Translate Channels

Commands

TranslateMate allows you to automatically translate all messages in specific channels. This powerful feature enables true multilingual communication by creating translation flows between channels.

Enable Channel Auto-Translation

Setup the bot to automatically translate messages from a specific channel to a specific language.

/config channel-auto-on target: [channel:] [output:]

Parameters:

  • target: The language to translate to (required)
  • channel: The source channel to translate from (required)
  • output: The destination channel for translations (optional)

Disable Channel Auto-Translation

Disable the automatic translation of messages from a specific channel to a specific language.

/config channel-auto-off [channel:] [output:]

Parameters:

  • channel: The source channel to stop translating
  • output: The output channel to remove (optional)

Examples

Example 1: Basic Channel Translation

Setup the bot to automatically translate messages to German from the #general channel.

/config channel-auto-on target:German channel:#general

All messages in #general will now be translated to German and posted in the same channel.

Example 2: Disable Channel Translation

Disable the automatic translation of messages to German from the #general channel.

/config channel-auto-off output:#general

Translations will no longer be posted in #general.

Output Channel

You can now further customize your settings by defining an output channel where the translated messages will be posted. This feature allows for a more organized and streamlined communication flow, ensuring that translations are easily accessible and do not clutter the original conversation thread.

Benefits of Output Channels

  • Organized Communication: Keep original and translated messages separate
  • Reduced Clutter: Original channels remain clean
  • Multi-Language Support: Create dedicated channels for each language
  • Easy Navigation: Users can focus on their preferred language channel

Example 3: Setup Output Channel

Setup the output channel for the automatic translations.

/config channel-auto-on target:German channel:#general output:#translations

Messages from #general will be translated to German and posted in #translations.

Example 4: Disable Output Channel

Disable the output channel for the automatic translations.

/config channel-auto-off channel:#general output:#translations

This removes the translation flow from #general to #translations.

Advanced Configurations

Multiple Language Channels

Create a multilingual server with dedicated channels for each language:

/config channel-auto-on target:German channel:#english output:#german
/config channel-auto-on target:French channel:#english output:#french
/config channel-auto-on target:Spanish channel:#english output:#spanish

Now #english content is automatically translated to three language-specific channels!

Bi-Directional Translation

Enable two-way translation between language channels:

/config channel-auto-on target:English channel:#german output:#english
/config channel-auto-on target:German channel:#english output:#german

Users in #english and #german can communicate seamlessly!

Multi-Source Translation

Aggregate translations from multiple channels into one output:

/config channel-auto-on target:English channel:#german-chat output:#international
/config channel-auto-on target:English channel:#french-chat output:#international
/config channel-auto-on target:English channel:#spanish-chat output:#international

All foreign language channels feed into #international in English.

How It Works

  1. Message is posted in the source channel
  2. Bot detects channel has auto-translation enabled
  3. Message is translated to configured language(s)
  4. Translation is posted in the output channel (or same channel if no output specified)
  5. Link to original message is included in the translation

Use Cases

International Community Server

Create separate channels for different languages:

  • #english ↔️ #deutsch (German)
  • #english ↔️ #français (French)
  • #english ↔️ #español (Spanish)

Support Channels

Provide multilingual customer support:

  • #support → Auto-translate to #support-german
  • #support → Auto-translate to #support-french
  • Support staff can monitor language-specific channels

Announcement Broadcasting

Broadcast announcements in multiple languages:

  • #announcements-english → Auto-translate to #announcements-german
  • #announcements-english → Auto-translate to #announcements-french
  • Single announcement reaches entire multilingual community

Topic-Based Multilingual Discussion

Enable multilingual discussion for specific topics:

  • #gaming-english ↔️ #gaming-german
  • #tech-english ↔️ #tech-japanese
  • #art-english ↔️ #art-french

Permissions Required

To manage channel auto-translations, you need:

  • Administrator or Manage Channels permission
  • Bot must have permissions in both source and output channels:
    • View Channel
    • Send Messages
    • Read Message History
    • Embed Links

Performance Considerations

  • Translation happens in real-time (typically < 2 seconds)
  • Each message translation counts toward your server’s character quota
  • High-volume channels will consume quota quickly
  • Bot automatically skips:
    • Empty messages
    • Bot commands
    • Messages from other bots (unless configured to translate bot messages)

Managing Channel Translations

List All Channel Translations

View all configured channel translations for your server:

/config channel-auto-list

Remove Specific Translation Flow

Remove a specific language translation while keeping others:

/config channel-auto-off channel:#general target:German

Clear All Channel Translations

To disable all auto-translations for a channel:

/config channel-auto-off channel:#general

Best Practices

  1. Plan your channel structure before enabling translations
  2. Use descriptive channel names (e.g., #support-de instead of just #de)
  3. Set channel topics explaining the auto-translation setup
  4. Monitor quota usage to avoid hitting limits
  5. Test translations in a private channel first
  6. Inform community members about the multilingual setup
  7. Use output channels to keep original channels clean
  8. Create channel categories to organize language channels

Channel Naming Conventions

Recommended naming patterns for multilingual channels:

  • Language Suffixes: #general-en, #general-de, #general-fr
  • Language Names: #general-english, #general-german, #general-french
  • Flag Emojis: #general-🇬🇧, #general-🇩🇪, #general-🇫🇷
  • Topic-Based: #gaming-english, #gaming-deutsch, #gaming-français

Limitations

  • Maximum of 10 output channels per source channel
  • Auto-translation doesn’t work for:
    • Embeds (rich messages) - only text content
    • File attachments - translations posted separately
    • Voice messages
    • Live streams
  • Webhook messages may have limited support

Troubleshooting

Translations Not Appearing

  1. Check bot has permissions in both source and output channels
  2. Verify auto-translation is enabled: /config channel-auto-list
  3. Check if character quota is exhausted: /server stats
  4. Ensure messages contain translatable text content

Duplicate Translations

  1. Check for multiple configurations targeting the same output
  2. Remove duplicate rules: /config channel-auto-off

Translation Delays

  1. Normal delay is 1-2 seconds
  2. High server load may cause delays
  3. Very long messages may take longer to translate

Related Features

Need Help?

If you have questions about channel auto-translation, join our [Discord Server]({{ .Site.Params.discord.supportServerUrl }}) or use the /help command.