diff --git a/cdist/conf/type/__locale/deprecated b/cdist/conf/type/__locale/deprecated
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..5a06b28e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cdist/conf/type/__locale/deprecated
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+This type is deprecated. Please use __localedef instead.
diff --git a/cdist/conf/type/__localedef/gencode-remote b/cdist/conf/type/__localedef/gencode-remote
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..1feb9884
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cdist/conf/type/__localedef/gencode-remote
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+#!/bin/sh -e
+#
+# 2013-2019 Nico Schottelius (nico-cdist at schottelius.org)
+#
+# This file is part of cdist.
+#
+# cdist 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.
+#
+# cdist 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 cdist. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+#
+#
+# Let localedef do the magic
+#
+
+locale="$__object_id"
+
+# Hardcoded, create a pull request with
+# branching on $os in case it is at another location
+alias=/usr/share/locale/locale.alias
+
+input=$(echo "$locale" | cut -d . -f 1)
+charmap=$(echo "$locale" | cut -d . -f 2)
+
+# Adding locale? The name is de_CH.UTF-8
+# Removing locale? The name is de_CH.utf8.
+# W-T-F!
+locale_remove=$(echo "$locale" | sed 's/UTF-8/utf8/')
+
+state=$(cat "$__object/parameter/state")
+
+os=$(cat "$__global/explorer/os")
+
+# Nothing to be done on alpine
+case "$os" in
+    alpine)
+        exit 0
+        ;;
+esac
+
+case "$state" in
+    present)
+        echo localedef -A "$alias" -f "$charmap" -i "$input" "$locale"
+    ;;
+    absent)
+        echo localedef --delete-from-archive "$locale_remove"
+    ;;
+    *)
+        echo "Unsupported state: $state" >&2
+        exit 1
+    ;;
+esac
diff --git a/cdist/conf/type/__localedef/man.rst b/cdist/conf/type/__localedef/man.rst
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..0ccf484a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cdist/conf/type/__localedef/man.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+cdist-type__localedef(7)
+========================
+
+NAME
+----
+cdist-type__localedef - Define and remove system locales
+
+
+DESCRIPTION
+-----------
+This cdist type allows you to define locales on the system using
+:strong:`localedef`\ (1) or remove them.
+On systems that don't support definition of new locales, the type will raise an
+error.
+
+
+OPTIONAL PARAMETERS
+-------------------
+state
+   ``present`` or ``absent``. Defaults to ``present``.
+
+
+EXAMPLES
+--------
+
+.. code-block:: sh
+
+    # Add locale de_CH.UTF-8
+    __localedef de_CH.UTF-8
+
+    # Same as above, but more explicit
+    __localedef de_CH.UTF-8 --state present
+
+    # Remove colourful British English
+    __localedef en_GB.UTF-8 --state absent
+
+
+SEE ALSO
+--------
+:strong:`locale`\ (1),
+:strong:`localedef`\ (1),
+:strong:`cdist-type__locale_system`\ (7)
+
+
+AUTHORS
+-------
+| Dennis Camera <dennis.camera--@--ssrq-sds-fds.ch>
+| Nico Schottelius <nico-cdist--@--schottelius.org>
+
+
+COPYING
+-------
+Copyright \(C) 2013-2019 Nico Schottelius, 2020 Dennis Camera. Free use of this
+software is granted under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 3
+or later (GPLv3+).
diff --git a/cdist/conf/type/__localedef/manifest b/cdist/conf/type/__localedef/manifest
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..9f1e17ac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cdist/conf/type/__localedef/manifest
@@ -0,0 +1,41 @@
+#!/bin/sh -e
+#
+# 2013-2019 Nico Schottelius (nico-cdist at schottelius.org)
+# 2015 David Hürlimann (david at ungleich.ch)
+#
+# This file is part of cdist.
+#
+# cdist 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.
+#
+# cdist 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 cdist. If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+#
+#
+# Install required packages
+#
+
+os=$(cat "$__global/explorer/os")
+
+
+case "$os" in
+    debian|devuan)
+        # Debian needs a seperate package
+        __package locales --state present
+    ;;
+    archlinux|suse|ubuntu|scientific|centos|alpine)
+        :
+    ;;
+    *)
+        echo "Sorry, do not know how to handle os: $os" >&2
+        echo "Please edit the type ${__type##*/} to fix this." >&2
+        exit 1
+    ;;
+esac
diff --git a/cdist/conf/type/__localedef/parameter/default/state b/cdist/conf/type/__localedef/parameter/default/state
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..e7f6134f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cdist/conf/type/__localedef/parameter/default/state
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+present
diff --git a/cdist/conf/type/__localedef/parameter/optional b/cdist/conf/type/__localedef/parameter/optional
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ff72b5c7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cdist/conf/type/__localedef/parameter/optional
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+state