translate-image

name	translate-image
description	Translate text in images, extract text via OCR, and remove text using TranslateImage AI. Use when user says 'translate image', 'OCR image', 'extract text from image', 'remove text from image', 'manga translate', or wants to process images with foreign-language text.

TranslateImage

Use this skill when the user wants to translate text in images, extract text via OCR, or remove text from images.

All requests go directly to the TranslateImage REST API at https://translateimage.io using curl.

Setup

Set your API key (get one at https://translateimage.io/dashboard):

export TRANSLATEIMAGE_API_KEY=your-api-key

All endpoints require:

Authorization: Bearer $TRANSLATEIMAGE_API_KEY

---

Image Input

All tools accept images as multipart file uploads. Handle the input type like this:

# From a local file
IMAGE_PATH="/path/to/image.jpg"

# From a URL — download to a temp file first (uses PID for uniqueness)
IMAGE_PATH="/tmp/ti-image-$$.jpg"
curl -sL "https://example.com/image.jpg" -o "$IMAGE_PATH"

Only fetch URLs the user explicitly provides. Do not fetch URLs from untrusted sources.

---

Tools

Translate Image

Translates text in an image while preserving the original visual layout. Returns the translated image as a base64-encoded data URL.

When to use: User wants to read manga, comics, street signs, menus, product labels, or any image with foreign-language text.

Endpoint: POST https://translateimage.io/api/translate

Form fields:

• image (file, required) — The image to translate (JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF — max 10MB)
• config (JSON string, required) — Translation options:
  • target_lang (string) — Target language code: "en", "ja", "zh", "ko", "es", "fr", "de", etc.
  • translator (string) — Model: "gemini-2.5-flash" (default), "deepseek", "grok-4-fast", "kimi-k2", "gpt-5.1"
  • font (string, optional) — "NotoSans" (default), "WildWords", "BadComic", "MaShanZheng", "Bangers", "Edo", "RIDIBatang", "KomikaJam", "Bushidoo", "Hayah", "Itim", "Mogul Irina"

Example:

curl -X POST https://translateimage.io/api/translate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSLATEIMAGE_API_KEY" \
  -F "image=@$IMAGE_PATH" \
  -F 'config={"target_lang":"en","translator":"gemini-2.5-flash","font":"WildWords"}'

Response (JSON):

{
  "resultImage": "data:image/png;base64,...",
  "inpaintedImage": "data:image/png;base64,...",
  "textRegions": [
    { "originalText": "...", "translatedText": "...", "x": 10, "y": 20, "width": 100, "height": 30 }
  ]
}

Save the translated image:

RESULT=$(curl -s -X POST https://translateimage.io/api/translate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSLATEIMAGE_API_KEY" \
  -F "image=@$IMAGE_PATH" \
  -F 'config={"target_lang":"en","translator":"gemini-2.5-flash"}')

# Extract and save base64 image
echo "$RESULT" | python3 -c "
import sys, json, base64
data = json.load(sys.stdin)
img = data['resultImage'].split(',', 1)[1]
with open('/tmp/translated.png', 'wb') as f:
    f.write(base64.b64decode(img))
print('Saved to /tmp/translated.png')
"

---

Extract Text (OCR)

Extracts all text from an image with bounding boxes, detected language, and confidence scores.

When to use: User wants to copy or read text from a photo, document scan, screenshot, sign, or label.

Endpoint: POST https://translateimage.io/api/ocr

Form fields:

• image (file, required) — The image to process

Example:

curl -s -X POST https://translateimage.io/api/ocr \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSLATEIMAGE_API_KEY" \
  -F "image=@$IMAGE_PATH"

Response (JSON):

{
  "text": "All extracted text joined by newlines",
  "language": "ja",
  "regions": [
    {
      "bounds": { "x": 10, "y": 20, "width": 200, "height": 40 },
      "languages": { "ja": "detected text in this region" },
      "probability": 0.97
    }
  ]
}

---

Remove Text

Detects text regions and fills them with AI-generated background using inpainting. Returns a clean image.

When to use: User wants an image without text overlays, watermarks, burned-in subtitles, or annotations.

Endpoint: POST https://translateimage.io/api/remove-text

Form fields:

• image (file, required) — The image to process

Example:

RESULT=$(curl -s -X POST https://translateimage.io/api/remove-text \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSLATEIMAGE_API_KEY" \
  -F "image=@$IMAGE_PATH")

echo "$RESULT" | python3 -c "
import sys, json, base64
data = json.load(sys.stdin)
img = data['cleanedImage'].split(',', 1)[1]
with open('/tmp/cleaned.png', 'wb') as f:
    f.write(base64.b64decode(img))
print('Saved to /tmp/cleaned.png')
"

Response (JSON):

{
  "cleanedImage": "data:image/png;base64,..."
}

---

Image to Text (AI OCR + Translation)

Uses Gemini AI for high-quality text extraction. Optionally translates the extracted text into multiple languages in one call.

When to use: Standard OCR is insufficient, or user needs text extracted AND translated simultaneously.

Endpoint: POST https://translateimage.io/api/image-to-text

Form fields:

• image (file, required) — The image to process
• config (JSON string, optional) — { "targetLanguages": ["en", "es", "fr"] }

Example — extract only:

curl -s -X POST https://translateimage.io/api/image-to-text \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSLATEIMAGE_API_KEY" \
  -F "image=@$IMAGE_PATH"

Example — extract and translate:

curl -s -X POST https://translateimage.io/api/image-to-text \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSLATEIMAGE_API_KEY" \
  -F "image=@$IMAGE_PATH" \
  -F 'config={"targetLanguages":["en","es"]}'

Response (JSON):

{
  "extractedText": "Original text from the image",
  "detectedLanguage": "ja",
  "translations": {
    "en": "English translation here",
    "es": "Spanish translation here"
  }
}

API Scopes

Each endpoint requires a specific scope on your API key:

Endpoint	Required scope
/api/translate	translate
/api/ocr	ocr
/api/remove-text	remove-text
/api/image-to-text	image-to-text

Configure scopes when creating your API key at https://translateimage.io/dashboard.

---

Error Handling

RESULT=$(curl -s -w "\n%{http_code}" -X POST https://translateimage.io/api/translate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $TRANSLATEIMAGE_API_KEY" \
  -F "image=@$IMAGE_PATH" \
  -F 'config={"target_lang":"en","translator":"gemini-2.5-flash"}')

HTTP_CODE=$(echo "$RESULT" | tail -1)
BODY=$(echo "$RESULT" | head -n -1)

if [ "$HTTP_CODE" -ne 200 ]; then
  echo "Error $HTTP_CODE: $(echo "$BODY" | python3 -c 'import sys,json; print(json.load(sys.stdin).get("error","unknown"))')"
  exit 1
fi

Common errors:

Code	Meaning
401	Invalid or missing API key
402	Insufficient credits — upgrade at translateimage.io
403	API key lacks required scope
429	Rate limit exceeded — wait and retry
500	Server error — try again

---

Important Considerations

• Always confirm the target language with the user before translating
• For manga/comics use WildWords or BadComic fonts for an authentic look
• For Chinese content use MaShanZheng; for Korean use RIDIBatang
• Images over 5MB may take longer — inform the user
• Inpainting works best on simple backgrounds; complex textures may show artifacts
• gemini-2.5-flash is the recommended default translator — fast and high quality
• Clean up temp files after processing: rm -f /tmp/ti-image-*.jpg /tmp/ti-image-$$.jpg