tt - Terminal Translator

A fast, simple terminal translator using Google Translate. No API key required.

Features

• GUI mode: Tkinter-based GUI with dark theme (default)
• Auto-toggle: Korean input → English, otherwise → Korean
• Clipboard monitoring: Watch clipboard and auto-translate (GUI checkbox or --clip)
• REPL mode: Interactive translation with readline support (--repl)
• Pipe support: echo "hello" | tt
• Font zoom: Ctrl+scroll to resize text in GUI
• Cross-platform: macOS and Linux
• Dictionary lookup: Merriam-Webster definitions for single English words (optional)
• Zero dependencies: Python 3 stdlib only (tkinter)

Install

git clone https://github.com/threeearcat/tt.git
ln -s $(pwd)/tt/tt.py ~/.local/bin/tt

Usage

# GUI (default)
tt                          # opens GUI window
tt --clip                   # GUI with clipboard monitoring enabled

# Single translation
tt "hello"                  # → 안녕하세요
tt "안녕하세요"               # → hello (auto-toggle)
tt -t ja "hello"            # → こんにちは (specify target)

# Pipe
echo "hello" | tt           # → 안녕하세요

# Interactive REPL
tt --repl
> hello
안녕하세요
> :q

Options

Flag	Description
-t, --target	Target language code (default: auto-toggle ko/en)
-d, --dict	Dictionary mode for single words: both (default), dict, off
--clip	Clipboard monitoring mode (GUI with auto-translate)
--repl	Interactive REPL mode
--theme	Color theme (see below)

Themes

gruvbox-dark (default), gruvbox-light, dracula, nord, catppuccin-mocha, catppuccin-latte, solarized-dark, solarized-light, tokyo-night, rose-pine, kanagawa, everforest

Theme can also be changed live from the dropdown in the GUI.

Config

Optional config file at ~/.config/tt/config.json. If absent, defaults are used. CLI flags override config values.

{
  "theme": "nord",
  "font_size": 18,
  "target": "ko",
  "font_family": "JetBrains Mono"
}

Key	Description	Default
theme	Color theme	gruvbox-dark
font_size	GUI font size	20
target	Target language	auto-toggle ko/en
font_family	Preferred font family	auto-detect
dict_mode	Dictionary mode (both, dict, off)	both
clipboard	Clipboard monitor on startup	false
sash_frac	Input/output split ratio	0.5

Merriam-Webster Dictionary (Optional)

When a single English word is entered, tt can show Merriam-Webster dictionary definitions alongside the translation. To enable this:

1. Register for a free API key at dictionaryapi.com
   • Select Collegiate Dictionary when choosing a product
2. Add the key to ~/.config/tt/config.json:

{
  "mw_api_key": "YOUR_API_KEY_HERE"
}

3. Use -d to control dictionary behavior:

tt "hello"            # translate + dictionary (default: both)
tt -d dict "hello"    # dictionary only
tt -d off "hello"     # translate only

GUI Shortcuts

Key	Action
Enter	Translate
Shift+Enter	New line
Ctrl+Scroll	Zoom in/out
Ctrl++/Ctrl+-	Zoom in/out
Ctrl+0	Reset zoom
Ctrl+,	Open settings

Settings are also accessible via the settings button in the GUI and saved automatically on exit.

Requirements

• Python 3 with tkinter
• xclip (Linux, for clipboard features)
• pbpaste (macOS, for clipboard features, built-in)