canonical: https://jentic.com/apis/langbly.com/langbly

# Langbly Translation API

The Langbly Translation API translates text with context, reading full sentences rather than word by word, and uses the same request and response format as the Google Translate v2 API, so existing clients switch by changing the endpoint. It translates a single string or an array of strings into a target language, preserves HTML markup when format is html, and takes a formal, informal, or neutral formality where the language supports it. Companion operations detect the language of text with a confidence score and list the supported languages.

## For AI agents

Translate one or many strings into a target language with optional formality and HTML preservation, detect the language of text, and list supported languages, using Google Translate v2 request shapes.

## Scope

Does not handle document file translation, speech translation, or localisation project management. Use for translating text strings, detecting their language, and listing supported languages only.

## Capabilities

- Translate a single string or an array of strings into a target language, with source auto-detected when omitted
- Preserve HTML markup while translating by setting format to html
- Request a formal, informal, or neutral formality where the target language supports it
- Detect the language of one or more strings with language, isReliable, and confidence for each
- List the supported languages, with names localised into a chosen target language
- Swap in for the Google Translate v2 API using the same request and response format

## Use cases

### Batch UI String Translation

A localisation agent sends an array of interface strings in one translate call with source and target set, and receives translatedText for each in the same order. Because the response matches the Google Translate v2 shape, existing parsers keep working, and format html keeps any inline markup intact.

Example prompt: Call POST `/language/translate/v2` with q ['Save changes', 'Cancel', 'Your order has shipped'], source 'en', and target 'de', then map each translatedText back to its string key

### Customer Message Language Detection

Before routing a support message, the agent detects its language and checks isReliable and confidence, then translates it into the team's working language. Leaving source empty on the translate call also returns detectedSourceLanguage, so a single call can do both when confidence is not needed.

Example prompt: Call POST `/language/translate/v2/detect` with q 'Bonjour, ma commande est en retard', then POST `/language/translate/v2` with the same q and target 'en'

### Migrating from Google Translate v2

Teams already calling the Google Translate v2 API can point the same requests at Langbly: the translate, detect, and languages operations share the request and response format. An agent can verify parity by sending identical q, target, and format values and comparing the translations field.

Example prompt: Call GET `/language/translate/v2/languages` with target 'en' to confirm the needed languages are supported, then send an existing Google Translate v2 request body to POST `/language/translate/v2`

### AI Agent Translation via Jentic

An AI agent translates content through Jentic without holding the Langbly key. It searches by intent, receives the translate operation with its input schema, and executes with the bearer key injected at run time, so translating a reply or a document is one step in a larger multilingual workflow.

Example prompt: Search Jentic for 'translate text into another language', load the translateText schema, and execute it with q, target 'fr', and formality 'formal'

## Key endpoints

| Method | Path | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| POST | `/language/translate/v2` | Translate text |
| POST | `/language/translate/v2/detect` | Detect language |
| GET | `/language/translate/v2/languages` | List supported languages |

## Key resources

- **Translations** — Translate one or more strings with optional source, format, and formality
- **Detections** — Detect the language of one or more strings with confidence
- **Languages** — List supported languages with localised names

## AI readiness

This API is usable in Jentic One now. Its AI-readiness score against Jentic's framework shows where it stands today and where improvements would make it even easier for agents to use.

- **Score:** 69 / 100
- **Maturity:** AI-Aware
- **Dimensions:**
  - Foundational Compliance: 100 / 100
  - Developer Experience & Jentic Compatibility: 73 / 100
  - AI-Readiness & Agent Experience: 50 / 100
  - Agent Usability: 94 / 100
  - Security: 60 / 100
  - AI Discoverability: 71 / 100
- **View full report:** https://jentic.com/apis/langbly.com/langbly/scorecard
- **How the score is calculated:** https://docs.jentic.com/reference/api-readiness-framework/overview/
- **More about the dimensions:** https://docs.jentic.com/reference/api-readiness-framework/specification/#dimensional-model-overview

### Score it yourself

Every API in the directory is allowlisted, so you can re-score it with no key required.

- **Score your own API:** https://jentic.com/scorecard.md
- **Scoring CLI agent skill:** https://github.com/jentic/jentic-api-scorecard/blob/main/skills/jentic-api-scorecard/SKILL.md

```sh
npx @jentic/api-scorecard-cli score <openapi-url>
```

## Why Jentic

- **Setup:** Wiring Langbly by hand means attaching the bearer key, shaping Google Translate v2 style bodies, and backing off when the translate call is rate limited. Through Jentic you install once, import Langbly from the API Directory, store the key once, and your agent calls it.
- **Permission scoping:** Langbly carries the text and target language inside the request body, so rules bound which operations your agent may call, not which languages or text it sends. Limit the agent to the operations it needs, such as detection only or translation only.
- **Credential handling:** Your Langbly API key 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 'translate text into another language' or 'detect the language of a message', and Jentic returns the matching Langbly operation with its input schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without browsing the reference docs.

## Related APIs

- **Google Cloud Translation API** — Google's translation service with the v2 format Langbly mirrors
- **Microsoft Translator API** — Text translation, transliteration, and dictionary lookup
- **LibreTranslate API** — Open-source machine translation that can be self-hosted
- **Phrase API** — Localisation management for keys, projects, and translators

## FAQ

### What authentication does the Langbly Translation API use?

Per its OpenAPI spec, the Langbly Translation API uses the bearerAuth scheme: your API key passed as a bearer token, Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY. Through Jentic the key is stored encrypted by your own Jentic One instance and injected at execution time, so it never enters the agent's context.

### Is the Langbly Translation API compatible with Google Translate v2?

Yes. The spec describes it as a drop-in replacement for the Google Translate v2 API with the same request and response format: q, target, source, and format on the request, and data.translations with translatedText and detectedSourceLanguage on the response. Langbly adds an optional formality field of formal, informal, or neutral.

### What are the rate limits for the Langbly Translation API?

The OpenAPI spec defines a rate-limited response on the translate operation but does not state a numeric limit. Check https://langbly.com for the limits on your plan, and back off when that response is returned.

### How do I translate text through Jentic with the Langbly Translation API?

Search Jentic for 'translate text into another language' and it returns the translateText operation with its input schema. Execute POST `/language/translate/v2` with q (a string or array) and target, plus optional source, format, and formality. To run it on your own infrastructure, install Jentic One from its GitHub repo.

### Is there a Langbly MCP server?

You don't need an MCP server to give your agent the Langbly Translation API. Jentic connects it directly from the API Directory: import it, store your credential once, and your agent calls it. Operations are discovered by intent on demand, so no extra tool definitions are loaded into the agent's context.

### Can I limit what my agent is allowed to do with the Langbly Translation API?

Yes. A triage agent can be allowed only the detect and languages operations, so it can identify a message's language without spending translation volume. Add the translate operation when the agent should produce translations, and every call it makes is logged by your own instance.