dify-docs/tools/translate

Automatic Document Translation

Multi-language document auto-translation system based on GitHub Actions and Dify AI, supporting English, Chinese, and Japanese.

How It Works

Workflow Triggers

1. Execute Workflow (New PRs):

   • Triggers when PR is opened with .md/.mdx changes in en/ directory
   • Creates translation PR with fresh translations for all changed files
   • Translation PR tracks the source PR

2. Update Workflow (Incremental Changes):

   • Triggers on new commits to source PR
   • Updates existing translation PR with incremental changes
   • Context-aware translation: Uses existing translation + git diff for modified files
   • Surgical reconciliation: Detects and applies move/rename operations

Translation Operations

• ✅ New files: Fresh translation to all target languages
• ✅ Modified files: Context-aware update using existing translation + git diff
• ✅ Deleted files: Removed from all language sections + physical files
• ✅ Moved files: Detected via group_path changes, applied with index-based navigation
• ✅ Renamed files: Detected when deleted+added in same location, preserves file extensions

Surgical Reconciliation

Automatically detects structural changes in docs.json:

• Move detection: Same file, different group_path → moves cn/jp files to same nested location using index-based navigation
• Rename detection: File deleted+added in same location → renames cn/jp files with extension preserved
• Index-based navigation: Groups matched by position, not name (works across translations: "Nodes" ≠ "节点")

System Features

• 🌐 Multi-language Support: Configuration-based language mapping (config.json)
• 📚 Terminology Consistency: Built-in professional terminology database (termbase_i18n.md)
• 🔄 Incremental Updates: Context-aware translation using git diff for modified files
• 🎯 Surgical Reconciliation: Automatic detection and application of move/rename operations
• 🛡️ Fault Tolerance: Retry mechanism with exponential backoff
• ⚡ Efficient Processing: Only processes changed files since last commit

Language Directories

• General docs: en/ (source) → cn/, jp/ (targets)
• Plugin dev docs: plugin-dev-en/ → plugin-dev-zh/, plugin-dev-ja/
• Versioned docs: versions/{version}/en-us/ → versions/{version}/zh-cn/, versions/{version}/jp/

Configuration in tools/translate/config.json.

Usage

For Document Writers

1. Create branch from main
2. Add/modify/delete files in en/ directory
3. Update docs.json if adding/removing/moving/renaming files
4. Push to branch → workflow creates translation PR automatically
5. Make additional changes → workflow updates translation PR incrementally
6. Review and merge translation PR

Testing Moves & Renames

Move: Edit docs.json to move file between groups (e.g., Getting Started → Nodes)

// Before: en/test-file in "Getting Started" group
// After: en/test-file in "Nodes" group

Rename: Rename file + update docs.json entry

git mv en/old-name.md en/new-name.md
# Update docs.json: "en/old-name" → "en/new-name"

Logs will show:

INFO: Detected 1 moves, 0 renames, 0 adds, 0 deletes
INFO: Moving en/test-file from 'Dropdown > GroupA' to 'Dropdown > GroupB'
SUCCESS: Moved cn/test-file to new location
SUCCESS: Moved jp/test-file to new location

Configuration

Language Settings

Edit tools/translate/config.json:

{
  "source_language": "en",
  "target_languages": ["cn", "jp"],
  "languages": {
    "en": {"code": "en", "name": "English", "directory": "en"},
    "cn": {
      "code": "cn",
      "name": "Chinese",
      "directory": "cn",
      "translation_notice": "<Note>⚠️ AI translation...</Note>"
    }
  }
}

Terminology Database

Edit tools/translate/termbase_i18n.md to update professional terminology translations.

Translation Model

Configure in Dify Studio - adjust prompts or change base models.

Local Development

Setup

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # macOS/Linux
# venv\Scripts\activate   # Windows

# Install dependencies
pip install -r tools/translate/requirements.txt

# Configure API key
echo "DIFY_API_KEY=your_key" > tools/translate/.env

Run Translation

# Interactive mode
python tools/translate/main.py

# Specify file
python tools/translate/main.py path/to/file.mdx

Test Surgical Reconciliation

# Test locally with git refs
cd tools/translate
python -c "
from sync_and_translate import DocsSynchronizer
import asyncio
import os

api_key = os.getenv('DIFY_API_KEY')
sync = DocsSynchronizer(api_key)

# Test with specific commits
logs = sync.reconcile_docs_json_structural_changes('base_sha', 'head_sha')
for log in logs:
    print(log)
"

Troubleshooting

Translation Issues

• HTTP 504: Verify response_mode: "streaming" in main.py
• Missing output: Check Dify workflow has output variable output1
• Failed workflow: Review Dify workflow logs for node errors

Move/Rename Issues

• Not detected: Check logs for "INFO: Detected X moves, Y renames" - verify group_path changed
• Wrong location: Structure mismatch between languages - verify group indices align
• File not found: Ensure file has .md or .mdx extension

Key Files

• config.json - Language configuration (single source of truth)
• termbase_i18n.md - Translation terminology database
• sync_and_translate.py - Core translation + surgical reconciliation logic
• main.py - Local translation tool with Dify API integration
• translate_pr.py - PR workflow orchestration
• .github/workflows/sync_docs_execute.yml - Execute workflow (new PRs)
• .github/workflows/sync_docs_update.yml - Update workflow (incremental changes)

Technical Details

• Concurrent translation limited to 2 tasks for API stability
• Supports .md and .mdx file formats
• Based on Dify API streaming mode
• Index-based navigation for language-independent group matching
• Extension detection and preservation for rename operations