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Commands

ct translate

Machine translate the strings that have no translation yet.

2 min read · Updated November 2026

Leaves the strings of the branch that lack a translation to be machine translated, in every language of the project that is not inactive. It is the command line version of the Translate missing strings button under Project settings → Workflow, and works whether or not automatic translation is switched on. Use it for strings from before you connected a machine translation service, or after a run that had to stop.

SH 
ct translate
TEXT 
Queued 553 translations in 79 strings on main for machine translation (about 21400 characters, deepl). They appear in the background: run "ct status" to follow the progress.

The command returns at once. The workers translate in the background, as drafts flagged as machine translated, and never replace a translation that exists. Run ct status to follow the progress.

The characters count towards the monthly limit of the machine translation service you connected, and that service bills you, so look first with --dry-run:

SH 
ct translate --dry-run
TEXT 
Would machine translate 553 translations in 79 strings on main with deepl (about 21400 characters).
OptionEffect
--language <code>Only this language. Repeat it for more. Without it, every active language of the project.
--dry-runOnly shows what is missing and what it would cost. Nothing is sent.

The machine translation service decides which languages it can translate into. Languages it cannot do are left out of the counts, and named:

TEXT 
Not translated: xx, deepl does not support it. Use another service or translate it by hand.

Choose another service for the project under Project settings → Workflow, or translate those strings by hand.

The branch is the one the CLI works on, the default branch being main. --language takes the codes of the project, such as nl-nl; a language that is not translated is refused. The command refuses when no service is connected, when the strings of the project are already being translated, or when the project or the branch is frozen.

Needs #

An API key with the translations:write scope, made by a project manager (organisation owners and admins count as managers). A key with Pull only access cannot run it. See Translate the missing strings for the route behind it.