A fast command-line tool for translating JSON files using Google Translate API. Perfect for i18n workflows with batch translation, recursive search, and incremental updates.
A command-line tool for translating JSON files using Google Translate API. Perfect for i18n (internationalization) workflows.
npm install -g tr-file
tr_file <source-file> <target-languages> [options]
# Translate en.json to Spanish, Japanese, and Portuguese (uses built-in API key)
tr_file en.json es,ja,pt
# With custom API key
tr_file en.json es,ja,pt -k YOUR_API_KEY
# With custom delay between requests
tr_file en.json es,ja,pt -d 200
# Recursive translation - find all 'en.json' files in subdirectories
tr_file en.json es,fr,de --recursive
Search for and translate all files with a specific name in all subdirectories:
# Find all 'en.json' files recursively and translate them
tr_file en.json es,fr,de --recursive
# Short form with -r flag
tr_file en.json es,fr,de -r
Recursive Example:
project/
├── frontend/
│ └── locales/
│ ├── en.json ← Found and translated
│ ├── es.json ← Generated
│ └── fr.json ← Generated
├── backend/
│ └── i18n/
│ ├── en.json ← Found and translated
│ ├── es.json ← Generated
│ └── fr.json ← Generated
└── mobile/
└── lang/
├── en.json ← Found and translated
├── es.json ← Generated
└── fr.json ← Generated
-k, --key <key>: Google Translate API key (optional - uses built-in key if not provided)-d, --delay <ms>: Delay between requests in milliseconds (default: 50ms)-r, --recursive: Search for source file in all subdirectoriesQuick Start: The tool works immediately with a built-in API key - no setup required!
# Install and use right away
npm install -g tr-file
tr_file en.json es,ja,pt
Optional - Use your own API key:
Get a Google Translate API key:
Set your API key (choose one method):
# Option 1: Environment variable
export GOOGLE_TRANSLATE_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"
# Option 2: Use the -k flag
tr_file en.json es,ja,pt -k "your-api-key-here"
Input (en.json):
{
"greeting": "Hello",
"navigation": {
"home": "Home",
"about": "About Us"
},
"messages": {
"welcome": "Welcome to our app",
"goodbye": "Thank you for visiting"
}
}
Output (es.json):
{
"greeting": "Hola",
"navigation": {
"home": "Inicio",
"about": "Acerca de nosotros"
},
"messages": {
"welcome": "Bienvenido a nuestra aplicación",
"goodbye": "Gracias por visitarnos"
}
}
The tool supports all languages supported by Google Translate API. Common language codes include:
es - Spanishfr - Frenchde - Germanit - Italianpt - Portugueseja - Japaneseko - Koreanzh - Chineseru - Russianar - ArabicThe tool intelligently handles existing translation files:
Example:
# First run - translates all keys
tr_file en.json es # Creates es.json with all translations
# Add new keys to en.json
echo '{"new.key": "New text"}' >> en.json
# Second run - only translates new keys
tr_file en.json es # Only translates "new.key", preserves existing translations
The tool uses batch translation for maximum efficiency:
Example Performance:
The tool includes built-in rate limiting to avoid hitting Google Translate API limits. You can adjust the delay between requests using the -d option.
MIT
[1.0.0] - 2025-07-11
tr_file en.json es,fr,de - Basic translationtr_file en.json es,fr,de --recursive - Recursive translationtr_file en.json es,fr,de -k YOUR_KEY - Custom API keytr_file en.json es,fr,de -d 100 - Custom delayFAQs
A fast command-line tool and TypeScript/JavaScript library for translating JSON files using Google Translate API. Features structure preservation, placeholder protection, batch translation, recursive search, incremental updates, array support, and program
The npm package tr-file receives a total of 7 weekly downloads. As such, tr-file popularity was classified as not popular.
We found that tr-file demonstrated a healthy version release cadence and project activity because the last version was released less than a year ago. It has 0 open source maintainers collaborating on the project.
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