BabelCraft

Mod Translator

Version 1.0.0 · Minecraft 1.20.1 · Forge 47+ · Client-side only · License: MIT

Mod Translator automatically translates, in real time, all on-screen text drawn by other mods — screens, buttons, screen titles, item tooltips, button tooltips, guidebooks (Patchouli / Lexica Botania), and even HUD overlays — without ever translating Minecraft itself. You decide which mods are allowed to be translated, or enable translation for all mods at once.

How it works

• Translation uses the free Google Translate endpoint (no API key required).
• Every translated string is cached to disk, so each piece of text is translated only once — even across game sessions. Internet is only needed the first time a given text appears.
• Pending lines are sent in batches (up to 20 lines / 1600 characters per request, with a 150 ms window to group lines from the same page), so a full guidebook page costs 1–2 requests instead of one per line.
• Patchouli books draw text word-by-word; the mod regroups the words into full lines before translating, so the result reads like a proper sentence instead of word-for-word. The original line shows for a moment until the translation arrives.
• Because translations (e.g. Portuguese) are often longer than English, each translated line is fit to the original space: overflow up to ~8% passes unchanged, small overflows condense the width (imperceptible), and larger ones proportionally shrink the font to stay readable (minimum 0.4x).
• Player-typed text (search boxes, etc.) is never translated. The chat is never translated either (it's player conversation and command feedback, including the mod's own).
• If the translation service fails (no internet), the original text is shown and the mod retries after 8 seconds.

Installation

1. Copy modtranslator-1.0.0.jar into the mods folder of your Forge 1.20.1 instance.
2. Launch the game normally.

Getting started

By default, "Translate all mods" is ON — every mod is translated without having to allow them one by one. If you prefer per-mod control, turn that option off in the General tab and check the mods you want in the Mods tab.

Configuration screen (tabbed)

Open it with /modtranslator gui in chat, or bind the "Open Mod Translator settings" key in Options → Controls. It has three tabs:

• General
  • Enable/disable translation
  • Translation magnifier (see below)
  • Show original (tooltips show the original with the translation in gray below)
  • Translate HUD
  • All mods (toggles the global permission)
  • Item tooltips (item descriptions/lore — work in both modes, since tooltips follow the mouse and the draggable icon could never reach one)
• Mods — list of all loaded mods with [x]/[ ] per mod, a search field (filters by name or modid as you type), Enable all / Disable all buttons, and page navigation. With an active search, the "all" buttons act only on the filtered mods.
• Languages — list of available languages to click and select (Português, English, Español, 日本語…), plus a field to type a custom language code.

Translation magnifier

Enable it in General → "Translation magnifier" (or /modtranslator iconmode). A small "T" icon appears over any screen and works alongside global translation, like a magnifying glass:

• Drag the icon with the mouse and drop it onto a piece of text.
• A floating panel opens next to the icon with the entire paragraph translated at once (the mod automatically joins all neighboring lines of the block) — great for comfortably reading lines that came out small after in-place translation.
• Works even on text from mods outside the allow list (the screen itself isn't altered, but the magnifier shows the translation in the panel).
• While the translation is still loading, the panel shows "Translating…".
• The icon's position is saved between sessions.

See the original text anytime

Hold Left Alt (configurable in Controls: "Hold to see original text") and all translated text reverts to the original while the key is held. Release it and the translation returns. Together with the "Show original" tooltip option, that's how you view both languages at once.

Commands

Botania book (Lexica Botania)

With "Translate all mods" ON (default), the book is already translated. If you turned that option off, remember the book is rendered by the Patchouli mod, so allow both:

/modtranslator allow patchouli
/modtranslator allow botania

patchouli translates the book pages; botania translates the item names/tooltips.

Files

• Settings: config/modtranslator.json
• Cache: config/modtranslator/cache_<language>.json (delete it to force re-translation)

Compatibility

• Minecraft 1.20.1
• Forge 47+
• Client-side only — not required on the server.