claude-mem/scripts/translate-readme

README Translator

Translate README.md files to multiple languages using the Claude Agent SDK. Perfect for build scripts and CI/CD pipelines.

Installation

npm install readme-translator
# or
npm install -g readme-translator  # for CLI usage

Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• Authentication (one of the following):
  • Claude Code installed and authenticated (Pro/Max subscription) - no API key needed
  • ANTHROPIC_API_KEY environment variable set (for API-based usage)
  • AWS Bedrock (CLAUDE_CODE_USE_BEDROCK=1 + AWS credentials)
  • Google Vertex AI (CLAUDE_CODE_USE_VERTEX=1 + GCP credentials)

If you have Claude Code installed and logged in with your Pro/Max subscription, the SDK will automatically use that authentication.

CLI Usage

# Basic usage
translate-readme README.md es fr de

# With options
translate-readme -v -o ./i18n --pattern docs.{lang}.md README.md es fr de ja zh

# List supported languages
translate-readme --list-languages

CLI Options

Option	Description
-o, --output <dir>	Output directory (default: same as source)
-p, --pattern <pat>	Output filename pattern (default: README.{lang}.md)
--no-preserve-code	Translate code blocks too (not recommended)
-m, --model <model>	Claude model to use (default: sonnet)
--max-budget <usd>	Maximum budget in USD
--use-existing	Use existing translation file as a reference
-v, --verbose	Show detailed progress
-h, --help	Show help message
--list-languages	List all supported language codes

Programmatic Usage

import { translateReadme } from "readme-translator";

const result = await translateReadme({
  source: "./README.md",
  languages: ["es", "fr", "de", "ja", "zh"],
  verbose: true,
});

console.log(`Translated ${result.successful} files`);
console.log(`Total cost: $${result.totalCostUsd.toFixed(4)}`);

API Options

interface TranslationOptions {
  /** Source README file path */
  source: string;

  /** Target language codes */
  languages: string[];

  /** Output directory (defaults to same directory as source) */
  outputDir?: string;

  /** Output filename pattern (use {lang} placeholder) */
  pattern?: string; // default: "README.{lang}.md"

  /** Preserve code blocks without translation */
  preserveCode?: boolean; // default: true

  /** Claude model to use */
  model?: string; // default: "sonnet"

  /** Maximum budget in USD */
  maxBudgetUsd?: number;

  /** Use existing translation file (if present) as a reference */
  useExisting?: boolean;

  /** Verbose output */
  verbose?: boolean;
}

Return Value

interface TranslationJobResult {
  results: TranslationResult[];
  totalCostUsd: number;
  successful: number;
  failed: number;
}

interface TranslationResult {
  language: string;
  outputPath: string;
  success: boolean;
  error?: string;
  costUsd?: number;
}

Build Script Integration

package.json

{
  "scripts": {
    "translate": "translate-readme README.md es fr de ja zh",
    "translate:all": "translate-readme -v -o ./i18n README.md es fr de it pt ja ko zh ru ar",
    "prebuild": "npm run translate"
  }
}

GitHub Actions

Note: CI/CD environments require an API key since Claude Code won't be authenticated there.

name: Translate README
on:
  push:
    branches: [main]
    paths: [README.md]

jobs:
  translate:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      
      - uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: 20
      
      - run: npm install -g readme-translator
      
      - name: Translate README
        env:
          ANTHROPIC_API_KEY: ${{ secrets.ANTHROPIC_API_KEY }}
        run: |
          translate-readme -v -o ./i18n README.md es fr de ja zh
      
      - name: Commit translations
        run: |
          git config user.name "github-actions[bot]"
          git config user.email "github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
          git add i18n/
          git diff --staged --quiet || git commit -m "chore: update README translations"
          git push

Programmatic Build Script

// scripts/translate.ts
import { translateReadme } from "readme-translator";

async function main() {
  const result = await translateReadme({
    source: "./README.md",
    languages: (process.env.TRANSLATE_LANGS || "es,fr,de").split(","),
    outputDir: "./docs/i18n",
    maxBudgetUsd: 5.0,
    verbose: !process.env.CI,
  });

  if (result.failed > 0) {
    console.error("Some translations failed");
    process.exit(1);
  }
}

main();

Supported Languages

Code	Language	Code	Language
ar	Arabic	ko	Korean
bg	Bulgarian	lt	Lithuanian
cs	Czech	lv	Latvian
da	Danish	nl	Dutch
de	German	no	Norwegian
el	Greek	pl	Polish
es	Spanish	pt	Portuguese
et	Estonian	pt-br	Brazilian Portuguese
fi	Finnish	ro	Romanian
fr	French	ru	Russian
he	Hebrew	sk	Slovak
hi	Hindi	sl	Slovenian
hu	Hungarian	sv	Swedish
id	Indonesian	th	Thai
it	Italian	tr	Turkish
ja	Japanese	uk	Ukrainian
		vi	Vietnamese
		zh	Chinese (Simplified)
		zh-tw	Chinese (Traditional)

Best Practices

1. Preserve Code Blocks: Keep preserveCode: true (default) to avoid breaking code examples

2. Set Budget Limits: Use maxBudgetUsd to prevent runaway costs

3. Run on Releases Only: In CI/CD, trigger translations only on main branch or releases

4. Review Translations: Automated translations are good but not perfect - consider human review for critical docs

5. Cache Results: Don't re-translate unchanged content - check if README changed before running

Cost Estimation

Typical costs per language (varies by README length):

• Short README (~500 words): ~$0.01-0.02
• Medium README (~2000 words): ~$0.05-0.10
• Long README (~5000 words): ~$0.15-0.25

License

MIT