🌐 super-e-translator

Select text. Hit a hotkey. Get a translation.
_{A no-friction translator for Ubuntu (GNOME/Wayland) and macOS, powered by MiniMax.}

---

✨ Why

Most desktop translators are clunky: open the app, paste text, click translate, copy back. This one is one keystroke.

🚀 Install

git clone https://github.com/gaoxiaowei2117/super-e-translator.git
cd super-e-translator
./install.sh

install.sh auto-detects your OS and dispatches to install-linux.sh or install-macos.sh.

After install, drop your MiniMax API key into the config:

$EDITOR ~/.config/translator/config.toml

Ubuntu (GNOME/Wayland)

The Linux installer:

• ✅ installs apt deps (python3-gi, gir1.2-gtk-4.0, wl-clipboard, libnotify-bin, gnome-screenshot, pipx)
• ✅ installs the translator command into ~/.local/bin via pipx (with --system-site-packages so the venv can use the apt-installed PyGObject)
• ✅ registers Super+E (text) and Super+R (screenshot) as GNOME custom keybindings via gsettings

macOS

The macOS installer:

• ✅ installs python-tk + pipx from Homebrew, and skhd from the koekeishiya/formulae tap (Tkinter for the popup, skhd for global hotkeys — no GTK needed)
• ✅ installs translator and translator-image into ~/.local/bin via pipx
• ✅ writes ⌘⌃E and ⌘⌃R bindings into ~/.config/skhd/skhdrc and starts the skhd launchd service

The first time you press a hotkey, macOS prompts for Accessibility permission — twice:

1. For skhd, so it can listen for the global hotkey.
2. For the translator binary, so it can send ⌘C to the focused app to grab your selection.

Grant both under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. After that, hotkeys work everywhere.

To change a binding later, edit ~/.config/skhd/skhdrc and run skhd --restart-service.

(⌘E alone is "Use Selection for Find" in most apps and ⌘⌥E clashes with a few pro apps' bindings, so we default to ⌘⌃E — almost nothing uses it.)

⌨️ Usage

1. Select English (or Chinese) text anywhere — browser, terminal, IDE.
2. Press your hotkey (Super+E on Linux / ⌘⌃E on macOS).
3. A small popup appears with the translation.
   • Esc — close
   • "复制译文" — copy result

Direction is auto-detected: ≥30% Chinese characters → translate to English; otherwise → translate to Chinese.

For a single English word, you get a dictionary entry (IPA + POS-grouped meanings) instead of a sentence translation.

For images: press Super+R (Linux) / ⌘⌃R (macOS), drag-select a region, get a translation of the text inside.

⚙️ Configuration

~/.config/translator/config.toml:

api_key  = "your-minimax-key"
model    = "MiniMax-M2.5-highspeed"
endpoint = "https://api.minimaxi.com/anthropic/v1/messages"

model and endpoint are optional; defaults shown. Other supported models:

Model	Notes
MiniMax-M2.7	latest, most capable
MiniMax-M2.7-highspeed	latest, faster
MiniMax-M2.5 (default)	balanced
MiniMax-M2.5-highspeed	balanced, faster
MiniMax-M2.1	older
MiniMax-M2.1-highspeed	older, faster
MiniMax-M2	original

All go through the same Anthropic-style endpoint.

🧑‍💻 Development

python3 -m venv .venv
.venv/bin/pip install -e ".[dev]"
.venv/bin/pytest -v

Tests cover both Linux and macOS backends — the platform-specific bits dispatch via sys.platform and each backend is tested independently.

⚠️ Limitations

• Linux: popup position is controlled by the Wayland compositor — usually centered on the active monitor. A few GTK4 apps don't write to the PRIMARY selection; if selection-via-hotkey doesn't work, try Ctrl+C first.
• macOS: requires Accessibility permission for the host process (Shortcuts/Terminal/skhd) so the script can dispatch ⌘C to grab your selection. Granted once, persists.
• Selections over 2000 characters are truncated.

🗺️ Roadmap

• Auto-detect more language pairs (es/fr/de/ja → en/zh)
• Streaming output for long passages
• X11 fallback on Linux (currently Wayland-only)
• Windows port
• Custom popup theme

📄 License

MIT