Babylon is a lightweight collaborative translation tool for creative projects — cozy, minimal, and in the retro-futuristic style of The Wizard.

Use it to organize and collaborate on translations for games, apps, stories, or anything else that needs localization.

Supports multiple languages, fuzzy matches, and a charming pixel-art interface that feels right at home in the TrinketOS universe.

Free to use, easy to host, and ready to help your words cross borders.

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Features

• Web-based, clean & minimal UI
• SQLite backend — no external DB needed
• Support for 10–15 translators and ~1000 strings without performance issues
• Modular support for file formats:
  • Android XML
  • CSV (Godot, Unity-style)
  • PO/POT (gettext)
• Import & export translations per language or all languages at once in zip archive
• Supports versioning of strings (optional)
• Per-language assignment for translators
• Admin panel for user & language management
• Login-based, with simple password system
• Real-time online presence tracking
• Customizable UI labels (custom_names) to adapt terminology to your team or project.

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Installation

1. Upload the code to your PHP server (works with PHP 7+)
2. Make sure the folder is writable (to create the translations.db)
3. Create config.json file
4. Login as admin with password admin. On first load, the system initializes the database and prefills it from config.json if available
5. Change your password in public area
6. Start adding languages and users in admin area

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Configuration

All settings are in config.json. Use sample_config.json as a reference. All settings are optional: without any config, default language will be en and user admin will be created.

Options:

Key	Description
project_name	Name of your project (shown in UI).
use_versions	Enable string versioning (true/false).
languages	List of language codes & names.
users	Initial users with roles & assigned languages.
config_csv	CSV-specific settings (delimiter, key column).
custom_names	Custom UI labels.

Passwords for all users default to their username at first login. Users can change their password afterwards.

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Usage

Admin Area

Accessible via admin.php. Here you can:

• Manage languages (add, rename, delete).
• Manage users (add, rename, delete, assign languages, change roles).
• Manage files (import/export, per-language or ZIP, multiple formats).

Translation Area

Accessible via index.php.

• Translators see only the languages assigned to them.
• Sidebar shows who’s online.
• Strings are listed with their keys, base language source, and input field for translations.
• Untranslated & fuzzy strings are highlighted.
• Versions are displayed if enabled.

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File Formats

Android XML

• Standard value & .
• Versions stored as version="1.0" attributes.

CSV

• Supports Godot (keys,en,fr,ja) and Unity-style (Key,English(en),French(fr)).
• Multi-language per file.
• Configurable delimiter and key column.

PO/POT

• Standard gettext .po & .pot files.
• Base language exported as .pot template.
• .po files include translations per language.

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Customization

UI Labels

If you want to add your own flair, you can define custom_names in config.json to adapt the terminology:

Key	Meaning
languages	Column heading for languages
translators	Column heading for users
greeting	Greeting in header
password	Password change button
admin	Link to admin area
public	Link to public area
exit	Logout link

Modules

File format modules live in formats/. You can implement your own by extending FormatInterface and adding it there.

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Development

Modules declare their UI menu via: public static function menu(): array;

Example:

public static function menu(): array {
  return [
    ['text', 'PO/POT (gettext) — English strings are keys'],
    ['by_lang_import_export', 'import', 'export'],
    ['zip', 'export all languages as .po in zip']
  ];
}

Supported menu tags:

Tag	Meaning
text	Informational text (placeholders replaced from config)
import	Generic import
export	Generic export
by_lang_import	Per-language import
by_lang_export	Per-language export
by_lang_import_export	Both
zip	Export all in a ZIP

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License

Babylon is free software created for translators and creators, not for businessmen or corporate entities.

✅ You are free to:

• Use Babylon for any free or commercial project you’re translating.
• Modify Babylon for your own use.
• Share screenshots, showcase it, and talk about it.

🚫 You are not allowed to:

• Sell Babylon as your product.
• Redistribute Babylon (or modified versions) as your own software or service.

If you modify it significantly and want to share your changes, please contact me or link back to the original project so everyone knows where it came from.

Made with ☕ & ✨ by The Wizard

Happy translating!

If you like Babylon, feel free to ⭐ the repo and send PRs with improvements or new modules.