Zotero EasyTrans

Zotero EasyTrans is a Zotero 8 plugin for offline translation of selected PDF text using the TranslateGemma 4B on-device translation model.

Screenshots

_{Selection translate popup}

_{EasyTrans panel}

_{Highlight + translation note}

_{Translation result bubble}

What It Does

Translate selected text inside Zotero's PDF reader and save the translation as an annotation.

Why This Plugin

• Faster than switching to external translators while reading
• No text is uploaded (privacy-friendly)
• No online API dependency or costs

Model

• TranslateGemma 4B (GGUF), an on-device translation model from Google, running locally via llama.cpp

Benefits

• Fully offline translation (model download is one-time)
• Keeps your data local
• Translations are saved as annotations for later review

Supported Languages

English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Hindi, Spanish, Arabic, French, Portuguese, Russian, German, Japanese, Korean, Italian, Dutch

How To Use

1. Download the XPI for your platform from GitHub Releases:
   • macOS: zotero-easytrans-macos.xpi
   • Windows: zotero-easytrans-windows.xpi
   • Linux: zotero-easytrans-linux.xpi
2. Install the downloaded XPI in Zotero 8 (Tools → Add-ons → Install Add-on From File).
3. On first use, download the TranslateGemma 4B model (~2.5 GB).
4. Open a PDF item and select a target language in the EasyTrans panel.
5. Select text in the PDF, click Translate, and the translation will show and be saved as an annotation.
6. The panel lists all translated selections.

License

MIT