diff --git a/po/update.sh b/po/update.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000000..265a42b0a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/po/update.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+xgettext --default-domain=gtk+ --directory=.. \
+  --add-comments --keyword=_ --keyword=N_ \
+  --files-from=./POTFILES.in \
+&& test ! -f gtk+.po \
+   || ( rm -f ./gtk+.pot \
+    && mv gtk+.po ./gtk+.pot )