equalang-skill

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Keywords: document translation, pdf translator, translate pdf keep layout, docx translation, pptx translation, excel translation, epub translation, subtitle translation, srt translator, image translation, video translation, audio transcription, speech to text, ai translator, agent skill, claude code skill, codex skill, translation api

Translate the file, keep the layout. An Agent Skill for Equalang - an AI translator that works on whole files: a PDF comes back as a PDF, a deck as a deck, with tables, images and formulas where they were. It also translates subtitles and pictures, turns audio and video into translated subtitles or a transcript, and translates short texts in bulk. Works in Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, CodeBuddy and every other agent that loads Agent Skills.

Try asking

• "Translate ~/Documents/contract.pdf into Chinese, keeping the layout."
• "Translate pitch-deck.pptx into Japanese and German."
• "Translate https://example.com/whitepaper.pdf into Spanish and save it in ~/Downloads."
• "How much would it cost to translate thesis.docx into French?"
• "Make Korean subtitles for interview.mp4, with the original line above each one."
• "Transcribe standup.m4a with timestamps."
• "Make an English version of menu.jpg."
• "Translate novel.epub into English."

Features

• Documents - PDF, DOCX, PPTX, XLSX, EPUB, HTML and TXT come back in the same format, still editable, with tables, images, formulas and page layout in place
• Subtitles and pictures - SRT and VTT keep their timing, optionally with the source line above the translation; JPG, PNG, WebP and BMP come back with the text in the picture translated
• Audio and video - MP3, M4A, WAV, FLAC, OGG, AAC, Opus, MP4, MOV, WebM and MKV become translated subtitles, or a transcript in the language spoken (SRT, VTT, TXT, JSON)
• Text in bulk - short texts translated in order, or one long text (up to 100,000 characters) that Equalang cuts at sentences itself
• Languages — 152 for text and documents; the live language list reflects the current deployment. Omit the source language to detect it automatically.
• PDF formulas — Formula optimization is optional and off by default. Enable it only for PDF files. --optimize-math-formula Adds 10 credits per original PDF page at the default rate. Use the same option when estimating the cost. estimate --optimize-math-formula

Get a key

Sign up at https://equalang.com and create a key at https://equalang.com/api-keys. New accounts start with free credits, enough to put a document through.

Save it once in ~/.config/equalang/.env and it stays in effect: in every agent - Claude Code, Codex, WorkBuddy, Cursor or any other - in every new session, and through reinstalls and updates, with nothing to export. The Equalang MCP server reads the same file.

# Replace el_your_key with your key
mkdir -p ~/.config/equalang && echo 'EQUALANG_API_KEY=el_your_key' > ~/.config/equalang/.env && chmod 600 ~/.config/equalang/.env

EQUALANG_API_KEY in the environment is checked first; the file is read only when the environment has none. That is how one project can use a different key.

Install

Needs python3 3.8 or later, and nothing else: the script uses only the standard library.

The shortest way - paste this to your agent:

Install the Equalang skill by following the instructions at https://equalang.com/install/skill-install.md

<details open> <summary><b>Claude Code</b> (plugin)</summary>

/plugin marketplace add equalang/equalang-skill
/plugin install equalang@equalang

</details> <details> <summary><b>Claude Code</b> (manual)</summary>

git clone https://github.com/equalang/equalang-skill ~/.claude/skills/equalang

Project-scoped instead? Clone into .claude/skills/equalang in the repository.

</details> <details> <summary><b>OpenAI Codex</b></summary>

git clone https://github.com/equalang/equalang-skill ~/.agents/skills/equalang

Codex also reads .agents/skills/ inside a repository, to scope it to one project.

</details> <details> <summary><b>CodeBuddy / WorkBuddy</b></summary>

git clone https://github.com/equalang/equalang-skill ~/.codebuddy/skills/equalang

Project-scoped: clone into .codebuddy/skills/equalang at the project root.

</details> <details> <summary><b>Cursor, Gemini CLI, OpenCode, Copilot, Goose, Amp, Kiro and others</b></summary>

This is a plain Agent Skill: a folder with a SKILL.md in it. Every client that implements the standard loads the same folder - only the directory it scans differs, and each documents its own. Clone the repository into that directory and the skill is installed.

git clone https://github.com/equalang/equalang-skill

</details>

Prefer an MCP server? equalang-mcp offers the same operations as tools, and works in Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline and OpenCode as well.

Commands

# What would it cost? Free, and nothing starts translating
python3 scripts/equalang.py estimate report.pdf

# Translate a file; the result lands beside the source
python3 scripts/equalang.py translate report.pdf --to zh-CN

# From a public URL (Equalang fetches it itself), into a folder
python3 scripts/equalang.py translate https://example.com/deck.pptx --to ja -o ./out

# What a recording says, as timed text
python3 scripts/equalang.py transcribe interview.mp3 --format srt --format txt

# Short texts, in order
python3 scripts/equalang.py text "Save changes" "Delete project" --to de

# One long text, cut at sentences by Equalang
python3 scripts/equalang.py text --file notes.md --to ja -o notes.ja.md

# A job left running, the balance, and the language codes
python3 scripts/equalang.py status <job_id>
python3 scripts/equalang.py cancel <job_id>
python3 scripts/equalang.py balance
python3 scripts/equalang.py languages chinese

Every command prints JSON: where the files were written and what they cost, or what went wrong. Add --help to any command to see its flags. The agent itself reads SKILL.md.

Language codes look like en, zh-CN, ja. Run languages to list them, or languages chinese to search. A job takes minutes - the command waits for it, and status <job_id> picks it up again if you interrupt it.

Links

• Equalang · Pricing · Developer docs
• API for agents: llms.txt · llms-full.txt · OpenAPI
• equalang-mcp - the same operations as an MCP server
• Questions: support@equalang.com

License

Apache-2.0 © Equalang