diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index c7b61d56a7..7ef135c0a7 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -264,8 +264,8 @@ dnl Manual pages.
 AM_MISSING_PROG([HELP2MAN], [help2man])
 
 dnl Documentation translation.
+AM_MISSING_PROG([PO4A], [po4a])
 AM_MISSING_PROG([PO4A_TRANSLATE], [po4a-translate])
-AM_MISSING_PROG([PO4A_UPDATEPO], [po4a-updatepo])
 
 AC_MSG_CHECKING([if building from git])
 if test -e .git; then
diff --git a/po/doc/local.mk b/po/doc/local.mk
index 77ec4721e3..419898a139 100644
--- a/po/doc/local.mk
+++ b/po/doc/local.mk
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 # Copyright © 2018 Julien Lepiller <julien@lepiller.eu>
 # Copyright © 2021 Maxim Cournoyer <maxim.cournoyer@gmail.com>
 # Copyright © 2024 Janneke Nieuwenhuizen <janneke@gnu.org>
+# Copyright © 2024 gemmaro <gemmaro.dev@gmail.com>
 #
 # This file is part of GNU Guix.
 #
@@ -45,8 +46,13 @@ POT_OPTIONS = \
 	--msgid-bugs-address "bug-guix@gnu.org"
 
 %D%/%.pot: $(srcdir)/doc/%.texi
-	$(AM_V_PO4A)$(PO4A_UPDATEPO) -M UTF-8 -f texinfo -m "$<"	\
-	   -p "$@-t" $(POT_OPTIONS)
+	$(AM_V_PO4A)$(PO4A) --no-translations -M UTF-8			\
+	    --package-version "$(VERSION)"				\
+	    --variable master="$<"					\
+	    --variable pot="$@-t"					\
+	    --variable po=/dev/null					\
+	    --variable localized=/dev/null				\
+	    $(POT_OPTIONS) %D%/po4a.cfg
 	date="$$(git log --pretty=format:%ci -n 1 -- $< 2>/dev/null	\
 		|| echo $(SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH))"				\
 	sed -ri -e "s,^(.POT-Creation-Date: )[^\]*,\1$$date," "$@-t"
diff --git a/po/doc/po4a.cfg b/po/doc/po4a.cfg
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..7d2ef71773
--- /dev/null
+++ b/po/doc/po4a.cfg
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+# GNU Guix --- Functional package management for GNU
+# Copyright © 2024 gemmaro <gemmaro.dev@gmail.com>
+#
+# This file is part of GNU Guix.
+#
+# GNU Guix is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+# under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation; either version 3 of the License, or (at
+# your option) any later version.
+#
+# GNU Guix is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
+# WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with GNU Guix.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+# "--keep 0": produce an output even if the translation is not complete
+[options]                                                   \
+          --package-name "guix manual"                      \
+          --copyright-holder "the authors of Guix (msgids)" \
+          --msgid-bugs-address "bug-guix@gnu.org"           \
+          --master-charset UTF-8                            \
+          --localized-charset UTF-8                         \
+          --keep 0
+
+[po4a_langs] de es fr pt_BR ru zh_CN ko sk
+
+[po4a_paths] $(pot) $lang:$(po)
+
+[type:texinfo] $(master) $lang:$(localized)