# QTranslate **The translation tool that Questsoft abandoned. Rebuilt from scratch. Built to last.** **Select text in any application → press `Ctrl+Q` → understand it without leaving what you're doing.** Translate with the provider you trust. Compare several translations, look up a word or picture, read a document, or use your computer's own OCR, speech, and spell checking. Free and open source · Windows, macOS, Linux · Plugins for local and cloud services [](https://github.com/ahatem/QTranslate/releases/latest) [](LICENSE) [](https://github.com/ahatem/QTranslate/actions) [**Download QTranslate**](https://github.com/ahatem/QTranslate/releases/latest) · [**See the features**](#what-qtranslate-does) · [**Install a plugin**](https://github.com/ahatem/QTranslate/blob/HEAD/wiki/Installing-Plugins.md) · [**Wiki**](https://github.com/ahatem/QTranslate/blob/HEAD/wiki/Home.md)

_{One workspace for translation and reference, with a dictionary beside your text.}

Start with the right download

The ZIP packages include the bundled plugins, languages, themes, and icon sets. The standalone app JAR is for an existing or manually assembled setup. Installation details · First shortcuts

What makes it different

• Several answers when one is not enough. Pick a translator with one click or configure a Comparison set to read provider results together.
• Useful without another account. System Services use your computer's OCR, speech, and spell checker. Wiktionary and Wikimedia Commons add word and image reference. Availability of system engines varies by platform.
• Your services, your setup. Plugins can be installed while the app runs. Use cloud translators, a self-hosted LibreTranslate server, or a local Ollama or LM Studio endpoint for AI features.
• Work where the text is. Quick Translate, document translation, selection OCR, inline replacement, and RTL interface layouts cover more than pasted sentences.

_{Comparison — read translations from your configured providers together.}

Why QTranslate exists

I relied heavily on the original QTranslate while studying veterinary medicine. I was constantly reading material filled with medical terminology, anatomy, drug names, Latin terms, and unfamiliar words.

What made it special was not just translation. It was the lack of friction: select something → press a hotkey → understand it → keep reading.

When the original project was abandoned and its services gradually stopped working, I could not find another application that felt the same. So I rebuilt it from scratch.

The rewrite is built around one lesson from the original: a translation app should not die because one service changes its API. Translation engines, OCR, TTS, spell checkers, dictionaries, and AI services are plugins that can be replaced independently.

I built QTranslate for myself first, but I keep it free and open source because translation, reading, and learning tools should not require another subscription.

— Ahmed Hatem, creator of QTranslate

What QTranslate does

Select text anywhere → press Ctrl+Q → translation appears instantly. That's the core of it.

_{Quick Translate — select text in any app, press Ctrl+Q}

For longer work, open the main window to translate text or a document, compare providers, check a term in the Dictionary or Images panel, and switch services without losing your place.

Find visual context beside the text, with source and licence visible	Translate DOCX, PDF, text and subtitles with progress you can follow
Choose engines, build a Comparison set, and keep presets for different work	Use Arabic and other RTL languages in a mirrored interface
Install, configure, and enable or disable plugins without restarting	Open a result in place; keep its title, attribution, and source close by

Who it is for

• Readers and language learners — understand unfamiliar words and passages without constantly switching applications.
• Students and researchers — translate terminology, documents, screenshots, and reference material with the services you choose.
• Professionals — work across desktop applications and choose local or cloud services based on the material being translated.
• Power users and developers — configure global hotkeys, build service presets, and extend QTranslate with plugins.

Privacy and local options

QTranslate lets you choose which services receive your text. You can point AI Services at a local Ollama or LM Studio server, or use a self-hosted LibreTranslate instance. Requests sent to those configured local endpoints stay on your machine or network; requests sent to a cloud service are handled by that provider.

Plugins run on your computer with access to local resources, so install third-party plugin JARs only from publishers you trust.

Features

Translation

Input

Services & plugins

Interface

Installation

All downloads live on the latest release page.

The Windows and portable ZIP packages contain all bundled plugins, languages, themes, and icon sets. The app-only JAR contains no plugins and is intended for an existing or manually assembled setup.

Windows

1. Download QTranslate-<version>-windows-x64.zip
2. Extract to a writable folder
3. Run QTranslate.exe

No Java installation needed — the package ships its own trimmed runtime. That runtime requires Windows 10 or later (x64); older Windows versions such as Windows 7 or 8.1 are not supported, and the macOS/Linux packages need Java 17+, whose Windows support also starts at Windows 10.

macOS and Linux

1. Install Java 17 or later (Temurin recommended)
2. Download and extract QTranslate-<version>.zip
3. Run QTranslate.jar, or java -jar QTranslate.jar from a terminal

QTranslate/
  ├── QTranslate.jar                  ← double-click, or: java -jar QTranslate.jar
  ├── plugins/
  │     ├── google-services-plugin.jar
  │     ├── bing-services-plugin.jar
  │     ├── mozhi-services-plugin.jar
  │     └── ...
  ├── themes/
  │     ├── Salmon.theme.json
  │     ├── clean_sheet.theme.json
  │     └── kokedera.theme.json       ← release themes; drop more .theme.json files here
  ├── languages/
  │     ├── ar-SA.toml
  │     ├── zh-CN.toml
  │     ├── de-DE.toml
  │     └── ...
  ├── icons/
  │     ├── material-symbols/
  │     ├── tabler/
  │     ├── phosphor/
  │     └── heroicons/                ← extra icon sets; drop a set's folder in to add it
  ├── LICENSE                         ← Mozilla Public License 2.0
  ├── NOTICE.md                       ← licensing scope and earlier-release notice
  ├── LICENSES/
  │     └── QTranslate-MIT.txt        ← license used for earlier revisions
  └── THIRD_PARTY_LICENSES/
        ├── Lucide-ISC.txt
        ├── MaterialSymbols-Apache-2.0.txt
        └── ...                       ← notices for bundled third-party material

