Quetzal - An LLM-first translation and internationalization suite for software
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Streamline Your Internationalization Efforts with Quetzal

Quetzal is a groundbreaking start-up that has introduced the first fully Large Language Model (LLM)-powered translation and internationalization suite for software. Founded in 2024 and based in Oakland, CA, Quetzal is the brainchild of Brendan Agliardo and John Thompson. With a team size of just two, this start-up is poised to revolutionize how companies approach translation and internationalization, offering instant and efficient solutions to translate software and content.

Quetzal is designed to streamline the process of translating software and content into multiple languages with minimal setup and effort. By leveraging the power of AI, Quetzal eliminates the need for manual translation and the long wait times associated with traditional translation services. Companies can now deliver a perfect user experience in any language instantly, making their applications accessible to a global audience.

Who Are the Founders?

Brendan Agliardo and John Thompson are the dynamic duo behind Quetzal. Brendan, the founder of Quetzal, was previously a Software Engineer at Mercatalyst and a University of Maryland Computer Science dropout. His vision for Quetzal stems from a desire to simplify and expedite the translation process for software applications. John, a former Software Engineer at Slack, shares this vision and is committed to making software internationalization as easy and painless as possible.

Brendan and John bring a wealth of experience and expertise to Quetzal. Their backgrounds in software engineering and their passion for innovation have driven them to create a solution that addresses the pain points of traditional translation and internationalization processes. With Quetzal, they aim to empower companies to reach a broader audience and provide a seamless user experience across different languages and cultures.

How Does Quetzal Translate Your Product Instantly?

Quetzal’s main feature is its ability to scan your code for all user-facing text and translate it instantly. This process eliminates the traditional wait time for translations, allowing companies to deliver a perfect experience to users in any language immediately. The setup flow is straightforward, requiring minimal effort to get your app translating into multiple languages.

The instant translation capability of Quetzal is powered by advanced AI algorithms that analyze the context of your application and provide accurate translations within minutes. This ensures that the translated text not only maintains the original meaning but also fits seamlessly into the application's user interface. By automating the translation process, Quetzal allows developers to focus on creating great user experiences without worrying about language barriers.

What Are the Key Features of Quetzal?

Quetzal offers a range of features designed to simplify and enhance the translation and internationalization process:

  1. Instant Translation: Leveraging AI, Quetzal translates your text along with the context of your application within minutes. This feature ensures that you no longer have to wait days or weeks for translations to be completed. The instant translation capability is ideal for companies that need to release updates and new features quickly while maintaining a consistent user experience across different languages.
  2. Human Verification: Every translated string undergoes human verification to ensure accuracy and quality. While AI provides the initial translation, human experts review and refine the translations to ensure they are contextually appropriate and free of errors. This combination of AI and human expertise ensures the highest level of translation quality.
  3. Automatic Detection: Quetzal automatically detects new strings on every merge and translates them instantly. This feature ensures that any new content added to your application is immediately translated, keeping your application fully internationalized without manual intervention. Automatic detection saves time and effort, allowing developers to focus on other aspects of their projects.
  4. Locale Detection: The system automatically detects the user’s locale to provide the best possible experience. By identifying the user's language preferences, Quetzal ensures that the application displays the correct language and localized content, enhancing the user experience and making the application more user-friendly.

How Can You Monitor Your Translation Status?

Quetzal provides a comprehensive dashboard that allows users to see and manage all their strings in one place. This dashboard offers several capabilities:

  1. Current Locales: View and manage the languages your application supports. The dashboard provides an overview of all the languages your application is translated into, allowing you to add or remove languages as needed.
  2. Translation Verification: See what percentage of strings have been verified by humans. The dashboard displays the status of each translated string, indicating whether it has been verified by a human or is still pending verification. This helps ensure that all translations meet the required quality standards.
  3. Internationalization Management: Oversee your entire internationalization effort efficiently. The dashboard provides tools to manage and organize your translation projects, track progress, and ensure that all aspects of your application are fully internationalized.

