KREN: Dictionary, Translate & Rewrite
KREN is a privacy-conscious language workbench for dictionaries, offline grammar checking, translation, nuance explanation, multilingual rewriting, and read-aloud inside VS Code.
Quick start
- Select or copy text. Select editor text, or copy text from chat, terminals, and other panels.
- Choose an action. Right-click an editor selection, or click KREN in the status bar for clipboard text.
- Use the result. Review, compare, copy, safely replace eligible text, hear pronunciation, or open details.
Passive hovering sends nothing. KREN starts a remote request only after you explicitly choose an online operation.
What KREN does
| Feature |
What you get |
Requirement |
| Grammar Check |
Private English spelling and grammar review with optional corrections |
None. Harper runs offline. |
| English Dictionary |
Structured Merriam-Webster entries, examples, inflections, and pronunciation |
Collegiate API key |
| Synonyms |
Sense-grouped synonyms, related words, and antonyms |
Thesaurus API key |
| Medical Dictionary |
Structured definitions for English medical terminology |
Medical Dictionary API key |
| Korean Dictionary |
Korean headwords with English explanations |
Korean Basic Dictionary API key |
| Translation |
Automatic English-to-Korean and Korean-to-English direction by default, or a fixed multilingual target |
Cloud Translation API or Gemini key |
| Explain Nuance |
Meaning, connotation, register, ambiguity, and technical usage |
Gemini, OpenAI API, or Anthropic API key |
| Rewrite Text |
Auto-detects and preserves the source language; Natural, Concise, and Jargon-Free variants use domain, tone, and rhetorical-mode controls. English variety applies only to English. |
Gemini, OpenAI API, or Anthropic API key |
| Read Aloud |
Offline Windows voices or optional Edge Online natural voices |
Local Windows; Edge mode also needs Python and edge-tts |
You need keys only for the online features you choose. This private local build includes no shared credentials and accepts separately issued Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, Collegiate Thesaurus, and Medical Dictionary keys. Use only keys issued to you and follow the provider's current reference-access, account, query, and usage terms. KREN does not bypass provider limits. Consumer AI subscriptions do not automatically include developer API access.
AI reliability: Rewrite and Explain depend on remote model availability and can occasionally fail even with valid settings. Repeating the request often resolves a transient failure. Higher thinking or effort levels can take noticeably longer; use Auto or Low for routine work.
Requirements
- VS Code Desktop 1.106 or later. Text features work on Windows, macOS, and Linux.
- Grammar Check needs no key or network. Online features need outbound HTTPS and the matching provider key.
- Read Aloud requires local Windows. Edge Online voices also require Python and
edge-tts.
- Gemini is optional and restricted by Google's current terms. Gemini API users must be at least 18, use it for professional or business purposes, and meet current account and regional eligibility requirements. KREN asks for confirmation before first Gemini use.
Open the KREN Secondary Sidebar menu and choose Settings. The settings page guides provider, language, model, rewrite, grammar, speech, and API-key removal. The status-bar KREN menu can show or hide KREN itself, leaving anything else in the Secondary Sidebar untouched.
Privacy and cost
- Remote operations receive only explicitly submitted text and chosen settings, never surrounding files, workspace data, open tabs, or chat history.
- Grammar Check is offline. KREN collects no telemetry, keeps no operation history, and stores keys in VS Code Secret Storage.
- Open Full Details writes a copy to the KREN Output channel, which VS Code may retain in session logs.
- Google Cloud Translation has a local 500,000-character monthly ceiling. Provider terms, quotas, retention, and billing remain authoritative.
- Google Translate powers Cloud Translation API results. KREN displays the required linked attribution and translation disclaimer beside those results.
Do not submit secrets, confidential material, or personal data unless the selected provider's terms and controls are acceptable.
Learn more
The same User Manual is available from KREN's in-panel menu.
KREN is independent and is not endorsed by its dictionary, AI, translation, or speech providers.
Source code and documentation are MIT-licensed. The named KREN artwork and brand assets are excluded from that grant; see KREN Brand Assets.
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