LLM-powered Django translations ✨ Formerly published as
yesglot.
A Django app that autofills missing translations in .po files using an LLM, while respecting ICU format placeholders and source references.
Project story: The birth of yesglot.com explains the background behind yesglot and the rename to dj-translatemessages.
- 🧠 LLM-powered: works with 100+ LLM models through LiteLLM’s unified API
- 🔒 Placeholder-safe: keeps {name}, {{handlebars}}, URLs, and emails intact
- 📦 Django-native: one management command: python manage.py translatemessages
- 🧮 Cost-aware: prints per-file and total cost (via LiteLLM)
- 🧱 Token-safe batching: automatically splits work to avoid context overflows
pip install dj-translatemessagesVersion 2.0.0 renames the Django app to dj_translatemessages.
If you're upgrading from yesglot, update INSTALLED_APPS and imports accordingly.
Migration steps: docs/migration_guideline.md.
Add dj_translatemessages to your Django settings:
INSTALLED_APPS = [
# ...
"dj_translatemessages",
]Set the model from 100+ LLM models and API key in your Django settings:
DJ_TRANSLATEMESSAGES_LLM_MODEL = "openai/gpt-4o-mini"
DJ_TRANSLATEMESSAGES_API_KEY = "sk-..."A typical workflow with Django translations:
- Extract messages into .po files (creates entries with empty msgstr):
python manage.py makemessages -all
- Autofill missing translations with
dj-translatemessages:
python manage.py translatemessages
Example output:
▶ Translation run started.
Using translation model: openai/gpt-4o-mini
• Language: French [fr]
- Scanning: locale/fr/LC_MESSAGES/django.po
Missing entries: 12. Translating…
Filled 12 entries in 3.21s • Cost: $0.0123
============================================================
Done in 3.76s • Files: 1 • Missing found: 12 • Filled: 12 • Total cost: $0.0123
- Compile translations into .mo files (so Django can use them at runtime):
python manage.py compilemessages
Optional parameters,
DJ_TRANSLATEMESSAGES_SAFETY_MARGIN: 1000 (default)DJ_TRANSLATEMESSAGES_PER_ITEM_OUTPUT: 100 (default)DJ_TRANSLATEMESSAGES_LLM_MODEL_TEMPERATURE: 0 (default)
It is preconfigured, though you may override it to tailor the behavior of your translation.
DJ_TRANSLATEMESSAGES_SYSTEM_PROMPT_FUNCTION: for example,"myproject.myapp.utils.get_system_prompt"DJ_TRANSLATEMESSAGES_SYSTEM_PROMPT: string
Default:
You are a professional translator. Translate into the target language.
- Keep placeholders like {name} / {{handlebars}} unchanged.
- Keep URLs and emails unchanged.
- Return ONLY a JSON array of strings in the same order.
It’s already configured, but you can override it to adjust how your translation behaves.
DJ_TRANSLATEMESSAGES_PREAMBLE_TEMPLATE_FUNCTION: for example,"myproject.myapp.utils.get_preamble"DJ_TRANSLATEMESSAGES_PREAMBLE_TEMPLATE: string
Default:
Translate these items into {language}. Return ONLY a JSON array:
Mozilla Public License Version 2.0
