# NextAI Translator: a ChatGPT-based translator for browsers and the desktop

> NextAI Translator (formerly the project behind the OpenAI Translator brand) packages an OpenAI-compatible API into a Chrome or Firefox extension and a Tauri desktop app. It is a good fit if you already pay for an API key and want translation, polishing and summarization from the same selection popup.

**nextai-translator/nextai-translator** — 基于 ChatGPT API 的划词翻译浏览器插件和跨平台桌面端应用    -    Browser extension and cross-platform desktop application for translation based on ChatGPT API.

- Repository: https://github.com/nextai-translator/nextai-translator
- Stars: 24,992 · Forks: 1,851
- Language: TypeScript
- License: AGPL-3.0
- Published: 2026-09-14 · Updated: 2026-09-14 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/nextai-translator-nextai-translator

## The problem NextAI Translator solves, and who it is for

Machine translation is cheap and fast, but it is literal. If you write in a second language, the sentence that comes back is grammatical and still not what a native speaker would write. NextAI Translator aims at that gap. The README frames the project as "The translator that does more than just translation" and lists three modes: translation, polishing and summarization, across 55 languages.

The origin story matters for judging the fit. The author had already built a Bob plugin for macOS that used the ChatGPT API for word translation, and wrote that because not all users have access to macOS, this project exists. So the audience is people who want that plugin's behaviour on Windows, Linux and inside a browser, not people looking for a general-purpose localization platform.

There is also a naming caveat you should know before you search for it. The README opens by stating that, after a trademark ownership warning from OpenAI, the project and product were renamed to nextai translator. Older references to an OpenAI Translator plugin or extension point at the same lineage, which is why the repository topics still list openai and chatgpt.

## Three modes, one selection popup: how the pieces fit together

The architecture is visible in the repository layout. A single TypeScript codebase under src/ is compiled by several Vite configs: vite.config.chromium.ts and vite.config.firefox.ts for the browser builds, vite.config.userscript.ts for a userscript, and vite.config.tauri.ts for the desktop renderer. The desktop shell lives in src-tauri/, and there is a separate src-safari/ tree. In other words, the browser extension and the desktop app are the same interface rendered into different hosts, not two products that drifted apart.

The data flow is thin by design. A selection or a screenshot is captured, the text plus your chosen mode goes to an LLM endpoint, and the response streams back into the popup. Streaming is listed as a feature, and the dependency list includes @tauri-apps/plugin-http, plugin-global-shortcut, plugin-notification and plugin-fs, which is what you would expect from an app that needs a global hotkey, a clipboard path and a way to write files. @floating-ui/dom handles positioning the popup near the selection.

Provider support is the part that decides whether you can run it at all. The feature list names OpenAI, TeamoRouter, Azure OpenAI Service, MiniMax "and other LLM providers". TeamoRouter is described as an OpenAI-compatible gateway giving access to OpenAI, Claude and Gemini through a single API key, and the README says it is built in: select TeamoRouter as the provider in Settings and paste your key. The README also notes an OpenAI API Proxy as an optional workaround if you cannot reach OpenAI directly. There is no local model path documented, so an internet-reachable endpoint is assumed.

## Installing the desktop app and running your first translation

Installation is download-and-run rather than a package manager. For Windows, the README says to download the installation package ending in .exe from the Latest Release page, double click it, and if Windows flags it as unsafe, choose More Info then Run Anyway.

For macOS, download the .dmg matching your chip, using the aarch64 version on Apple Silicon. If macOS refuses to open it because the developer cannot be verified, the README's troubleshooting section gives a Terminal command:

```bash
sudo xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /Applications/NextAI\ Translator.app
```

Run it, restart the app, and the quarantine warning should stop appearing. The README also documents a second macOS case: if you get a permission prompt on every launch or shortcut translation does nothing, remove NextAI Translator under Settings, Privacy & Security, Supporting Features, then add it back.

Before any of that is useful you need a key. The README marks an OpenAI API key or an Azure OpenAI Service key as required, and points to the platform pages where you retrieve them. It marks an API proxy as optional.

Once the app is open, the first real use is a selection. Highlight text in any application, and the popup offers the three modes; pick translation for a straight rendering, or polishing if the text is already in your target language and you want it rewritten. The README's feature list also covers one-click copying, text-to-speech, screenshot translation, and vocabulary books with generated memory aids. Screenshot translation is the one to try first if the text you need is inside an image rather than selectable.

## What you pay for, and the failure modes the README admits

This is not a free translator. The README marks an OpenAI or Azure OpenAI API key as required, which means every selection you translate is billed by your provider, and a long selection in summarization mode costs more than a short one. If cost predictability matters, the mode you choose is the lever, not a setting inside the app.

Provider reach is the second constraint, and it is stated plainly. The README offers an OpenAI API Proxy as an optional measure "if you cannot access OpenAI", which is an acknowledgement that the default path may not work from your network. TeamoRouter is presented as the recommended route, and the README's own wording is that it gives OpenAI, Claude and Gemini through a single key at up to 90% off, a discount claim that comes from the project's referral link rather than from any independent measurement.

