Testing the L10n.dev - AI Translator plugin

Prerequisites

Node.js 18 or later
An Obsidian vault (desktop or mobile)
A l10n.dev account and API key — get one free at l10n.dev/ws/keys

1. Get the plugin files

For testing a release — download main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css from the latest release.

For local development — build from source:

npm install
npm run build

This produces main.js in the repository root.

2. Install into your vault (desktop)

Locate your vault folder. Inside it, open (or create) the directory:
```
<YourVault>/.obsidian/plugins/ai-translator/
```
Copy the following files from the repository root into that folder:
- main.js
- manifest.json
- styles.css (if present)
Open Obsidian.
Go to Settings → Community plugins.
If prompted, select Turn on community plugins.
Find L10n.dev - AI Translator in the list and toggle it on.

Tip: Clone the repository directly into <YourVault>/.obsidian/plugins/ai-translator/ and run npm run dev for live reloading during development.

3. Configure the plugin

Open Settings → L10n.dev - AI Translator.
Paste your l10n.dev API key into the API key field — the remaining balance should appear below it automatically.
Choose an Output behavior and set the Translate frontmatter toggle as desired.

4. Run a translation

Open any Markdown note.
Trigger translation using any of these entry points:
- Command palette — Ctrl/Cmd + P → Translate current note
- Ribbon — select the globe icon in the left sidebar
- Context menu (editor) — right-click inside the note body → Translate…
- Context menu (file explorer) — right-click a .md file → Translate…
Type a language name in the picker (e.g. "Spanish") and select a result.
The output is saved according to the output behavior setting.

5. Manual test checklist

Scenario	Expected result
Valid API key, output = create new note	`{filename} ({lang-code}).md` created in the same folder
Valid API key, output = replace	Current note content replaced
Valid API key, output = append	Translation appended below `---`
Translate frontmatter OFF	YAML block at top of translated file is identical to original
Translate frontmatter ON	YAML block is translated along with the body
Wrong API key	Notice: "Invalid API key. Get your key at https://l10n.dev/ws/keys"
Insufficient balance	Notice: "Insufficient balance. Top up at https://l10n.dev/#pricing"
No note open, command triggered	Notice: "No active note to translate."
Language picker closed without selecting	Translation cancelled silently
Success	Notice shows characters used and remaining balance

6. Mobile testing

Build main.js on desktop (npm run build).
Transfer main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css to your vault's .obsidian/plugins/ai-translator/ folder using a sync solution (e.g. iCloud, Obsidian Sync, or manual file transfer).
Open Obsidian on the mobile device and enable the plugin as described in step 2.
Repeat the manual test checklist on mobile, paying attention to the language picker and context menu behaviour.

7. Linting

npm run lint

The project uses eslint-plugin-obsidianmd for Obsidian-specific code guidelines alongside typescript-eslint.

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