nowfound

Dev tools · June 18, 2024

I made an open source and local translation app

A few years ago, right after high school, I decided to try to make a simultaneous translation app for Android as a side project, it took longer than expected (about 2 years) and I had to make a lot of compromises (I had to use Google's API and therefore make users use a developer key because at the time there were no free solutions for speech recognition and translation that had good quality). At the end of university, I decided to pick it up again and finally, using OpenAi's Whisper for speech recognition and Meta's NLLB for translation (with both running locally on the phone), I managed to…

I made an open source and local translation app launched on June 18, 2024 with 236 votes, #190 of 4,672 launches that month and more than 95% of that year's launches. The site was still online in September 2026, 2 years on.

Visit github.com ↗Alternativestop 4% of June 2024

In plain words

This open-source Android app provides simultaneous translation using speech recognition and machine translation. It runs Whisper for speech-to-text and Meta's NLLB for translation entirely on the device, requiring no external API keys or internet connection. Built after years of development, the app is free and fully open-source, currently in beta and available on GitHub.

written from the facts on this page · September 2026

From the sources

Open source real-time translation app for Android that runs locally - niedev/RTranslator

In the maker’s words, at launch

A few years ago, right after high school, I decided to try to make a simultaneous translation app for Android as a side project, it took longer than expected (about 2 years) and I had to make a lot of compromises (I had to use Google's API and therefore make users use a developer key because at the time there were no…

Does a similar job

all alternatives →
  • Whispering – Open-source, local-first dictation you can trust2025 · github.com · ▲591

    Hey HN! Braden here, creator of Whispering, an open-source speech-to-text app. I really like dictation. For years, I relied on transcription tools that were almost good, but they were all closed-source. Even a lot of them that claimed to be “local” or “on-device” were still black boxes that left me wondering where my audio really went. So I built Whispering. It’s open-source, local-first, and most importantly, transparent with your data. Your data is stored locally on your device, and your audio goes directly from your machine to a local provider (Whisper C++, Speaches, etc.) or your chosen…

  • RTranslator2024 · github.com · ▲170

    Open-source and offline simultaneous translator for Android

  • I made a free transcription service powered by Whisper AI2022 · freesubtitles.ai · ▲224

    Free AI transcription: convert video and audio to text, translate into 120 languages, download SRT, VTT, ASS or TXT, or export the video with subtitles on it.

  • TranslatorJan 2026 · translator.tools · ▲114

    Translate any video to 30+ languages with latest AI

  • Project S.A.T.U.R.D.A.Y. – open-source, self hosted, J.A.R.V.I.S.2023 · github.com · ▲121

    Welcome to Project S.A.T.U.R.D.A.Y. This is a project that allows anyone to easily build their own self-hosted J.A.R.V.I.S-like voice assistant. In my mind vocal computing is the future of human-computer interaction and by open sourcing this code I hope to expedite us on that path. I have had a blast working on this so far and I'm excited to continue to build with it. It uses whisper.cpp [1], Coqui TTS [2] and OpenAI [3] to do speech-to-text, text-to-text and text-to-speech inference all 100% locally (except for text-to-text). In the future I plan to swap out OpenAI for llama.cpp [4]. It is…

  • RTranslator2020 · github.com · ▲79

    World's first open-source simultaneous translation app.

More dev tools this month

the category →
  • /dev/null▲468

    a social network for devs

    Dev tools · 2d ago · dev-null.sh

  • open-source IDE for thoughtful software design. Contribute to devdotfast/whiteboard development by creating an account on GitHub.

    Dev tools · 27d ago · github.com

  • Contribute to reladraw/reladraw development by creating an account on GitHub.

    Dev tools · 25d ago · github.com

  • OpenBot▲362

    Grok Bot alternative: free, local, open-source, multiplayer

    Dev tools · 22d ago · openbot.run

  • Talanoa▲340

    Hi HN, I’m a fullstack developer, and honestly, I’ve lost count of how many side projects I’ve worked on over the years. But one idea kept coming back to me: a different kind of email client. It first came to me in 2014: “What if we could handle emails more like conversations?” Every year, I’d revisit this concept in my “Build Notes.” Ten years later, no one had built exactly what I had in mind — so I finally decided to do it myself. That’s how Talanoa was born. I wanted something focused on people, not timelines. I was tired of marking messages as unread just to remember to reply later, or…

    Dev tools · 20d ago · talanoa.email

  • CoreSpeed▲332

    One MCP for everything your agents need: apps, memory, tools

    Dev tools · 27d ago · corespeed.io

Source: Show HN post ↗ · launch text quoted in part

Launched alongside, June 2024

the whole month →
  • Pygma▲1,412

    AI copilot for Instagram

    AI · 2024 · pygma.me

  • Cello▲1,347

    Easiest way to add a referral program to your SaaS

    Growth · 2024 · cello.so

  • Create personalized, multi-channel conversations at scale

    AI · 2024 · lagrowthmachine.com

  • Revolutionary AI email, reimagined for teams

    AI · 2024 · superhuman.com

  • FlowMapp 3.0▲1,142

    Visual website planning in the most powerful way

    Work · 2024 · flowmapp.com

  • PyjamaHR▲1,132

    Hiring on autopilot. The AI applicant tracking system (ATS).

    Work · 2024 · pyjamahr.com