QTranslate

A free, open-source desktop translation tool for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Select text anywhere, press Ctrl+Q, and the translation appears. No browser tab needed.

All downloads, checksums and individual plugins →

Now open source · MIT License · Browse on GitHub →
QTranslate — a translation, its backward translation, and the Quick Dictionary open beside them QTranslate — a translation, its backward translation, and the Quick Dictionary open beside them

What it does

Translate anywhere Ctrl+Q

Select text in any application and read it translated, in place.

Replace as you go Ctrl+Shift+T

Swaps your selection for the translation, without a round trip.

Screen OCR Ctrl+I

Draw a box over anything on screen. Or drop an image in, or paste one from the clipboard.

Read it aloud Ctrl+E

Hear the pronunciation of the source or the translation.

Quick Dictionary Ctrl+D

Definitions for any word without leaving what you were reading.

Whole documents

DOCX, PDF, TXT, SRT and VTT, translated with their formatting intact.

Summarize & rewrite

Shorten a passage, or recast it formal, casual or simplified.

Backward translation

Translate the result back to spot phrasing that has drifted.

Spell checking

Live suggestions as you type, before you translate.

Translation rules

Pick the target language automatically from the language detected.

History you can search

Every translation kept, browsable, and restorable in a click.

Right-to-left, properly

The whole window mirrors for Arabic, Hebrew and Farsi — not just the text.

Three layouts, 30+ themes

Classic, side-by-side or compact. Themes follow your system light and dark.

Every key rebindable

Nothing is hard-wired, and shortcuts can be global or app-only.

Plugins

QTranslate uses a plugin system — translation engines, OCR, TTS, and spell checkers are all separate .jar files installed at runtime. When a service breaks or changes its API, you swap the plugin without reinstalling the app.

Ten are bundled, and every one of them works out of the box:

Plugin Provides Setup
Google TranslateOCRSpeechSpellingDictionary None
AI Services TranslateSummarizeRewriteSpellingDictionaryVision OCR API key — 300+ models via OpenRouter
Bing TranslateSpeechSpelling None
DeepL Translate Optional key — free tier works without one
LibreTranslate Translate Self-hosted — nothing leaves your machine
Mozhi Translate None — tests public instances, picks the fastest
MyMemory Translate None
Reverso Translate None
Yandex Translate None
Wikimedia Dictionary None — Wikipedia and Wiktionary via the MediaWiki API

You can build your own plugin — a minimal translator is about 50 lines of Kotlin.

Screenshots

The real application — real plugins, real translations — captured at twice the size so they stay sharp. The gallery follows the theme you're reading in; switch it in the header to see the other one.

Everything at once Everything at once Everything at once Everything at once Main window Main window Main window Main window Quick translate popup Quick translate popup Quick translate popup Quick translate popup Translation history Translation history Document translation Document translation Side by side Side by side Side by side Side by side Compact — tabbed panes Compact — tabbed panes Compact — tabbed panes Compact — tabbed panes Dictionary docked Dictionary docked Dictionary docked Dictionary docked Quick Dictionary popup Quick Dictionary popup Arabic — with dictionary Arabic — with dictionary Arabic — main window Arabic — main window Arabic — compact layout Arabic — compact layout General General General General Appearance Appearance Appearance Appearance Services & Presets Services & Presets Services & Presets Services & Presets Plugins Plugins Plugins Plugins Keyboard & Hotkeys Keyboard & Hotkeys Keyboard & Hotkeys Keyboard & Hotkeys Translation Translation Translation Translation Languages Languages Languages Languages Window & Layout Window & Layout Window & Layout Window & Layout

Installation

Windows

  1. Download the Windows build above and unzip it anywhere.
  2. Run QTranslate.exe. Nothing else to install — the Java runtime is inside.

macOS & Linux

  1. Install Java 11 or later if you do not have it — Adoptium is the usual source.
  2. Download the portable zip above and unzip it anywhere.
  3. Run QTranslate.jar, or from a terminal: java -jar QTranslate.jar

The app starts in the system tray. The portable zip carries every bundled plugin, the language files and the themes — nothing is written outside its own folder, so it travels on a USB stick.

Getting "this application requires a Java Runtime Environment"? This video walks through installing Java and setting JAVA_HOME — the first 7 minutes cover everything.

Releases

All new releases are published on GitHub Releases. Versioning restarts from 1.0.0 with the open-source release — the old versions below were pre-open-source and are kept here for reference only.

