Mozhi Translate Unofficial Firefox Extension

A privacy-focused Firefox extension that enables seamless web page translation through Mozhi: an open-source proxy to translation services that strips away their tracking.

Select text on any page, right-click, and get translations without being tracked. No telemetry, no analytics, no remote scripts. Inspired by DeepL translation extension but for Mozhi.

Features

• Context Menu Translation: Right-click on selected text to translate instantly via Mozhi
• Floating Translate Button: A quick-access button appears near selected text for one-click translation
• Popup Interface: Dedicated popup for typing or pasting text to translate
• Floating Translation Box: Draggable, inline translation results displayed directly on the page
• Multiple Translation Engines: Supports Google, DeepL, Yandex, and other engines available through Mozhi
• Language Selection: Configurable source and target languages with auto-detection
• Multiple API Endpoints: Add and enable multiple Mozhi instances; one is randomly selected per translation
• Translation Cache: In memory cache (30 minutes TTL, max 100 items) to avoid redundant requests
• Dark Mode Support: Automatically adapts to your system's color scheme
• Self-Host Friendly: Use a trusted public Mozhi instance or host your own

Screenshots

Google	DeepL	Yandex

Installation

Temporary Installation (for development/testing)

1. Open Firefox and navigate to about:debugging
2. Click "This Firefox" in the sidebar
3. Click "Load Temporary Add-on..."
4. Select the manifest.json file from the project directory

Usage

First-Time Setup

1. Click the extension icon in the toolbar
2. Go to Settings and configure:
   • API Endpoint: Mozhi instance URL (defaults to https://mozhi.aryak.me)
   • Translation Engine: Google, DeepL, Yandex, etc.
   • Source/Target Languages: Your preferred languages
   • Floating Button: Enable/disable the selection button

Translate Text

• Method 1: Select text on any webpage and click the floating button
• Method 2: Right-click selected text and choose "Translate selection with Mozhi"
• Method 3: Click the extension icon and type/paste text in the popup

Configuration Options

Setting	Default	Description
API Endpoint	https://mozhi.aryak.me	Mozhi instance URL
Engine	google	Translation engine (google, deepl, yandex, etc.)
Source Language	auto	Auto-detect or specific language code
Target Language	en	Target language code
Show Selection Button	true	Show floating button after text selection
Remember Last Used	false	Use last translation config instead of defaults

Privacy

This extension is designed with privacy as the core principle:

• No telemetry: The extension author collects no data
• No analytics: No usage tracking of any kind
• No remote scripts: All code runs locally in your browser
• User-controlled endpoints: You choose which Mozhi instance to trust, or self-host your own
• Local settings: All configuration is stored locally via browser.storage.local
• Translation cache: Stays in memory and can be cleared from the options page

How It Works

1. User selects text on a webpage
2. The content script detects the selection and offers translation via floating button or context menu
3. The background script receives the text and calls the configured Mozhi API endpoint
4. Mozhi proxies the request to the selected translation engine (Google, DeepL, etc.) without forwarding tracking data
5. The translation result is displayed in a draggable floating box on the page

Architecture

• background.js: API communication, caching, settings management, context menu
• content.js: Page injection, UI rendering, text selection handling
• popup.html/js: Quick translation interface in the toolbar
• options.html/js: Configuration page for endpoints, languages, and behavior

Technologies

• JavaScript (ES6+): Core extension logic
• HTML5 & CSS3: UI structure and styling with dark mode support
• Firefox WebExtensions API: browser.runtime, browser.storage, browser.contextMenus, etc.
• Shadow DOM: Isolated UI rendering for translation components
• Mozhi API: Translation proxy service

Project Structure

mozhiTranslateFirefox/
├── manifest.json       # Extension manifest
├── background.js       # Background script (API, caching, context menu)
├── content.js          # Content script (page injection, UI, selection)
├── content.css         # Content styles
├── popup.html          # Popup UI
├── popup.js            # Popup logic
├── popup.css           # Popup styles
├── options.html        # Options page UI
├── options.js          # Options page logic
├── options.css         # Options page styles
├── icons/
│   ├── mozhi-48.png    # Toolbar icon (48 px)
│   ├── mozhi-96.png    # Toolbar icon (96 px) and UI logo
│   └── mozhi-128.png   # Add-on listing icon (128 px)
└── screenshots/        # Listing screenshots (not packaged)

Credits

• Mozhi: codeberg.org/aryak/mozhi: The open-source translation proxy that powers this extension

License

This project uses MIT License.

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Note: This is an unofficial extension. Mozhi is developed independently at codeberg.org/aryak/mozhi.