose.ui.res.pluralStringResource
 import androidx.compose.ui.res.stringResource
 import androidx.compose.ui.text.input.ImeAction
 import androidx.compose.ui.unit.dp
@@ -203,7 +204,7 @@ fun TagsScreen(
                 body =
                     open.tag.count
                         ?.takeIf { it > 0 }
-                        ?.let { stringResource(R.string.tags_delete_body_counted, it) }
+                        ?.let { pluralStringResource(R.plurals.tags_delete_body_counted, it.toInt(), it.toInt()) }
                         ?: stringResource(R.string.tags_delete_body),
                 footnote = stringResource(R.string.tags_delete_from_text),
                 confirm = stringResource(R.string.tags_delete_confirm),
@@ -378,8 +379,7 @@ private fun countLabel(count: Long?): String =
     when {
         count == null -> ""
         count <= 0L -> stringResource(R.string.tags_count_none)
-        count == 1L -> stringResource(R.string.tags_count_one)
+        else -> pluralStringResource(R.plurals.tags_count, count.toInt(), count.toInt())
-        else -> stringResource(R.string.tags_count, count.toInt())
     }
 
 /**

android/app/src/main/res/values/strings.xml

@@ -137,8 +137,10 @@
     <string name="tags_back">Back</string>
     <string name="tags_new_hint">New tag</string>
     <string name="tags_create">Create</string>
-    <string name="tags_count">%1$d notes</string>
+    <plurals name="tags_count">
-    <string name="tags_count_one">1 note</string>
+        <item quantity="one">%d note</item>
+        <item quantity="other">%d notes</item>
+    </plurals>
     <string name="tags_count_none">No notes yet</string>
     <string name="tags_empty_title">No tags yet</string>
     <string name="tags_empty_body">Create one above, or write a #tag in a note and it becomes one.</string>
@@ -166,7 +168,10 @@
     <string name="tags_delete">Delete</string>
     <string name="tags_delete_title">Delete %1$s?</string>
     <string name="tags_delete_body">It will be removed from every note that has it, on every device you sync with. The notes themselves are kept.</string>
-    <string name="tags_delete_body_counted">It is on %1$d notes. It will be removed from all of them, on every device you sync with. The notes themselves are kept.</string>
+    <plurals name="tags_delete_body_counted">
+        <item quantity="one">It is on %d note. It will be removed from it, on every device you sync with. The note itself is kept.</item>
+        <item quantity="other">It is on %d notes. It will be removed from all of them, on every device you sync with. The notes themselves are kept.</item>
+    </plurals>
     <string name="tags_delete_confirm">Delete</string>
     <!-- A tag written as #tag in a note's body is owned by that text. Deleting the
          row cannot un-write the word, so it comes back on that note's next edit —

frontend/src/components/GroupList.vue

@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import BaseButton from "./BaseButton.vue";
 import BaseInput from "./BaseInput.vue";
 import Icon from "./Icon.vue";
 import { useRowAction, useLoad } from "../composables/useAction";
+import { counted } from "../counted";
 
 // Admin: groups of people a note can be shared with in one go (#5177). A group is
 // the instance's; anyone can share with it, and a note shared with it reaches whoever
@@ -133,7 +134,7 @@ onMounted(() => {
           <div class="min-w-0">
             <p class="truncate text-sm font-medium text-neutral-800 dark:text-neutral-100">{{ g.name }}</p>
             <p class="text-xs text-neutral-400">
-              {{ g.members.length }} {{ g.members.length === 1 ? "person" : "people" }}
+              {{ counted(g.members.length, "person", "people") }}
             </p>
           </div>
           <div class="flex shrink-0 items-center gap-2">

frontend/src/components/ImportNotes.vue

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ import { useNotesStore } from "../stores/notes";
 import { useLabelsStore } from "../stores/labels";
 import { useUiStore } from "../stores/ui";
 import { useAction } from "../composables/useAction";
+import { counted } from "../counted";
 
 // Sidebar counterpart to Export: pick a .zip (an Inkwell export for round-trip,
 // or a Google Keep Takeout archive) and import its notes. Additive — never
@@ -27,9 +28,8 @@ async function onFile(e: Event) {
   await act(async () => {
     const res = await notes.importNotes(file);
     await labels.load(); // surface any labels the import created
-    const noun = res.imported === 1 ? "note" : "notes";
     const tail = res.skipped ? ` (${res.skipped} skipped)` : "";
-    ui.showToast(`Imported ${res.imported} ${noun}${tail}.`);
+    ui.showToast(`Imported ${counted(res.imported, "note", "notes")}${tail}.`);
   }, "Import failed.");
 }
 </script>

frontend/src/components/LabelsModal.vue

@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import {
 } from "../notes/colors";
 import BaseModal from "./BaseModal.vue";
 import Icon from "./Icon.vue";
+import { counted } from "../counted";
 
