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TranslateBot Django

PyPI Downloads Tests Coverage License: MPL 2.0

⚡ Translate Django .po files and model fields with AI. Repeatable, consistent, and pennies per language.

The Problem

Translating a Django app sounds simple until it isn't:

  • Manual workflow doesn't scale. Copy strings to Google Translate, paste back, fix placeholders, repeat for every language. It works for 20 strings. It falls apart at 200.
  • AI assistants work once, but not repeatedly. You can ask ChatGPT or Claude Code to translate a .po file, and it'll do a decent job. Once. Next sprint, when 15 new strings appear, you're prompting from scratch, re-translating the whole file, and hoping it stays consistent.
  • SaaS translation platforms are expensive overkill. Paid localization services charge per-word subscriptions and come with portals, review workflows, and team features you don't need for a solo project or small team.

Why a Dedicated Tool?

TranslateBot sits between "do it by hand" and "pay for a platform":

  • Incremental. Only translates new and changed strings. Add 10 strings in a sprint, pay for 10 strings, not the whole file.
  • Consistent. A TRANSLATING.md file in your repo acts as a version-controlled glossary: terminology, tone, brand rules. Every translation run uses it.
  • Cost-efficient. Batches strings into optimized API requests. A typical app costs under $0.01 per language with GPT-4o-mini.
  • Scales to many languages. One command translates all your configured languages. Adding a new locale is a one-liner.
  • Automatable. A CLI command you can script or hook into your workflow. No browser, no portal.
  • Placeholder-safe. Preserves %(name)s, {0}, %s, and HTML tags with 100% test coverage on format string handling.

Features

  • 🤖 Multiple Providers

    Supports DeepL, OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, Azure OpenAI, and 100+ models via LiteLLM

  • 💾 Model Field Translation

    Supports django-modeltranslation for translating database content

  • 🎯 Smart Translation

    Preserves placeholders (%(name)s, {0}, %s) and HTML tags automatically

  • ⚙ Flexible Configuration

    Django settings, environment variables, or command-line arguments

  • 🔄 Selective Translation

    Only translates new and changed strings, unlike AI assistants that reprocess everything each time

  • 🧪 Dry Run Mode

    Preview translations before applying them

  • ✅ Well Tested

    Comprehensive test suite with 100% code coverage

  • 🚀 Easy Integration

    Simple Django management command

Quick Example

# Install
uv add --dev translatebot-django

# Configure (settings.py)
INSTALLED_APPS = ['translatebot_django', ...]
TRANSLATEBOT_API_KEY = "your-api-key"

# Translate!
python manage.py translate --target-lang nl

Supported Versions

Python Django
3.10, 3.11, 3.12, 3.13, 3.14 4.2, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 6.0

Getting Started

Ready to translate your Django app? Start with the Installation Guide.