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Split Translator

Translate your Obsidian notes in a split pane with original and translated text displayed side-by-side.

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Features

• Split Pane Translation - View original and translated text side-by-side for easy comparison
• Streaming Translation - See results appear in real-time as translation completes
• Code Block Preservation - Automatically protects code blocks and inline code from translation
• Scroll Synchronization - Translation view scrolls automatically with your editor
• Multi-Language Support - Auto-detect source language or select from 100+ languages
• Retry Logic - Automatic retries with exponential backoff for reliable translation
• Markdown Rendering - Translated content renders with Obsidian's native styling
• Selection Translation - Translate just the selected text or the entire note

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Installation

Method 1: Manual Installation (Recommended)

1. Download the latest release from the Releases page
2. Extract the downloaded files
3. Move the extracted folder to your Obsidian vault's plugins directory:
   • macOS: ~/Library/Mobile Documents/iCloud~md~obsidian/Documents/YourVault/.obsidian/plugins/
   • Windows: %USERPROFILE%\OneDrive\Documents\YourVault\.obsidian\plugins\
   • Linux: ~/Documents/YourVault/.obsidian/plugins/
4. Rename the folder to obsidian-split-translator if needed
5. Enable the plugin in Obsidian: Settings → Community Plugins → Enable "Split Translator"

Method 2: Using BRAT (Beta Reviewer's Auto-update Tool)

If you have BRAT installed:

1. Open Settings → BRAT
2. Click "Add Beta Plugin"
3. Enter: warezio/obsidian-split-translator
4. Click "Add Plugin" and enable it

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Usage

Translate Current Note

1. Open any markdown note in Obsidian
2. Use the command palette:
   • macOS: Cmd + P
   • Windows/Linux: Ctrl + P
3. Type "Split Translator: Translate current note" and press Enter
4. The translation pane will open on the right

Translate Selection

1. Select the text you want to translate
2. Open command palette (Cmd/Ctrl + P)
3. Type "Split Translator: Translate selection" and press Enter

Header Button

Click the languages icon in the note header (between the view toggle and more options) to quickly translate the current note.

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Configuration

Configure Split Translator in Settings → Split Translator:

Setting	Description	Options
Source Language	Language of the original text	auto, en, ko, ja, zh, es, fr, de, and 100+ more
Target Language	Language to translate to	en, ko, ja, zh, es, fr, de, and 100+ more

Supported Languages

The plugin supports all languages available in Google Translate, including:

• Auto-detect
• English (en)
• Korean (ko)
• Japanese (ja)
• Chinese (zh)
• Spanish (es)
• French (fr)
• German (de)
• And 90+ more languages

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How It Works

Split Translator uses Google Translate's unofficial API to provide fast, free translation without requiring API keys or authentication.

Note: This API may have rate limits and is not officially supported by Google. For heavy usage, consider official alternatives.

Translation Pipeline

1. Masking - Code blocks and inline code are protected with placeholders
2. Chunking - Text is split into 3000-character chunks for reliable translation
3. Translation - Each chunk is translated with retry logic (3 attempts)
4. Unmasking - Protected code blocks are restored
5. Rendering - Markdown is rendered with Obsidian's native styling

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Development

Prerequisites

• Bun (or npm)
• Obsidian 1.5.0 or higher

Build Commands

# Install dependencies
bun install

# Development mode (watch + inline sourcemaps)
bun run dev

# Production build
bun run build

# Debug build (with inline sourcemaps)
bun run build:debug

Project Structure

obsidian-split-translator/
├── src/
│   ├── main.ts      # Plugin entry point, translation pipeline
│   ├── view.ts      # Translation view (split pane)
│   └── settings.ts  # Settings tab
├── styles.css        # Plugin styles
├── manifest.json    # Obsidian plugin manifest
├── esbuild.config.mjs  # Build configuration
└── main.js          # Built output (generated)

Debugging

The project includes VSCode launch configurations for debugging:

• Debug Obsidian Plugin - Builds and launches Obsidian with debugger attached
• Attach to Obsidian - Attaches to a running Obsidian instance

See .vscode/launch.json for details.

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Known Limitations

• Uses unofficial Google Translate API (may break or have rate limits)
• Translation quality depends on Google Translate
• Very large notes may take time to translate
• Internet connection required

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

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License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

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Links

• GitHub Repository
• Releases
• Issue Tracker
• Obsidian Plugin Directory