dj-translatemessages

LLM-powered Django translations ✨ Formerly published as yesglot.

A Django app that autofills missing translations in .po files using an LLM, while respecting ICU format placeholders and source references.

Project story: The birth of yesglot.com explains the background behind yesglot and the rename to dj-translatemessages.

Why dj-translatemessages?

• 🧠 LLM-powered: works with 100+ LLM models through LiteLLM’s unified API
• 🔒 Placeholder-safe: keeps {name}, {{handlebars}}, URLs, and emails intact
• 📦 Django-native: one management command: python manage.py translatemessages
• 🧮 Cost-aware: prints per-file and total cost (via LiteLLM)
• 🧱 Token-safe batching: automatically splits work to avoid context overflows

🚀Quick Start

Installation

pip install dj-translatemessages

Version 2.0.0 renames the Django app to dj_translatemessages. If you're upgrading from yesglot, update INSTALLED_APPS and imports accordingly. Migration steps: docs/migration_guideline.md.

Add dj_translatemessages to your Django settings:

INSTALLED_APPS = [
    # ...
    "dj_translatemessages",
]

Configuration

Set the model from 100+ LLM models and API key in your Django settings:

DJ_TRANSLATEMESSAGES_LLM_MODEL = "openai/gpt-4o-mini"
DJ_TRANSLATEMESSAGES_API_KEY = "sk-..."

Usage

A typical workflow with Django translations:

1. Extract messages into .po files (creates entries with empty msgstr):

python manage.py makemessages -all

2. Autofill missing translations with dj-translatemessages:

python manage.py translatemessages

Example output:

▶ Translation run started.
Using translation model: openai/gpt-4o-mini

• Language: French [fr]
  - Scanning: locale/fr/LC_MESSAGES/django.po
    Missing entries: 12. Translating…
    Filled 12 entries in 3.21s • Cost: $0.0123

============================================================
Done in 3.76s • Files: 1 • Missing found: 12 • Filled: 12 • Total cost: $0.0123

3. Compile translations into .mo files (so Django can use them at runtime):

python manage.py compilemessages

Advanced Usage

Optional parameters,

• DJ_TRANSLATEMESSAGES_SAFETY_MARGIN: 1000 (default)
• DJ_TRANSLATEMESSAGES_PER_ITEM_OUTPUT: 100 (default)
• DJ_TRANSLATEMESSAGES_LLM_MODEL_TEMPERATURE: 0 (default)

System Prompt

It is preconfigured, though you may override it to tailor the behavior of your translation.

• DJ_TRANSLATEMESSAGES_SYSTEM_PROMPT_FUNCTION: for example, "myproject.myapp.utils.get_system_prompt"
• DJ_TRANSLATEMESSAGES_SYSTEM_PROMPT: string

Default:

You are a professional translator. Translate into the target language.

• Keep placeholders like {name} / {{handlebars}} unchanged.
• Keep URLs and emails unchanged.
• Return ONLY a JSON array of strings in the same order.

Preamble Template

It’s already configured, but you can override it to adjust how your translation behaves.

• DJ_TRANSLATEMESSAGES_PREAMBLE_TEMPLATE_FUNCTION: for example, "myproject.myapp.utils.get_preamble"
• DJ_TRANSLATEMESSAGES_PREAMBLE_TEMPLATE: string

Default:

Translate these items into {language}. Return ONLY a JSON array:

License

Mozilla Public License Version 2.0