OpenSource-Hub
L

LibreTranslate

14.3k stars·AI Productivity·SHA-256 checksum verified

Free and open-source machine translation API that can be self-hosted, powered by Argos Translate, with no dependency on proprietary services like Google or Azure.

Smart Download

Visit Project Homepage

No installer available yet — head to the source repository

Self-hosted, open-source machine translation API that keeps your data private.

Core Features

  • Fully self-hosted, no data sent to third parties
  • Open-source neural translation engine supporting 100+ languages
  • REST API and web interface with batch translation support
  • Lightweight, deployable via Docker or pip

What It Can't Do

  • Model files (~1-2 GB) download on first launch; CPU-only by default, can be slow; translation quality may lag behind commercial engines for less common languages.

Use Cases

  • Internal corporate translation without exposing sensitive data
  • Integrating translation into apps without recurring API costs
  • Privacy-preserving batch document translation

Detailed Introduction

LibreTranslate is a free and open-source machine translation API that you can host entirely on your own infrastructure. Unlike popular translation services, it does not rely on proprietary platforms like Google Translate or Azure Cognitive Services. Instead, it uses the open-source Argos Translate library, which provides neural machine translation for over 100 languages. The project offers a simple REST API, a web interface, and support for multiple output formats. It is designed to be lightweight, privacy-respecting, and easy to deploy via Docker or pip. Ideal for developers who want to integrate translation without sending data to third parties, or for organizations that need to keep translations internal.

Troubleshooting & FAQ (2)

Troubleshooting
How to fix Docker build error './venv/bin/python: can't open file '/app/scripts/compile_locales.py': No such file or directory' for LibreTranslate?

This error occurs when the Docker build context is not set to the LibreTranslate project root directory, so the scripts/compile_locales.py file is missing. Fix: run the build command from the project root, not inside the docker/ folder. Use docker build . -f docker/Dockerfile -t libretranslate (note the leading dot for context). If using docker-compose, set context: ./libretranslate/ (pointing to the project root) in the build section. Example docker-compose snippet:

libretranslate:
  build:
    context: ./libretranslate/
    dockerfile: ./docker/Dockerfile

Ensure your directory structure contains the scripts folder at the root.

GitHub Issue #757
Troubleshooting
How to fix CVE-2024-49768 waitress vulnerability in LibreTranslate?

LibreTranslate pins waitress 2.1.2, which is vulnerable to CVE-2024-49768 (race condition). Upgrade waitress to version 3.0.1 or later. Use command: pip install waitress>=3.0.1. Monitor issue #965 for an official dependency bump.

GitHub Issue #965

Tags

machine translationself-hostedopen sourceAPIprivacy

Getting Started

1

Download installer

Click the button above to download the installer for your system

2

Install the software

Double-click the downloaded installer and follow the prompts

3

Docker: docker run -ti --rm -p 5000:5000 libretranslate/libretranslate

4

Pip: pip install libretranslate && libretranslate (requires Python 3.8+)

5

Open http://localhost:5000 in browser to use the web interface or API

Install Guide
  1. Docker: docker run -ti --rm -p 5000:5000 libretranslate/libretranslate
  2. Pip: pip install libretranslate && libretranslate (requires Python 3.8+)
  3. Open http://localhost:5000 in browser to use the web interface or API
File Integrity

Checksum not available

This project has not published a SHA-256 checksum on its GitHub Release page

SHA256 Checksum

No checksum available

Download directly from GitHub Releases and verify file integrity yourself

All SHA-256 checksums on this platform are extracted from the project's official GitHub Release page, without any modification. You can independently verify them on the GitHub Releases page.

Open Source Transparency

View GitHub Source
Environment Guide

Uninstall Info

Docker: docker rm <container>; Pip: pip uninstall libretranslate

No Extra Dependencies

Ready to use after download. No additional runtime required.

Project Info
LicenseGNU Affero General Public License v3
Last Updated2026-06-26 21:20:14
GitHub RepositoryOfficial Website

Having issues? Check the FAQ below

2 FAQs

Similar Projects