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中文 |
Español |
Français |
हिन्दी |
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Translate text, files, and READMEs directly in VS Code — powered by your local GPU. 55 languages, zero cloud dependency.
What it does
Polyglot runs TranslateGemma 12B through Ollama on your local GPU. No API keys, no cloud services, no data leaving your machine.
- Translate Selection — Select text, press
Ctrl+Alt+T, pick a language. Done.
- Translate File — Translate an entire file into a new
file.ja.ext alongside the original.
- Translate README — Batch-translate your README.md into 7 languages, preserving code blocks, tables, and badges.
- Sidebar Panel — Globe icon in the activity bar with action buttons and live Ollama status.
Requirements
- Ollama installed and running
- A GPU with enough VRAM for the model (12GB for
translategemma:12b, 2GB for translategemma:2b)
- The model is downloaded automatically on first use
Getting started
- Install the extension
- Click the globe icon in the activity bar (left sidebar)
- Click Check Status — Polyglot will start Ollama and pull the model if needed
- Select some text and press
Ctrl+Alt+T (or Cmd+Alt+T on Mac)
Commands
| Command |
Shortcut |
Description |
| Polyglot: Translate Selection |
Ctrl+Alt+T |
Translate selected text in-place |
| Polyglot: Translate File |
— |
Translate the current file to a new file |
| Polyglot: Translate README |
— |
Batch-translate README.md to multiple languages |
| Polyglot: Check Status |
— |
Verify Ollama connection and model availability |
| Polyglot: Help |
— |
Quick access to settings, walkthrough, and links |
Access points
- Sidebar panel — Globe icon in the activity bar with styled action buttons
- Editor title bar — Globe icon appears when text is selected
- Right-click menu — "Translate Selection" in the editor context menu
- Command Palette —
Ctrl+Shift+P → type "Polyglot"
- Keyboard shortcut —
Ctrl+Alt+T with selected text
Settings
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
polyglot.ollamaUrl |
http://localhost:11434 |
Ollama server URL |
polyglot.model |
translategemma:12b |
Translation model (try 2b for less VRAM) |
polyglot.defaultSourceLanguage |
en |
Source language for translations |
polyglot.defaultLanguages |
7 languages |
Target languages for README translation |
Supported languages
Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Catalan, Chinese (Simplified & Traditional), Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Kannada, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Malay, Malayalam, Marathi, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swahili, Swedish, Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese, and Welsh.
How it works
Polyglot wraps @mcptoolshop/polyglot-mcp, a local translation engine that:
- Auto-starts Ollama if it's not running
- Auto-pulls the TranslateGemma model on first use
- Chunks long text at paragraph/sentence boundaries
- Applies a software glossary for accurate technical terms
- Cleans up common model quirks (duplicate alternatives, trailing periods)
For README translation, it uses intelligent segmentation — code blocks, HTML badges, and URLs are preserved untouched while headings, paragraphs, and table content are translated.
Privacy
All translation happens locally on your GPU. Nothing is sent to any cloud service. Your text never leaves your machine.
License
MIT
