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partyfly/cc-lingua

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

0PythonAudience · developerLicenseSetup · easy

TLDR

A Claude Code hook that translates only the on-screen reply text into your language via DeepSeek, while the model keeps reasoning in English, requiring your own DeepSeek API key.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((cc-lingua))
    What it does
      Translates on screen replies
      Keeps model reasoning in English
      Fails open on errors
    Tech stack
      Python
      Claude Code hook
      DeepSeek API
    Use cases
      Read replies in your language
      Preserve code and commands
      Toggle on and off easily
    Audience
      Non English speaking developers
      Claude Code users

Code map

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Read Claude Code's replies in your own language while the model still reasons in English for best quality.

USE CASE 2

Keep code, commands, and file paths untouched in translated replies so nothing technical gets mistranslated.

USE CASE 3

Toggle translation on or off with a simple file switch without uninstalling anything.

What is it built with?

PythonClaude CodeDeepSeek API

How does it compare?

partyfly/cc-lingua0xallam/my-recipe0xhassaan/nn-from-scratch
Stars00
LanguagePythonPythonPython
Last pushed2022-11-22
MaintenanceDormant
Setup difficultyeasymoderatemoderate
Complexity2/54/5
Audiencedevelopergeneraldeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min

Requires your own paid DeepSeek API key, no key is bundled with the project.

MIT license, use freely for any purpose including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

In plain English

cc-lingua is a small add-on for Claude Code, Anthropic's command line coding assistant, that translates what appears on your screen into your own language while leaving the model's actual reasoning in English. The idea is that English gives the model its best reasoning and avoids extra processing cost for languages like Chinese or Japanese, but you as the user still get to read replies in your own language. It works as a hook, a small piece of code that Claude Code runs at certain points, called MessageDisplay. When Claude Code is about to show you a reply, cc-lingua intercepts the on-screen narration and sends it to DeepSeek, a separate paid translation service, to convert it into your chosen language before it reaches your screen. Code blocks, file paths, shell commands, URLs, and other technical content are left untouched, only the plain English explanation text gets translated. The saved conversation history and everything the model itself sees stay in English. This is described as bring your own key: there is no server, account, or subscription tied to cc-lingua itself. You need to buy your own API key from DeepSeek separately, which the README says typically costs a few cents a day for normal use, and identical text is cached locally so repeated phrases are not translated twice. The tool is designed to fail open, meaning that if the key is missing, the network fails, or anything else goes wrong, it simply shows the original English text rather than blocking or breaking your session. Installation is done by pasting an instruction into Claude Code itself, which then clones the repository and sets up the hook automatically. It can be turned on or off with a simple file toggle, and fully removed by deleting its folder. The project is released under the MIT license.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Clone https://github.com/partyfly/cc-lingua and follow its INSTALL.md to install cc-lingua for me.
Prompt 2
Set up cc-lingua so Claude Code shows replies in Japanese while reasoning stays in English.
Prompt 3
Explain how cc-lingua's MessageDisplay hook decides when to fail open and show the original English text.
Prompt 4
Help me configure cc-lingua's config.json to use my DeepSeek API key and set the target language to Spanish.

Frequently asked questions

What is cc-lingua?

A Claude Code hook that translates only the on-screen reply text into your language via DeepSeek, while the model keeps reasoning in English, requiring your own DeepSeek API key.

What language is cc-lingua written in?

Mainly Python. The stack also includes Python, Claude Code, DeepSeek API.

What license does cc-lingua use?

MIT license, use freely for any purpose including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

How hard is cc-lingua to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated easy, with roughly 5min to a first successful run.

Who is cc-lingua for?

Mainly developer.

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