Bundled plugins: Google, Bing, System Services, AI Services, DeepL, Mozhi, MyMemory, LibreTranslate Local, Reverso, Yandex Web, Wikimedia Reference, and CSV Dictionary. Configure a service from the service selector or Settings → Plugins.

Individual plugin JARs are also attached to each release. They are only for adding or updating a single plugin in an existing install — you do not need them for a fresh setup.

Verifying a download — each release includes SHA256SUMS.txt. Compare it against your downloaded file with sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS.txt (Linux/macOS) or Get-FileHash <file> -Algorithm SHA256 (PowerShell) before running it.

Getting "This application requires a Java Runtime Environment"? Java isn't installed or JAVA_HOME isn't set — or use the Windows package, which needs neither. ▶ How to Install Java JDK and Set JAVA_HOME (first 7 minutes)

Build from source → Building from Source

Preparing a release → Release Guide

Quick start

1. Launch QTranslate.exe on Windows, or QTranslate.jar from the portable package — it starts in the system tray
2. Select text anywhere on screen
3. Press Ctrl+Q — Quick Translate popup opens with the result ready
4. Press Ctrl+D — open the Dictionary for the selected word
5. Press Ctrl+Shift+Q — see pictures of the selected word
6. Press Ctrl+E — listen to the selected text
7. Press Ctrl+I — draw a screen region to OCR and translate

Open Settings (gear icon) to configure API keys, themes, hotkeys, and service presets.

Plugins

Installing a plugin: Settings → Plugins → Install Plugin, or drop a plugin JAR onto the plugin panel. Review its details, enable it, configure it, then assign its services under Services & Presets.

Full guide → Installing Plugins

Community plugins

The in-app catalog and independent plugin updater are planned but are not available yet. Until then, install only JARs from publishers you trust and verify any checksum they provide.

Built a plugin? Publish its source, release JAR, compatibility range, and checksum. See the plugin publishing guide.

Build a plugin

A minimal translator is ~50 lines of Kotlin. No framework, no registration — implement a few interfaces, build a fat JAR, install it through the UI.

class MyPlugin : Plugin<PluginSettings.None> {
    override val id      = "com.example.my-plugin"
    override val name    = "My Plugin"
    override val version = "1.0.0"

    override fun getSettings() = PluginSettings.None
    override fun getServices() = listOf(MyTranslatorService())
}

All bundled plugins are open source under plugins/. They provide real-world examples of authentication, no-key services, local endpoints, throttling, language mapping, batch translation, dictionaries, and structured errors.

Full guide → Creating a Plugin

Translate the interface

QTranslate ships with 18 built-in locale files:

Arabic · Bengali · Chinese (Simplified and Traditional) · English · French · German · Hungarian · Indonesian · Italian · Japanese · Korean · Portuguese · Russian · Spanish · Turkish · Ukrainian · Vietnamese

Want another language? Copy languages/en-GB.toml, rename it to your language code, translate the values. No code needed.

Guide → Adding a Language

Architecture

Clean Architecture + MVI. Nothing leaks between layers:

:api          ← plugin interfaces — plugins only depend on this
:core         ← business logic, use cases, MVI stores
:ui-swing     ← Swing UI, Renderable<State> components
:app          ← composition root
:plugins/*    ← independently packaged service implementations
:plugins/common ← shared HTTP client, JSON, language utilities

Guide → Architecture

Support QTranslate

QTranslate is free and open source, and I want it to stay that way.

I am the primary developer behind the project. Maintenance means more than adding features: providers change APIs, operating systems change behaviour, plugins need updates, bugs need investigation, releases need testing, and users need support.

If QTranslate saves you time, helps you study, or becomes one of those utilities you use every day, consider supporting its development. Even a small recurring contribution makes it easier to work on QTranslate consistently.

GitHub Sponsors · Buy Me a Coffee · Supporters

Financial support is completely optional. You can also help by starring and sharing QTranslate, reporting reproducible bugs, translating the interface, improving documentation, building plugins, or contributing code.

— Ahmed

Professional or organization use

Using QTranslate in a team or organization and need something specific? I may be available for paid professional work around the project, including:

• custom QTranslate plugins;
• private translation-service or API/LLM integrations;
• terminology and dictionary integrations;
• deployment and organization-specific configuration;
• technical consulting and support.

This work supports development around the free, open-source application; it does not create a paid edition or give sponsors control over technical decisions. For professional inquiries, use the public contact details on my GitHub profile.

Contributing

Bug fixes, features, translations, docs, and plugins all welcome. Look for good first issue for well-scoped starting points.

→ Contributing Guide

QTranslate was created by Ahmed Hatem and is maintained with contributions from the QTranslate community.

License

QTranslate source code is available under the Mozilla Public License 2.0. Earlier revisions remain available under the MIT License; see NOTICE.md for the transition and third-party notices.