chat_translate/README.md

Chat Translator

English | Русский

A NeoForge mod for Minecraft 1.21.1 that automatically translates chat messages so every player sees them in their own language. Powered by LibreTranslate.

Features

• Per-player translation: each recipient gets the message in their configured language
• Works with vanilla clients: they simply see the original text (translation requires the mod on the client)
• Language sources: client locale reported by the mod, vanilla client settings, or automatic detection of the message text (/detect)
• In-game settings GUI (keybind is unbound by default)
• Translation cache with configurable TTL
• Optional "show original" line under the translation

Requirements

Side	Mod required	Result
Server + Client	yes	Full translation
Server only	server	Players see original messages
Client only	client	Does nothing

• Minecraft 1.21.1
• NeoForge 21.1.x
• A reachable LibreTranslate instance

Installation

1. Drop chattranslator-x.y.z.jar into the mods/ folder of your server and/or client.
2. Make sure a LibreTranslate instance is reachable (see below).
3. On the server, edit config/chattranslator-server.toml:

[server]
enabled = true
libretranslate_url = "http://localhost:5000"
api_key = ""
show_original = true
autodetect_language = false
cache_minutes = 30
request_timeout_ms = 5000

Running LibreTranslate

Self-hosted via Docker:

docker run -p 5000:5000 libretranslate/libretranslate

https://libretranslate.com also works, but requires an API key.

Usage

Open the settings GUI with a configurable keybind (Options → Controls → Key Binds → Chat Translator). From there you can pick your language, test the LibreTranslate connection, and toggle "show original".

Note: the GUI edits the server config, which only takes effect in singleplayer. On dedicated servers use the config file or commands below.

Commands (operators)

Command	Description
/chattranslate status	Show status and current URL
/chattranslate enable / disable	Toggle translation globally
/chattranslate seturl <url>	Set the LibreTranslate URL
/chattranslate setkey <key>	Set the API key
/chattranslate showoriginal <true|false>	Toggle original messages under translations
/chattranslate clearcache	Clear the translation cache

Building from source

gradlew build

The jar is written to build/libs/chattranslator-1.0.0.jar.

License

MIT