GitHub releases — current
1.3.0 Latest Aug 14, 2026 Downloads →
New
  • Document translation — drop in a DOCX, PDF, TXT, SRT, or VTT file and get it back translated with formatting intact
  • Windows package with bundled Java — extract and run QTranslate.exe, no JDK or JAVA_HOME needed
  • Six new translation services — DeepL, Mozhi, MyMemory, LibreTranslate, Reverso, and Yandex Web join Google, Bing, and AI Services
  • Wikimedia Reference — Wikipedia and Wiktionary lookups via the official MediaWiki APIs
  • Optional floating translate button next to selected text — off by default, under Settings → General
  • Six new rebindable shortcuts: copy translation, clear input, swap languages, open settings, show history, translate document
  • New QTranslate Light and QTranslate Dark themes built on the project's own palette, WCAG-checked
Improved
  • Extra output panel loads on its own — translations no longer held back waiting for the slower of two requests
  • Window opens immediately on startup instead of waiting for all plugins to initialise
  • Instant translation debounce reduced from 700 ms to 350 ms
  • Plugin manager rebuilt — search, filter, enable, configure, and install by file picker or drag-and-drop
Fixed
  • Every network service failed in the Windows package due to a missing elliptic-curve crypto provider — translation, dictionary and TTS all broken
  • Global hotkeys now work on non-US keyboard layouts
  • Quick Translate reads the original text aloud, not the translation
  • Google translation now supports Croatian and Farsi
  • Selected-text capture more reliable across applications
1.2.1 May 11, 2026 Downloads →
Themes
  • Dropdown now grouped into Light, Dark, and Installed sections
  • New Sync with OS checkbox — tick it and the app follows your system preference automatically
Hotkeys
  • Recorder redesigned — plain field with embedded + button for special keys (Enter, Escape, F1–F12, arrows)
  • Alt+1 / Alt+2 / Alt+3 focus the Input, Output, and Extra Output panes — configurable in Settings
Localisation
  • 20 previously untranslated strings now localised across all 12 non-English languages
Fixed
  • Target language no longer resets to Arabic on every launch
  • Tab key now moves focus instead of inserting a literal character
  • Caret now visible in read-only output panes across all themes
  • Ctrl+C, Ctrl+X, and text drag-out work reliably in all panes
  • Translator service order is now stable across restarts
  • Hotkey chip text renders with proper antialiasing
1.2.0 May 10, 2026 Downloads →
New
  • AI Services via OpenRouter — 300+ models (GPT-4o, Claude, Gemini, Llama…) for translation, summarize, rewrite, spell check, dictionary, and vision OCR — one API key covers everything
  • Quick Dictionary — press Ctrl+D on any word for an instant floating lookup
  • Translation History dialog — browse all past translations and restore any entry with one click
  • Redesigned Settings — two-column services grid, hotkey chip badges, unsaved-changes indicator
  • 30+ themes including OS Default that follows system dark/light preference
  • Cancel translation and Stop TTS buttons
  • OCR snap dialog — copy text, copy image, save image, re-crop without closing
  • 13 interface languages — Bengali, Hungarian, and Italian added
1.1.0 Apr 26, 2026 Downloads →
New
  • Translation Rules — automatically select the target language based on detected source language
  • Image OCR via drag & drop and clipboard — drag an image or paste (Ctrl+V) to OCR and translate (PNG, JPG, BMP, TIFF)
Improved
  • Window size and position now persist across restarts
  • Auto-detects OS language on first launch
Fixed
  • Race condition in plugin DataStore causing Google plugin to fail on startup
  • Language dropdowns appearing empty and falling back to Arabic
  • Multiple app instances now prevented — second launch brings existing window to front
Localisation
  • Italian added (thanks @bovirus) · Hungarian added (thanks @JohnFowler58)
1.0.0 Mar 25, 2026 Downloads →
  • Open-source release — full plugin system, AI plugin, RTL support, and more
  • New versioning starts here. All future releases will be on GitHub.
Legacy releases — pre-open-source
1.1.0 legacy Download
  • Cycle between translators via Ctrl+Tab
  • Customisable hotkeys in Settings
  • Selected languages saved between sessions
1.0.0 legacy Download
  • First public release

Contact

For bugs and feature requests, please use GitHub Issues. For everything else — feedback, plugin ideas, questions — email buzz.webra@gmail.com or reach out on WhatsApp.

Opens your mail client with the message pre-filled.