The third failure mode is platform trust. Both the Windows and macOS instructions spend real space on warnings: an unsafe-file prompt, an unidentified-developer block, and the xattr workaround. That is normal for an unsigned or notarization-incomplete build, but it means a locked-down managed laptop may refuse the install outright, and you should expect to explain the quarantine command to whoever administers your machine.

Finally, the README does not document a rollback path for the desktop app, and it does not describe what happens to your vocabulary books if you uninstall. If those books matter, treat that silence as a reason to check before you commit.

## How it compares with Immersive Translate and browser-native translation

The closest comparison people search for is Immersive Translate, and the difference is in what the two tools do with a page. Immersive Translate is built around bilingual page rendering: it rewrites an article in place so you read the original and the translation side by side. NextAI Translator works on a selection. You highlight a paragraph, a sentence or a word, and the popup answers. That makes it better for input fields, chat windows and PDFs you cannot restyle, and worse for reading a long article end to end, where a page-rewriting tool keeps your place and NextAI Translator makes you select as you go.

Chrome's own built-in translation sits at the other end. It is free, needs no key, and is fast, but it produces one literal rendering with no polishing mode, no summarization, and no vocabulary book. The README's own framing is that this project does more than translation, and that is the honest dividing line: if you only ever want a literal rendering of a foreign page, the browser already does it.

A third option is the Bob plugin the author wrote first. It targets macOS and Bob specifically. NextAI Translator exists because that plugin could not serve Windows and Linux users, so if you are on macOS and already use Bob, the plugin remains the narrower, more integrated choice.

## Licence, upgrades and the cost of keeping it current

The repository is AGPL-3.0, and package.json declares the same license. That matters more than for a typical desktop utility because AGPL-3.0 carries network-use obligations: if you modify the code and let users interact with it over a network, the licence expects you to offer them the corresponding source. Running the shipped extension or the released .exe for your own translation work does not put you in that position. Forking it into a hosted service does. This is a description of the licence text, not legal advice; get your own counsel if you plan to redistribute or host it.

Upgrade cost is low but not zero. Releases are frequent: v0.6.41 and v0.6.42 both landed on 2026-08-21, and v0.6.43 on 2026-08-23, with the last push to main on 2026-09-03. That cadence means the desktop app is worth re-downloading rather than leaving at whatever version you installed first, and it also means the browser extension updates through the Chrome Web Store and Firefox Add-ons listings without action from you.

There is one upgrade hazard specific to this project: the rename. Anything you scripted against the old product name, including the path /Applications/NextAI\ Translator.app in the quarantine command, has to match the current name or the command silently does nothing useful. The README still shows a badge pointing at an MIT License while the repository and package.json say AGPL-3.0, so read the LICENSE file rather than the badge.

## Conclusion

Adopt NextAI Translator if you already hold an OpenAI or Azure OpenAI key and want translation, polishing and summarization from one selection popup on both a browser and a desktop app. Skip it if you want a free, key-less translator, or if you cannot accept AGPL-3.0 obligations in a distributed product. Before installing, confirm two things: that a current .dmg or .exe exists on the releases page for your platform, and that your provider key works against the endpoint you plan to select in Settings.

## FAQ

### Which is the best AI for translation?

The README does not rank providers, so there is no measured answer here. It lists OpenAI, TeamoRouter, Azure OpenAI Service and MiniMax as supported providers, marks an OpenAI or Azure OpenAI key as required, and describes TeamoRouter as a built-in OpenAI-compatible gateway you select in Settings.

### How much does AI translation cost?

NextAI Translator itself is free to install under AGPL-3.0, but the README marks an OpenAI or Azure OpenAI API key as required, so your provider bills each request. The README also describes TeamoRouter as an OpenAI-compatible gateway it recommends, claiming up to 90% off; that figure is the project's own promotional wording, not a measured result.

### Is AI better at translating than Google Translate?

The README does not make a benchmark comparison against Google Translate, so there is no measured answer here. What it does claim is scope: three modes (translation, polishing and summarization) across 55 languages, plus vocabulary books and screenshot translation, which a conventional machine-translation engine does not offer.

### How to tell if a translation is AI?

The README does not address detecting AI output, so this project offers no method for it. The closest relevant detail is that NextAI Translator exposes a polishing mode alongside translation, which implies the text you see may have been rewritten rather than literally translated.

## Sources

- [Issues](https://github.com/nextai-translator/nextai-translator/issues)
- [License: AGPL-3.0](https://github.com/nextai-translator/nextai-translator/blob/main/LICENSE)
- [nextai-translator/nextai-translator on GitHub](https://github.com/nextai-translator/nextai-translator)
- [README](https://github.com/nextai-translator/nextai-translator/blob/main/README.md)
- [Releases](https://github.com/nextai-translator/nextai-translator/releases)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/nextai-translator-nextai-translator