Quick Start

The fastest way to run Loco — no cloning required.

Option A: npx (no install)

npx @hkonda/loco-translate

Option B: global install

npm install -g @hkonda/loco-translate
loco

On first run the terminal prints your dashboard URL, CDN snippet, and API key:

  🌐 Loco Translation Manager

  Dashboard : http://<your-ip>:6101/dashboard/
  CDN script: http://<your-ip>:6101/cdn/loco.js
  API key   : <auto-generated>

Steps

1. Open the Dashboard

Navigate to the Dashboard URL printed in your terminal.

2. Add the snippet to your page

Copy the <script> tags and paste them into any HTML page. Add Loco.widget() to give users a floating language picker right out of the box — no extra configuration needed:

<script src="http://<your-ip>:6101/cdn/loco.js"></script>
<script>
  Loco.init({
    apiUrl: 'http://<your-ip>:6101',
    apiKey: '<your-key>'
  });

  // Floating language switcher — users can switch language immediately
  Loco.widget({ position: 'bottom-right' });
</script>

When the page loads, Loco discovers all text and sends it to the dashboard as Pending items. The widget appears in the corner and lets users pick from any language you've translated.

3. Translate

1. In the dashboard, go to the Pending tab and approve phrases you want to translate
2. Switch to Approved, then click AI Translate (requires a BlueHive API key) or edit manually
3. The widget automatically reflects new translations — no page reload required

4. Programmatic control (optional)

You can also trigger translations in code:

<script>
  Loco.init({ apiUrl: '...', apiKey: '...' });
  Loco.apply('fr'); // swap text to French programmatically
</script>

CLI options

Options:
  -p, --port <number>      Port to listen on (default: 6101)
  -d, --data-dir <path>    Directory for loco.db (default: .loco/ in cwd)
  -h, --help               Show this help message

Environment variables

Variable	Default	Description
PORT	6101	Server port
LOCO_DATA_DIR	.loco/ in cwd	Directory where loco.db is stored
BASE_PATH	(empty)	URL prefix for reverse-proxy deployments
BLUEHIVE_API_KEY	(none)	BlueHive key for AI translations
PUBLIC_URL	(auto)	Override the printed public URL