Proposal: Custom Language Override for assistant.koplugin via language_<code>.lua

[raffe1234]

Hi everyone,

I’ve been experimenting with the assistant.koplugin and wanted a lightweight way to translate its UI without diving into the full PO/MO workflow. Instead of generating .po files and compiling them, I propose adding a simple “language override” mechanism right in configuration.lua. This lets anyone drop in a language_spanish.lua, language_turkish.lua, or similarly named file and have all of the plugin’s buttons, prompts, and messages appear in their language—while still falling back to English when no file is provided.

Maybe something like this.

1. Insert this block at the very top of configuration.lua

-----------------------------------------------------------------
-- OPTIONAL UI‐language override for plugin translations
-- Set to nil for English; or "language_spanish", "language_turkish", etc.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
local CUSTOM_LANGUAGE_MODULE = "language_spanish"  -- or "language_turkish", or nil

local function make_translator(modname)
    if not modname then
        return function(s) return s end
    end
    local ok, t = pcall(require, modname)
    if not ok then
        return function(s) return s end
    end
    if type(t) == "function" then
        return t
    end
    return function(s) return t[s] or s end
end

package.loaded["gettext"] = make_translator(CUSTOM_LANGUAGE_MODULE)
-----------------------------------------------------------------

2. Create your language file in the same folder, for example language_spanish.lua:

-- language_spanish.lua
local L = {
    ["Ask"]      = "Preguntar",
    ["Translate"]= "Traducir",
    -- …add other strings as needed…
}
return L

3. Toggle CUSTOM_LANGUAGE_MODULE between "language_spanish", "language_turkish", or nil to switch languages or revert to English.

Why this approach?

• Zero toolchain: No need for msgfmt, PO editors, or building .mo files.
• Editable Lua: All translations live in a single, human‐readable Lua table.
• Safe fallback: Any missing key falls back to the original English text.
• Extensible: Add as many languages as you like—just copy the template and translate.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Does this fit the plugin’s style guidelines? Are there edge cases I’m missing (e.g., dynamic strings or plurals)? Would you prefer a different loading mechanism? Looking forward to feedback!

Full examples of language files (Chatgpt translated).

Example language_turkish.lua

-- language_turkish.lua
local L = {
    ["Ask"]                = "Sor",
    ["Translate"]          = "Çevir",
    ["Simplify"]           = "Basitleştir",
    ["Explain"]            = "Açıkla",
    ["Summarize"]          = "Özetle",
    ["Historical Context"] = "Tarihsel bağlam",
    ["Key Points"]         = "Temel noktalar",
    ["ELI5"]               = "5 yaşındaki birine anlatır gibi açıkla",
    ["Grammar"]            = "Dilbilgisi",
    ["Vocabulary"]         = "Kelimeler",
    ["Wikipedia"]          = "Vikipedi",

    ["Unknown Title"]          = "Bilinmeyen başlık",
    ["Unknown Author"]         = "Bilinmeyen yazar",
    ["(Empty message)"]        = "(Boş mesaj)",
    ["(No response)"]          = "(Yanıt yok)",
    ["__Highlighted text: __"] = "__Vurgulanan metin: __",
}

return L

Example language_spanish.lua

-- language_spanish.lua
local L = {
    ["Ask"]                = "Preguntar",
    ["Translate"]          = "Traducir",
    ["Simplify"]           = "Simplificar",
    ["Explain"]            = "Explicar",
    ["Summarize"]          = "Resumir",
    ["Historical Context"] = "Contexto histórico",
    ["Key Points"]         = "Puntos clave",
    ["ELI5"]               = "Explica como si tuviera 5 años",
    ["Grammar"]            = "Gramática",
    ["Vocabulary"]         = "Vocabulario",
    ["Wikipedia"]          = "Wikipedia",

    ["Unknown Title"]          = "Título desconocido",
    ["Unknown Author"]         = "Autor desconocido",
    ["(Empty message)"]        = "(Mensaje vacío)",
    ["(No response)"]          = "(Sin respuesta)",
    ["__Highlighted text: __"] = "__Texto resaltado: __",
}

return L

[omer-faruq]

Thanks for the idea. Can the texts embedded in the code also be translated via these files? What about the performance?