Translate

Translate text, detect a language, or list supported languages against any LibreTranslate-compatible instance.

Part of Pipeworx — an MCP gateway connecting AI agents to 1684+ live data sources.

You need to bring an instance or a key. For translation that works with no key of your own, use deepl — deepl_translate covers the same languages and Pipeworx fronts the key.

Tools

Tool	What it does
translate	Translate text between two languages
detect_language	Detect the language of a string, with confidence
list_languages	Language codes the configured instance supports

Auth

Bring your own, one of:

• _apiKey — an API key from https://portal.libretranslate.com (libretranslate.com is now key-only)
• _endpoint — the base URL of a self-hosted instance (https://github.com/LibreTranslate/LibreTranslate)

Given neither, every tool returns {found: false, reason: "requires_key_or_endpoint"} with a pointer to deepl_translate. It does not attempt the call.

Why it is gated

This pack used to hardcode libretranslate.com and call it with no key. That endpoint moved behind an API key, so every call returned the upstream's raw 400 — "Visit portal.libretranslate.com to get an API key" — which reads to a caller as Pipeworx being broken rather than as a source needing a key.

The obvious fallback was a free public mirror. There aren't any left. Checked 2026-08-06:

Instance	Result
translate.argosopentech.com	does not resolve
libretranslate.com	400, key required
translate.terraprint.co	502
lt.vern.cc	502
translate.fedilab.app	403
libretranslate.eownerdead.dedyn.io	403
trans.zillyhuhn.com	403

So the pack is honestly BYO rather than quietly broken. It is registered in the gateway's BYO_ONLY_KEY_PACKS, which sinks it below deepl_translate in routing and labels it, so an agent asking to translate something reaches the tool that can answer.

Data source

LibreTranslate API v1 — https://github.com/LibreTranslate/LibreTranslate#api

Quick Start

Add to your MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, etc.):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "translate": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/translate/mcp"
    }
  }
}

What this endpoint actually serves

tools/list at https://gateway.pipeworx.io/translate/mcp returns the tools in the table above plus the shared Pipeworx meta-tools — ask_pipeworx, discover_tools, search_within, remember/recall and the rest of the gateway-wide set. So the tool count you see is larger than this table: a single-pack endpoint currently lists roughly 30 shared tools alongside the pack's own. The connection's initialize response states its exact scope, and is the authoritative answer for a given day.

This is deliberate, not multiplexing by accident. The meta-tools are what let a scoped connection answer a question this pack does not cover — via ask_pipeworx, which routes across the whole catalog — without you adding a second MCP server. There is currently no way to mount a pack endpoint without them; if the extra schemas cost you more context than the routing is worth, connect to the full gateway once rather than to several pack endpoints.

Or connect to the full Pipeworx gateway to get every pack's tools listed directly, instead of just this one's:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pipeworx": {
      "url": "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Both URLs reach the same gateway and the same 1684+ data sources. The only difference is which pack's tools are listed directly; ask_pipeworx reaches all of them from either one.

No MCP client? Call it over HTTP

This pack takes your own API key (_apiKey) — we don't front one for it, so there's no curl here that would run without it. Inspect any tool: GET https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/translate_translate. Find one: POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/v1/tools/search_packs with {"query":"..."}.

Standalone (no gateway account)

This package also runs as a local stdio MCP server — no Pipeworx account, no gateway round-trip:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "translate": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@pipeworx/mcp-translate"]
    }
  }
}

Or run it directly to confirm it starts:

npx -y @pipeworx/mcp-translate

It speaks MCP over stdin/stdout and answers initialize/tools/list/tools/call for only this pack's tools — none of the shared meta-tools the gateway connection above adds. Same source, same tools, no ask_pipeworx routing.

Using with ask_pipeworx

Instead of calling tools directly, you can ask questions in plain English — this works on the pack endpoint above as well as on the full gateway:

ask_pipeworx({ question: "your question about Translate data" })

The gateway picks the right tool and fills the arguments automatically.

More

• Docs and guides
• pipeworx.io

License

MIT