Translation Services

Service List

Service	Auth	Cost	Notes
Pinyin	None	Free	Default service and final fallback; converts CJK characters to pinyin, works offline
ChatGPT / OpenAI	API Key	Pay-as-you-go	Custom baseUrl/model, compatible with third-party OpenAI APIs
Google Translate	API Key	Pay-as-you-go	Official Cloud Translation API, requires a Google Cloud API key
Bing / Azure Translator	API Key	Pay-as-you-go	Requires an Azure account, custom region supported
DeepLX	Local deployment	Free	Automatic health checks, custom endpoint supported
Baidu Translate	APP_ID + Key	Pay-as-you-go	Requires a Baidu Translate open platform account
Tencent Translator	SecretId + SecretKey	Pay-as-you-go	Custom region supported (default ap-guangzhou)

About the config value

In the translationService setting, copilot is a legacy value that actually maps to the Pinyin service.

Getting API Keys

OpenAI

1. Visit OpenAI Platform
2. Sign up / log in
3. Open the API Keys page
4. Click "Create new secret key"
5. Copy the key (format: sk-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)
6. (Optional) set a custom baseUrl for a third-party OpenAI-compatible API
7. (Optional) set a custom model (default gpt-3.5-turbo)

Google Translate

1. Visit Google Cloud Console
2. Sign up / log in and create a project
3. Enable the Cloud Translation API
4. Create an API key under "APIs & Services → Credentials"
5. Paste the key into the extension settings

Bing / Azure Translator

1. Visit Azure Portal
2. Sign up / log in
3. Create a Translator resource
4. Open the resource → "Keys and Endpoint"
5. Copy the API key and region

DeepLX

1. Visit DeepLX or DeepLX on GitHub
2. Deploy the service locally following the instructions
3. Default endpoint: http://127.0.0.1:1188 (custom baseUrl supported)
4. The extension performs automatic health checks (60s cache)
5. No further configuration needed

Baidu Translate

1. Visit the Baidu Translate Open Platform
2. Sign up / log in
3. Open the console
4. Enable the General Translation API
5. Obtain the APP_ID and Secret Key

Tencent Translator

1. Visit Tencent Cloud
2. Sign up / log in
3. Enable Machine Translation
4. Open API Key Management
5. Obtain the SecretId and SecretKey
6. (Optional) set a custom region (default ap-guangzhou)

Switching Services

Shortcut

Press Alt+Shift+S to switch quickly.

Command Palette

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+P
2. Type "切换翻译服务" (Switch Translation Service)
3. Pick a service

Context Menu

Right-click in the editor → "切换翻译服务".

Unconfigured services

Picking a service that requires a key but is not configured prompts you to open the settings, jumping straight to variableTranslator.services.

Service Comparison

Pinyin

• Pros: zero configuration, works offline, converts CJK characters to pinyin
• Cons: pinyin conversion only, not real translation
• Best for: out-of-the-box default and the final fallback when everything else fails

OpenAI

• Pros: high quality, understands programming context, custom baseUrl/model
• Cons: requires an API key, pay-as-you-go
• Best for: high-quality translation; third-party compatible APIs can lower costs

Google Translate

• Pros: official API, stable quality, no CAPTCHA / IP-ban risk
• Cons: requires a Google Cloud account and API key, pay-as-you-go
• Best for: reliable Google translation quality

Bing / Azure Translator

• Pros: official Microsoft API, stable quality, free tier available
• Cons: requires an Azure account
• Best for: users who already have an Azure account

DeepLX

• Pros: local deployment, free, automatic health checks
• Cons: requires deploying the service yourself
• Best for: privacy-conscious or cost-free usage

Baidu Translate

• Pros: fast within China
• Cons: account registration required
• Best for: users in China

Tencent Translator

• Pros: fast within China, custom region
• Cons: requires a Tencent Cloud account
• Best for: users in China

Fallback Chain

When a translation call fails, the extension falls back automatically by the servicePriority order:

Current service fails → next service by priority → all fail → Pinyin

• The currently selected service is always tried first, then the priority list in order
• Every service has a 10-second timeout; on timeout the next service is tried
• The global translation timeout is also 10 seconds, after which Pinyin takes over
• Pinyin is the final safety net — translation never fails

Automatic Language Detection

All services detect the source language automatically. Supported:

• Chinese
• Japanese
• Korean
• Russian
• Any other non-English characters