PO Translator Desk

Desktop helper that extracts untranslated gettext .po strings to JSON and writes translations back by msgid, so entries cannot land on the wrong line.

Warning

The PyInstaller EXE is unsigned. Windows SmartScreen may warn on first launch. The tool never overwrites the source .po; pick a new output path.

Install

1. GitHub Deploy Desk (recommended)

One-click deploy this repository with GitHub Deploy Desk.

Get the deployer: https://github.com/axioxmedia/github-deployer
Paste this repo URL into Deploy Desk: https://github.com/axioxmedia/PO_Translator_Assistant_GUI
Read the README in the app, then confirm deploy.

That is the supported install path. Use the source / EXE steps below only if you are already building from a local checkout.

2. Run from source or freeze an EXE

Platform	Package	Guide
Windows 10/11	`dist\PoTranslatorDesk.exe`	Python 3.11+ on PATH, close any running EXE, then `build_exe.bat`
Development	Run from source	`python app.py` or `python app.py --web`

git clone https://github.com/axioxmedia/PO_Translator_Assistant_GUI.git
cd PO_Translator_Assistant_GUI
python -m venv .venv
.venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
python app.py

python app.py --web serves only the local UI at http://127.0.0.1:8787.

build_exe.bat

Or:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\build_exe.ps1

Output: dist\PoTranslatorDesk.exe. If the window fails to start, send dist\po_translator_desk.log.

Features

Area	Included
Extract	Writes untranslated rows (`msgstr` empty or equal to `msgid`) to a JSON array
Apply by msgid	Dictionary match on `msgid` only — no index / order apply
Safe output	Writes a new `.po`; refuses to overwrite the source file
Progress	Total / done / pending / percent plus a local log pane
Header pass	Sets `Language: zh_CN` and refreshes `PO-Revision-Date` after apply
Desktop UI	Dark glass layout, zh/en switch, native file dialogs
Local only	Binds `127.0.0.1`; no cloud translation API

Workflow

Pick the source .po.
Extract untranslated → save untranslated.json.
Fill msgstr in that JSON with an editor or an AI chat. Keep the array shape.
Apply translations → write {stem}.zh_CN.po.
Show progress on the source or the output file.

JSON shape:

[
  {
    "id": 1,
    "msgid": "Welcome to our platform",
    "msgstr": "欢迎来到我们的平台"
  }
]

Rows with an empty msgstr are skipped on apply.

Requirements

	Minimum	Recommended
OS	Windows 10 x64 for the EXE	Windows 11
RAM	4 GB	8 GB
Disk	200 MB for the app	SSD
Python from source	3.11+	3.12

WebView2 ships with current Windows 10/11. No GPU and no third-party translation key are required.

Architecture

pywebview desktop window
        │ HTTP on 127.0.0.1
FastAPI + uvicorn
        ├── GET  /api/defaults
        ├── POST /api/pick
        ├── POST /api/inspect
        ├── POST /api/extract
        └── POST /api/apply
static HTML / CSS / JS
axioxmedia.py                      (packer watermark + OS title)

Layer	Path	Responsibility
Window	`app.py` `run_desktop()`	Port pick, uvicorn thread, pywebview, dark title bar
Brand	`axioxmedia.py`	OS-language window title and packer mark
API	`app.py`	PO parse, JSON extract, msgid apply
UI	`static/`	i18n, paths, stats, log
Pack	`PoTranslatorDesk.spec`	Onefile EXE with `static/` bundled

The windowed EXE has no console. ensure_stdio() and log_config=None keep uvicorn from crashing when sys.stderr is None.

This desk-app keeps the v1.3 Tkinter match rules: single-line msgid / msgstr blocks and msgid dictionary apply.