Flash Translate

A Chrome extension for instant translation using the browser's built-in Translator API.

Features

• Instant translation on text selection: Select text to view translations immediately
• Auto-detect source language: Automatically detects the language of selected text using Chrome's Language Detection API
• Handles long text: Translate large paragraphs without length limits
• Unlimited translations: Translate long passages as often as you like
• Site exclusion: Disable translation on specific websites
• Settings sync: Your preferences sync automatically across devices
• Privacy-focused: All translation happens on-device using Chrome's built-in AI - no data sent to external servers

Requirements

• Chrome 138+ (Translator API support)
• Enable Translator API:
  1. Open chrome://flags
  2. Search for "Translator API"
  3. Set to "Enabled"
  4. Restart Chrome

Installation

Chrome Web Store

Install Flash Translate

Manual Installation (Development)

1. Run bun run dev or bun run build
2. Open chrome://extensions/
3. Enable "Developer mode"
4. Click "Load unpacked"
5. Select the dist folder

Development

# Install dependencies
bun install

# Start development server (with HMR)
bun run dev

# Production build
bun run build

# Type checking
bun run lint

Tech Stack

• Vite + @crxjs/vite-plugin - Chrome extension builds with HMR
• React 19 + TypeScript - UI components
• React Compiler - Automatic memoization
• Tailwind CSS v4 - Styling
• Chrome Translator API - On-device AI translation

Project Structure

src/
├── manifest.ts              # Chrome extension manifest
├── background/              # Service Worker
├── content/                 # Content Script (text selection → translation popup)
│   ├── components/          # TranslationPopup, etc.
│   ├── hooks/               # useTextSelection, useTranslator, etc.
│   └── styles/
├── popup/                   # Popup UI (settings, manual translation)
│   ├── components/
│   └── styles/
└── shared/                  # Shared code
    ├── components/          # ErrorBoundary, etc.
    ├── constants/           # Language list
    ├── storage/             # chrome.storage operations
    ├── types/               # Type definitions
    └── utils/               # Translator API wrapper

Privacy

Flash Translate respects your privacy. All translation is performed locally on your device using Chrome's built-in Translator API. No text or personal data is sent to external servers. See PRIVACY.md for details.

License

MIT