Getting Started

Getting Started

This guide walks you through installing Hover Translate and preparing Chrome’s built-in English ⇄ Japanese translation.

1. Check browser support

Hover Translate uses the Chrome built-in Translator API.

• Use desktop Chrome 138 or later.
• Mobile Chrome, Firefox, and Safari are not supported.
• Chrome may need to download language packs the first time you use the extension.

No translation account required

Hover Translate no longer uses DeepL or any external translation API. There is no API key, quota, or billing setup.

2. Install the extension

1. Open the Hover Translate listing on the Chrome Web Store.
2. Click Add to Chrome, then confirm in the dialog.
3. The Hover Translate icon appears in the Chrome toolbar when installation finishes.

Developer install (optional)

To run from source, clone the repository, run pnpm install and pnpm build, then load dist/ via chrome://extensions/ → Developer mode → Load unpacked.

3. Prepare language packs

1. Click the Hover Translate extension icon to open the popup.
2. In Engine, click Prepare if the popup asks you to prepare language packs.
3. Keep Chrome open while the English and Japanese language packs download.
4. Confirm the popup shows Ready for English ⇄ Japanese.

4. Turn it on and pick a mode

1. In Translate, switch the extension to ON.
2. Choose a mode:
   • Hover translates the nearest paragraph automatically when you hover over it.
   • Selection translates only highlighted text. Selection mode can use Shortcut (Alt+Shift+T) or Auto on mouse release.
3. Open any normal web page with English or Japanese text and try your chosen mode.
4. A translation tooltip appears next to the source text.

If the tooltip does not appear or the popup reports an error, continue with the Troubleshooting guide.