 const emit = defineEmits<{ (e: "close"): void }>();
 const labels = useLabelsStore();
@@ -86,7 +87,7 @@ async function doMerge(sourceId: string, targetId: string) {
             />
             <span
               class="shrink-0 tabular-nums text-xs text-neutral-400"
-              :title="`${lb.count ?? 0} note${(lb.count ?? 0) === 1 ? '' : 's'}`"
+              :title="counted(lb.count ?? 0, 'note', 'notes')"
               >{{ lb.count ?? 0 }}</span
             >
             <button

frontend/src/components/ShareDialog.vue

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import { errorMessage } from "../api/errors";
 import { useNotesStore } from "../stores/notes";
 import BaseModal from "./BaseModal.vue";
 import Icon from "./Icon.vue";
+import { counted } from "../counted";
 
 // Share a note with other people on this instance (#5174). The owner picks a member,
 // or a group the admin made (#5177), and says whether they may only read it or also
@@ -53,8 +54,7 @@ function nameOf(share: NoteShare): string {
 
 function detailOf(share: NoteShare): string {
   if (!share.group) return share.member?.email ?? "";
-  const n = share.group.member_count;
+  return `Group · ${counted(share.group.member_count, "person", "people")}`;
-  return `Group · ${n} ${n === 1 ? "person" : "people"}`;
 }
 
 async function load() {

frontend/src/counted.test.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
+
+import { counted } from "./counted";
+
+describe("counted", () => {
+  it("uses the singular for exactly one", () => {
+    expect(counted(1, "note", "notes")).toBe("1 note");
+  });
+
+  it("uses the plural for everything else, zero included", () => {
+    expect(counted(0, "note", "notes")).toBe("0 notes");
+    expect(counted(3, "person", "people")).toBe("3 people");
+  });
+});

frontend/src/counted.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+// A number and its noun: "1 note", "3 notes". The web is English-only, and English
+// has two forms; Android's <plurals> carry the same two (quantity "one" and "other").
+export function counted(n: number, one: string, other: string): string {
+  return `${n} ${n === 1 ? one : other}`;
+}

frontend/src/views/SyncView.vue

@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ import {
 import { errorMessage } from "../api/errors";
 import { formatDateTime } from "../notes/datetime";
 import { toastOnFailure } from "../composables/useAction";
+import { counted } from "../counted";
 
 // Opt-in server sync for the desktop app. Being UNLINKED is the normal resting
 // state, not an incomplete setup — the app is local-first and fully usable having
@@ -313,14 +314,15 @@ function showOutcome(outcome: SyncOutcome) {
   const parts: string[] = [];
   if (sent > 0) parts.push(`sent ${sent}`);
   const up = outcome.push.uploaded;
-  if (up > 0) parts.push(`uploaded ${up} file${up === 1 ? "" : "s"}`);
+  if (up > 0) parts.push(`uploaded ${counted(up, "file", "files")}`);
   if (received > 0) parts.push(`received ${received}`);
-  if (blobs > 0) parts.push(`${blobs} attachment${blobs === 1 ? "" : "s"}`);
+  if (blobs > 0) parts.push(counted(blobs, "attachment", "attachments"));
   lastResult.value = parts.length ? `Synced — ${parts.join(", ")}.` : "Already up to date.";
   // Attachments that didn't arrive are retried next sync, so this is a note, not
   // an error — but saying nothing would leave a missing image unexplained.
   if (outcome.pull.blobs_failed > 0) {
-    lastResult.value += ` ${outcome.pull.blobs_failed} attachment(s) didn't download — they'll retry on the next sync.`;
+    const failed = counted(outcome.pull.blobs_failed, "attachment", "attachments");
+    lastResult.value += ` ${failed} didn't download — they'll retry on the next sync.`;
   }
   // Rejections are the server refusing a specific change — surfaced, never
   // swallowed, because only the person can resolve them. The background cycle does
@@ -328,8 +330,8 @@ function showOutcome(outcome: SyncOutcome) {
   // A file refused for good is listed once, here, and not retried; the editor says so
   // on the file itself from then on.
   const problems: string[] = [];
-  if (outcome.push.rejected > 0) problems.push(`${outcome.push.rejected} change(s) the server wouldn't accept`);
+  if (outcome.push.rejected > 0) problems.push(`${counted(outcome.push.rejected, "change", "changes")} the server wouldn't accept`);
-  if (outcome.push.upload_failed > 0) problems.push(`${outcome.push.upload_failed} file(s) didn't upload`);
+  if (outcome.push.upload_failed > 0) problems.push(`${counted(outcome.push.upload_failed, "file", "files")} didn't upload`);
   syncError.value = problems.length ? `${problems.join(" and ")}: ${outcome.push.errors.join("; ")}` : "";
 }