Automated JSON Translation Script

Overview

This Bash script automates the translation of JSON files using the Google Cloud Translation API. It supports translating JSON files from a source language to multiple target languages, with intelligent file tracking to only process recently modified files.

Prerequisites

• Bash shell
• jq command-line JSON processor
• Google Cloud Translation API access
• A Google Cloud Project with Translation API enabled

Setup

1. Install Dependencies

Make sure you have the following tools installed:

• Bash
• jq (JSON processor)
• curl (for API requests)

On Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install jq curl

On macOS (using Homebrew):

brew install jq curl

2. Configure Environment Variables

Create a .env file in the same directory as the script with the following variables:

GOOGLE_PROJECT_ID=your-google-cloud-project-id
GOOGLE_API_KEY=your-google-cloud-api-key
SOURCE_LANGUAGE=en
TARGET_LANGUAGES=es,fr,de

Environment Variable Explanation:

• GOOGLE_PROJECT_ID: Your Google Cloud project ID
• GOOGLE_API_KEY: API key with Translation API permissions
• SOURCE_LANGUAGE: The language code of the original JSON files (e.g., 'en' for English)
• TARGET_LANGUAGES: Comma-separated list of target language codes

Supported Language Codes:

• en: English
• es: Spanish
• de: German
• fr: French
• pt: Portuguese
• ru: Russian
• ja: Japanese
• ko: Korean
• it: Italian
• nl: Dutch
• zh-CN: Chinese (Simplified)
• zh-TW: Chinese (Traditional)
• pl: Polish
• tr: Turkish
• ar: Arabic

3. Make Script Executable

chmod +x translate.sh

Usage

1. Place your JSON files in the same directory as the script.
2. Run the script:

./translate.sh

How It Works

• Identifies JSON files in the current directory
• Creates a source language directory and copies original files
• Finds files modified since the last script run
• Translates strings within each JSON file
• Creates translated files in language-specific directories
• Tracks the last run time to optimize translation process

Example Workflow

1. Initial run creates:

   • en/ directory with original files
   • es/, fr/, de/ directories with translated files

2. Subsequent runs will only translate files modified since the last run

Important Notes

• Requires an active Google Cloud Translation API key
• Translates only string values in JSON files
• Preserves original JSON structure
• Uses a tracking file to optimize translation process

Troubleshooting

• Ensure .env file is correctly configured
• Check Google Cloud API key permissions
• Verify jq and curl are installed
• Check network connectivity to Google Translation API

Limitations

• Relies on Google Cloud Translation API (may incur costs)
• Works best with simple JSON structures
• May not perfectly translate context-dependent strings

License

[Specify your license here]

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please submit pull requests or open issues on the project repository.