TextLantern

TextLantern is a Discord translator bot for you and your server. You can translate messages privately, write replies in another language, or auto-translate server channels so more people can join the conversation.

For personal use, install TextLantern to your own Discord account. On Discord desktop, right-click a message, open Apps, and choose Translate privately. Only you see the result, and the original message stays as it was. Translation controls let you switch the language. To write a reply, type /t, enter your text in your own language, pick the target language, and check the result. Then copy it and send it yourself. TextLantern never sends a message for you. The /language command sets your default personal translation language. Personal translation does not need the Manage Server permission.

For a server, setup requires Manage Server. Choose a channel and two main languages, for example English and Japanese. Recognized messages in either language are translated into the other. You decide where translations go: a channel reply beside the original message, or a thread. You can also add extra reader languages, up to eight languages per channel in total. Extra languages can be automatic or on request, and can be delivered privately to the reader who asks. After you save and enable translation, send a test message. Members on phones see the same replies and threads with no extra setup. You can reuse saved language, reply, and terminology settings across channels.

The bot needs only specific permissions: View Channels, Read Message History, Send Messages, Send Messages in Threads, Embed Links, Manage Threads, and Change Nickname. It does not need Administrator permission.

TextLantern supports 92 translation languages, including Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and several Arabic dialects, Hindi, Cantonese, French, German, and Portuguese. The website and app interface are available in 9 languages.

Eligible Discord accounts get a one-time 300-character free trial. Paid packs are one-time purchases, not subscriptions. Purchased characters never expire, repeat purchases add to your balance, and your first purchase permanently unlocks that tier's features. There are no automatic overage charges. Starter is $8.99 for 250,000 characters and 1 server, and adds flag reaction translation. Community is $17.99 for 500,000 characters and 3 servers, and adds a custom server bot name and avatar, bot personality, and 25 terminology entries. Growth is $35.99 for 1,200,000 characters and 6 servers, and adds 200 terminology entries, bulk configuration import and export, and multi-server management. Characters are counted as the source text's Unicode characters for each target language. Cached, failed, and retried translations cost nothing.

Private means only you see the result in Discord, although a third-party translation provider still processes the text. TextLantern keeps no permanent message or translation archive and does not use message content to train models. It does not scan message history or auto-translate DMs.

To get started, sign in with Discord at https://app.textlantern.com/ and choose a personal install or a server install. Guides are at https://textlantern.com/install/. I am the developer of TextLantern. Support: support@textlantern.com.