diff --git a/cli/src/commands/build.js b/cli/src/commands/build.js
index 1b0a2300e..4c68d18bf 100644
--- a/cli/src/commands/build.js
+++ b/cli/src/commands/build.js
@@ -89,11 +89,16 @@ const handler = async ({
             }
 
             reporter.info('Generating internationalization strings...')
-            await i18n.extract({ input: paths.src, output: paths.i18nStrings })
+            await i18n.extract({
+                input: paths.src,
+                output: paths.i18nStrings,
+                paths,
+            })
             await i18n.generate({
                 input: paths.i18nStrings,
                 output: paths.i18nLocales,
                 namespace: 'default',
+                paths,
             })
 
             if (config.type === 'app') {
diff --git a/cli/src/commands/i18n.js b/cli/src/commands/i18n.js
index bc91f96cf..5a4f3e16c 100644
--- a/cli/src/commands/i18n.js
+++ b/cli/src/commands/i18n.js
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 const { namespace, reporter } = require('@dhis2/cli-helpers-engine')
 const i18n = require('../lib/i18n')
+const makePaths = require('../lib/paths')
 
 const generate = {
     description:
@@ -9,12 +10,10 @@ const generate = {
             alias: 'p',
             description:
                 'directory path to find .po/.pot files and convert to JSON',
-            default: './i18n/',
         },
         output: {
             alias: 'o',
             description: 'Output directory to place converted JSON files.',
-            default: './src/locales/',
         },
         namespace: {
             alias: 'n',
@@ -22,11 +21,14 @@ const generate = {
             default: 'default',
         },
     },
-    handler: async argv => {
+    handler: async ({ cwd, path, output, namespace }) => {
+        const paths = makePaths(cwd)
+
         const result = await i18n.generate({
-            input: argv.path,
-            output: argv.output,
-            namespace: argv.namespace,
+            input: path || paths.i18nStrings,
+            output: output || paths.i18nLocales,
+            namespace,
+            paths,
         })
 
         if (!result) {
@@ -43,18 +45,19 @@ const extract = {
             alias: 'p',
             description:
                 'Directory path to recurse and extract i18n.t translation strings',
-            default: './src/',
         },
         output: {
             alias: 'o',
             description: 'Destination path for en.pot file',
-            default: './i18n/',
         },
     },
-    handler: async argv => {
+    handler: async ({ cwd, path, output }) => {
+        const paths = makePaths(cwd)
+
         const result = await i18n.extract({
-            input: argv.path,
-            output: argv.output,
+            input: path || paths.src,
+            output: output || paths.i18nStrings,
+            paths,
         })
         if (!result) {
             reporter.error('Failed to extract i18n strings.')
diff --git a/cli/src/commands/start.js b/cli/src/commands/start.js
index 0e86f4f69..08048757d 100644
--- a/cli/src/commands/start.js
+++ b/cli/src/commands/start.js
@@ -48,11 +48,16 @@ const handler = async ({
             }
 
             reporter.info('Generating internationalization strings...')
-            await i18n.extract({ input: paths.src, output: paths.i18nStrings })
+            await i18n.extract({
+                input: paths.src,
+                output: paths.i18nStrings,
+                paths,
+            })
             await i18n.generate({
                 input: paths.i18nStrings,
                 output: paths.i18nLocales,
                 namespace: 'default',
+                paths,
             })
 
             reporter.info('Bootstrapping local appShell...')
diff --git a/cli/src/lib/i18n/extract.js b/cli/src/lib/i18n/extract.js
index ac7076988..f8df904d7 100644
--- a/cli/src/lib/i18n/extract.js
+++ b/cli/src/lib/i18n/extract.js
@@ -5,8 +5,8 @@ const { i18nextToPot, gettextToI18next } = require('i18next-conv')
 const scanner = require('i18next-scanner')
 const { checkDirectoryExists, walkDirectory, arrayEqual } = require('./helpers')
 
-const extract = async ({ input, output }) => {
-    const relativeInput = './' + path.relative(process.cwd(), input)
+const extract = async ({ input, output, paths }) => {
+    const relativeInput = './' + path.relative(paths.base, input)
     if (!checkDirectoryExists(input)) {
         reporter.error(
             `I18n source directory ${chalk.bold(relativeInput)} does not exist.`
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ const extract = async ({ input, output }) => {
     reporter.print(
         chalk.dim(
             `Writing ${Object.keys(en).length} language strings to ${chalk.bold(
-                './' + targetPath
+                './' + path.relative(paths.base, targetPath)
             )}...`
         )
     )
diff --git a/cli/src/lib/i18n/generate.js b/cli/src/lib/i18n/generate.js
index 7f129c098..60c213011 100644
--- a/cli/src/lib/i18n/generate.js
+++ b/cli/src/lib/i18n/generate.js
@@ -15,9 +15,9 @@ const writeTemplate = (outFile, data) => {
     fs.writeFileSync(outFile, localesTemplate(data))
 }
 
-const generate = async ({ input, output, namespace }) => {
+const generate = async ({ input, output, namespace, paths }) => {
     if (!checkDirectoryExists(input)) {
-        const relativeInput = './' + path.relative(process.cwd(), input)
+        const relativeInput = './' + path.relative(paths.base, input)
         reporter.debug(
             `Source directory ${chalk.bold(
                 relativeInput