🔤Pot: Cross-Platform Word Selection Translator with Multi-Engine + Offline OCR

Pot is an open-source, free, cross-platform translation tool that integrates 20+ translation engines with offline OCR. Perfect for developers, researchers, and multilingual workflows.

🎤 Introduction

In today's globalized reading and multilingual work scenarios, an efficient and accurate translation tool has become essential. Pot (派了个萌的 Translation), with its three core advantages—open-source free, cross-platform support, and multi-engine integration—is quickly becoming the new favorite in the tech community. This efficiency tool, crafted by a domestic developer, perfectly addresses the dual needs of professional users for translation accuracy and privacy security.

Whether you're a developer reading English documentation or a student studying foreign research papers, Pot can make language barriers disappear.

⭐ Revolutionary Features

1. Smart Dual Translation Engines

• Word Selection Translation: Select any text and press the shortcut key (default Alt+Q) to instantly retrieve multi-engine translation results. Supports bilingual comparison mode, boosting academic paper and technical document reading efficiency by 300%.
• Screenshot OCR Translation: Frame a screen area to automatically recognize and translate text—perfectly solving translation challenges for PDF scans, image text, and code comments.

2. 20+ Translation Engines with Free Combination

Additional features:

• Local Storage: All translation records stored locally—no data leakage for sensitive documents
• Plugin System: Supports Lingva open-source proxy, ECDICT offline dictionary plugins
• Learning Toolchain: Vocabulary automatically syncs to Anki/Eudic, with voice reading for memory reinforcement

📥 Cross-Platform Installation Guide (With Troubleshooting Tips)

Windows System

# Recommended winget install (requires Windows 10 1709+)
winget install Pylogmon.pot

Manual Install:

1. Visit the Release Page

2. Choose by architecture:

   • 64-bit: pot_{version}_x64-setup.exe
   • 32-bit: pot_{version}_x86-setup.exe
   • ARM64: pot_{version}_arm64-setup.exe
3. Double-click the installer

Troubleshooting:

• No UI on launch → Check if WebView2 Runtime is installed
• Enterprise systems → Download *_fix_webview2_runtime-setup.exe special version
• Persistent crashes → Try Windows 7 compatibility mode

macOS System

# Homebrew one-click install (M1/M2 compatible)
brew tap pot-app/homebrew-tap
brew install --cask pot

Manual Install:

1. Visit the Release Page

2. Choose by chip:

   • Apple Silicon (M1/M2): pot_{version}_aarch64.dmg
   • Intel: pot_{version}_x64.dmg
3. Double-click DMG, drag Pot to Applications

Troubleshooting:

• "Cannot verify developer" warning:

  1. Click Cancel on first launch
  2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security
  3. Find the Open Anyway button and confirm
  4. Click Open in the popup window

• Launch errors / corrupted files:

  # Terminal: remove quarantine attribute
  sudo xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /Applications/pot.app

• Word selection not working:

  1. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility
  2. Remove "Pot" from the list
  3. Restart Pot and re-grant accessibility permission

Linux System

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install ./pot_*_amd64.deb

# Arch/Manjaro (AUR)
yay -S pot-translation-bin

Key Configuration: NVIDIA GPU users need to add to /etc/environment:

WEBKIT_DISABLE_DMABUF_RENDERER=1

to avoid crashes.

⚡ Advanced Productivity Tips

1. Incremental Translation Mode: After enabling, consecutive word selections are automatically merged—long document translation no longer requires manual combining
2. Clipboard Monitoring: Copy = translate. Combined with OCR, enables "screenshot → copy → auto-translate" pipeline

3. HTTP API Integration: Integrate with other tools via localhost:60828 port:

   # Example: Flameshot screenshot → Pot recognition
   flameshot gui --raw | pot -r

💡 Why Choose Pot?

• Multi-Engine Comparison: Single word selection retrieves DeepL + ChatGPT + Google results simultaneously—avoid single-engine mistranslations
• Offline Availability: Works on flights and trains without network via offline dictionary + OCR
• Zero Commercial Bundles: Open-source auditable code, no ads, no user tracking
• Cross-Platform Consistency: Seamless experience across Windows/macOS/Linux

🔗 Official Resources:
GitHub: https://github.com/pot-app/pot-desktop
Download: https://pot-app.com/download.html

🎯 Real-World Test

Reading an arXiv paper, screenshot OCR recognizes math formulas → DeepL translates the main text → vocabulary syncs to Anki cards—the entire process takes only 15 seconds. Whether you're a developer reading English documentation or a student studying foreign research, Pot makes language barriers disappear. This excellent domestic tool absolutely deserves a permanent spot in your productivity toolbox!

🚀 Get Started Now

1. Visit the GitHub Release page to download your version
2. Follow the installation guide above
3. Start your efficient translation journey!

💡 Tip: First-time setup—spend 5 minutes configuring your common shortcut keys and translation engine combos, and your future efficiency will multiply!

Note: This is the English translation of the original Chinese version.