canonical: https://jentic.com/apis/funtranslations.com/funtranslations-braille

# FunTranslations Braille API

The FunTranslations Braille API converts English text into multiple Braille output formats so it can be rendered on hardware Braille displays, embedded in web pages, or studied for educational purposes. The service accepts a single text query parameter and returns translations as raw Braille display characters, individual dot patterns, Unicode Braille glyphs, HTML entity strings, or pre-rendered image markup. It exposes five GET endpoints under `/translate/braille` and authenticates every request with an X-Funtranslations-API-Secret header. Output formats are designed for direct consumption by accessibility software, browser-based readers, and Braille teaching tools without additional client-side conversion.

## For AI agents

Convert English text into five different Braille output formats including raw display characters, dot patterns, Unicode glyphs, HTML entities, and image markup for accessibility and educational tools.

## Scope

Does not handle reverse Braille-to-English decoding, audio output, or non-English source text - use for English-to-Braille format conversion only.

## Capabilities

- Translate English text to Braille display characters that drive a hardware Braille display directly
- Render English text as Braille image markup using GIF tiles for in-browser Braille rendering
- Return per-character Braille dot patterns suitable for educational tools and custom hardware
- Convert English text into Unicode Braille glyphs for plain-text accessibility output
- Emit Braille HTML entity strings for embedding into HTML documents without binary assets

## Use cases

### Hardware Braille Display Output

Drive a refreshable Braille display from text typed by a sighted user by sending the text through GET `/translate/braille` and feeding the returned display characters straight to the device. The endpoint returns characters in the encoding the display understands, so no client-side conversion table is needed.

Example prompt: Call GET `/translate/braille` with text='Fun Translations has something for everyone.' and return the translated display string.

### In-Browser Braille Rendering

Display Braille on a webpage by calling GET `/translate/braille/image` to receive an array of img tags pointing to per-character Braille GIFs hosted by FunTranslations, or GET `/translate/braille/html` for HTML entity codes. Either output can be inserted into a DOM without additional fonts or libraries.

Example prompt: Call GET `/translate/braille/html` with text='Hello world' and concatenate the entity strings into an HTML span for the page.

### Educational Dot Pattern Lookup

Help students learn Braille by mapping each English character to its enabled dots through GET `/translate/braille/dots.` The response lists the dot numbers that make up each Braille cell, which can be used to drive flashcards, practice apps, or custom non-display hardware that toggles individual dots.

Example prompt: Call GET `/translate/braille/dots` with text='cat' and return the array of dot numbers for each letter.

### Agent-Driven Accessibility Conversion via Jentic

An accessibility agent receives a natural-language request such as 'show this paragraph in Braille' and uses Jentic to discover and execute the right FunTranslations Braille endpoint based on the requested output format. Jentic returns the operation schema so the agent can pass the text parameter and route the response into the user's chosen surface.

Example prompt: Search Jentic for 'translate text to braille', load the `/translate/braille/unicode` operation, and execute it with text from the user's clipboard.

## Key endpoints

| Method | Path | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GET | `/translate/braille` | Translate English to raw Braille display characters |
| GET | `/translate/braille/dots` | Return enabled dot numbers per Braille cell |
| GET | `/translate/braille/html` | Translate to Braille HTML entity codes |
| GET | `/translate/braille/image` | Return img tags pointing to Braille GIFs |
| GET | `/translate/braille/unicode` | Translate to Unicode Braille glyphs |

## Key resources

- **Braille** — Five GET endpoints under `/translate/braille` that convert English text into display characters, dot patterns, HTML entities, image markup, or Unicode Braille glyphs.

## Why Jentic

- **Setup:** Wiring the FunTranslations Braille API by hand means setting up its secret-key request header auth against api.funtranslations.com and threading it through each dots, HTML, image, and unicode conversion yourself. Through Jentic you install once, import the FunTranslations Braille API from the API Directory, store the key once, and your agent calls it.
- **Permission scoping:** The text to convert travels as a request parameter, not a URL path resource, so scope this by operation: limit the agent to the operations it needs, such as producing Braille unicode or a Braille image, and leave the output formats you do not want out of the allowed set. Every operation the agent can run is one you chose to include.
- **Credential handling:** Your FunTranslations API secret is stored once, encrypted, by your own Jentic One instance and injected at execution time. It never enters the agent's prompt, logs, or context.
- **Discovery method:** Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'convert English text to Braille unicode' or 'render text as a Braille image', and Jentic returns the matching FunTranslations Braille API operation with its input schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without browsing the reference docs.

## Related APIs

- **FunTranslations API** — Parent FunTranslations API exposing all 36 translators including Braille, Morse, Yoda, and dialects.
- **Starwars Translations API** — Sibling FunTranslations service for Star Wars language translation rather than Braille output.

## FAQ

### What authentication does the FunTranslations Braille API use?

The API uses an apiKey scheme via the X-Funtranslations-API-Secret request header. Through Jentic, the secret is stored encrypted in your Jentic One instance and injected at execution time so the agent never sees the raw key.

### Can I get Braille as Unicode characters with this API?

Yes. Call GET `/translate/braille/unicode` with a text query parameter and the response returns an array of Unicode Braille code points (for example glyphs in the U+2800 block) corresponding to each input character.

### What are the rate limits for the FunTranslations Braille API?

FunTranslations enforces tier-based daily quotas published at funtranslations.com/api/braille; free callers are capped at a small number of requests per hour while paid tiers raise the ceiling. The OpenAPI spec does not encode specific numeric limits, so check the subscription page for the current quota that applies to your key.

### How do I render Braille in a browser through Jentic?

Run a Jentic search for 'render braille in html', load the GET `/translate/braille/html` operation, then execute it with your text. Insert the returned HTML entity strings into your DOM. Get started with Jentic One, the self-hosted execution layer.

### Does the API translate Braille back to English?

No. All five endpoints translate from English to a Braille output format only; reverse translation from Braille back to English is not supported by this API.

### Can I limit what my agent is allowed to do with the FunTranslations Braille API?

Yes. Because you run Jentic One yourself, your own rules decide which of the five Braille operations the agent may call, so you can grant just GET `/translate/braille/unicode` or GET `/translate/braille/image` and leave the display, dots, and HTML endpoints out of the allowed set. The text to convert travels as a request parameter rather than a URL path, so scoping is done per operation instead of per resource, and every operation the agent can run is one you chose to include. Your FunTranslations API secret is held encrypted by your own instance and injected only at execution time, so the agent never sees the raw key.