Where to place translation script file in Sanity project structure?

The issue you're hitting is that this gist was written for Sanity v2 and uses the old part:@sanity/base/client import system, which only worked inside the Studio's build context. That syntax doesn't work in modern Sanity v3+ projects or as a standalone Node.js script.

For Sanity v3 (Current Version)

Replace the old import with the modern client setup. Create your script (e.g., scripts/translate.js) like this:

import {createClient} from '@sanity/client'

const client = createClient({
  projectId: 'your-project-id',
  dataset: 'your-dataset',
  token: 'your-token-with-write-access',
  apiVersion: '2024-01-01',
  useCdn: false
})

// ... rest of the translation script code from the gist

Steps to make it work:

1. Install the client: npm install @sanity/client
2. Get a token from your Sanity project dashboard with write permissions
3. Add "type": "module" to your package.json to use ES modules, OR convert all imports to CommonJS require() syntax
4. Run with: node scripts/translate.js

If You're Still on Sanity v2

The part: system only works inside the Studio's execution context. Place the script in scripts/translate.js and run:

sanity exec scripts/translate.js --with-user-token

The --with-user-token flag gives your script access to the Studio's parts system and authenticated client.

Modern Alternative: Sanity Functions

For ongoing translation needs (not just one-time migrations), consider using Sanity Functions which give you serverless compute with built-in client access. But for a migration script like this, the standalone approach above is simpler.

The key takeaway: part:@sanity/base/client was v2-specific Studio magic that's been replaced by the standard @sanity/client package you can use anywhere.