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translate pages and selected text in the browser with offline translation and pluggable backends

OSS scale score 141.0OSS health 81Update pace 1 commits/30d
About these scores

OSS scale score is an unbounded metric that log-compresses and weights Stars, Watchers, Forks, and Contributors. Discovery score is the current OSS scale score minus the score at discovery. Update pace is commits in the last 30 days, growth momentum is the OSS scale score difference within the recent observation window, and OSS health is a 0–100 rating based on available recency, Community Health, and release data.

Stars
1,064
Primary language
TypeScript
License
BSD-3-Clause
Repository last updated
Sep 8, 2026
On this page

Overview

Linguist is a browser extension for translating full pages, selected text, input fields, subtitles, and other content while browsing. It also includes translation history, a personal dictionary, and text-to-speech, and can use commercial services, embedded Bergamot for offline translation, or custom translator modules.

Features and best fit

Based on official documentation; not hands-on tested · Content checked:

Key features

Translate full pages, selected text, inputs, and subtitles

Translation can be invoked across several browsing contexts, including full-page content, highlighted text, text inputs, and subtitles such as Netflix captions.

Sources: [1]

Keep translation history, a personal dictionary, and text-to-speech together

Recent translations can be revisited, important entries can be saved to a dictionary, and translated text can be spoken through text-to-speech.

Sources: [1]

Choose offline translation or a custom backend

Embedded Bergamot supports on-device translation, while the modular translator system can use services such as Google, Yandex, Bing, DeepL, ChatGPT, or a custom module.

Sources: [1]

Best fit

Fits users who want to choose privacy and translation quality per workflow

It is useful when sensitive text should use an offline translator while other browsing tasks can use an external service or a custom backend.

Sources: [1]

Before adoption

Review the telemetry introduced in v7.1.0

Version 7.1.0 added telemetry for basic app interactions and translator errors. The release notes state that it does not collect personal data or translated text, but privacy-sensitive users should still review the current implementation and settings.

Sources: [2]

External translators change where text is processed

Selecting Google, DeepL, ChatGPT, or another remote service sends translation input to that provider. Backend choice should match the sensitivity of the content being translated.

Sources: [1]

Source builds primarily target AMD64 Unix-like environments

The development guide lists a Unix-like OS, make, Docker, and AMD64 as prerequisites and says ARM builds are currently untested.

Sources: [3]

Official sources

  1. [1]Linguist README(2026-10-03)
  2. [2]Linguist v7.1.0 release(2026-10-03)
  3. [3]Linguist development guide(2026-10-03)
  4. [4]Linguist BSD-3-Clause license(2026-10-03)
Supplemental curator note

Linguist stands out because translation is not forced through one commercial backend: users can select offline Bergamot or a custom translator. Version 7.1.0 also added basic interaction and translator-error telemetry, so privacy-sensitive deployments should review the current telemetry behavior.

Try it in 3 steps

  1. 1

    Open the official browser store

    Use the official distribution page for Firefox or your Chromium-based browser.

    Open https://addons.mozilla.org/addon/linguist-translator/ or the Chrome Web Store link from the README
  2. 2

    Install the Linguist extension

    Review the requested permissions in the browser confirmation before adding the extension.

    Choose the browser's Add/Install extension action
  3. 3

    Translate a page or selected text

    Verify normal translation first; for privacy-sensitive use, review the settings and consider an offline translator such as Bergamot.

    Open a page and invoke Linguist from the toolbar or selected text
Check the official README

Growth

Growth trends · Last 30 days

1,064 Stars

Trend data is still being collected.

Development activity

Last 90 days · weekly

Commits (last 30 days)
1
Open PRs
10

Development activity is still being collected.

Built with

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Categories

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GitHub data

GitHub dataView detailed GitHub data
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GitHub Topics

  • browser-extension
  • firefox-addon
  • firefox-extension
  • chrome-extension
  • translation
  • webextension
  • translate
  • translator
  • addon
  • firefox
  • offline-translator
  • plugable
Stars
1,064
Forks
50
Watchers
6
Open issues
258
Contributors
8
Owner type
Organization
Primary language
TypeScript
Repository last updated
Sep 8, 2026
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