How Does Quetzal Support Businesses?

Quetzal is designed to be flexible and affordable, making internationalization accessible for businesses of all sizes. Its quick setup flow, taking approximately 10 minutes, ensures that businesses can start translating their applications with minimal downtime. By offering a range of pricing options, Quetzal makes it easy for companies to find a plan that fits their budget and needs.

The flexibility of Quetzal’s pricing model allows businesses to scale their internationalization efforts as needed. Whether you are a small start-up or a large enterprise, Quetzal provides the tools and support you need to make your application accessible to a global audience. By removing the barriers to internationalization, Quetzal helps businesses expand their reach and improve user satisfaction.

What Is the Setup Process for Quetzal?

Setting up Quetzal involves a few simple steps:

  1. Sign Up and Create a Project: Input your project name, description, and native language (currently English only), then install the GitHub package on your repository. This step is straightforward and requires minimal technical knowledge, making it easy for developers to get started.
  2. Install Babel Plugin: Install the Babel plugin, which is a JavaScript compiler used by default on React applications. This plugin scans your codebase for user-facing strings and adds them to Quetzal’s database. The Babel plugin simplifies the process of identifying and extracting text strings for translation, ensuring that all user-facing content is captured.
  3. Select Strings to Translate: After scanning, select the strings you want to translate. Quetzal categorizes strings into those to be translated, those not to be translated, and those requiring further attention. This categorization helps you focus on the most important strings and ensures that no critical content is missed.
  4. All Set: Once strings are selected, Quetzal will monitor and translate any new strings introduced in your codebase. This continuous monitoring ensures that your application remains fully internationalized, even as new features and updates are added. The automated translation process saves time and effort, allowing developers to focus on other tasks.

How Does Quetzal Ensure Quality Translations?

Quetzal combines the power of AI with human verification to deliver high-quality translations. By leveraging AI, Quetzal can quickly translate text within the context of your application. Human verification ensures that these translations meet the necessary quality standards, providing users with an accurate and seamless experience.

The AI algorithms used by Quetzal are trained on vast amounts of data, enabling them to understand and translate text accurately. However, AI is not perfect, and human verification plays a crucial role in ensuring the final translations are of the highest quality. Human experts review each translated string, making adjustments as needed to ensure that the translations are contextually appropriate and free of errors.

How Does Quetzal Handle New Strings?

Quetzal’s system is designed to detect and translate new strings automatically. Every time new text is introduced into your codebase, Quetzal picks up on it and translates it instantly, ensuring that your application remains fully internationalized without manual intervention. This feature is particularly useful for companies that release frequent updates and need to keep their applications fully translated at all times.

The automatic detection and translation of new strings save time and effort, allowing developers to focus on other aspects of their projects. By ensuring that new content is translated immediately, Quetzal helps maintain a consistent user experience across all languages and locales.

How Does Quetzal Cater to Different Programming Environments?

Quetzal supports a variety of programming environments, making it versatile and adaptable to different tech stacks. It is compatible with JavaScript, React, Vue.js, and more, allowing companies to integrate Quetzal into their existing development processes seamlessly. This compatibility ensures that Quetzal can be used by a wide range of developers and companies, regardless of their preferred programming languages and frameworks.

Quetzal’s compatibility with popular programming environments makes it easy for developers to integrate the translation and internationalization suite into their existing workflows. The seamless integration ensures that developers can start using Quetzal without having to make significant changes to their codebase or development processes.

Why Choose Quetzal for Internationalization?

Quetzal stands out as the go-to solution for companies looking to internationalize their software quickly and efficiently. Its instant translation capabilities, combined with human verification and automatic detection of new strings, provide a comprehensive and reliable solution. The flexible pricing and easy setup make it accessible for businesses of all sizes, ensuring that any company can deliver a multilingual experience to their users without the traditional hassle and delays of translation services.

By choosing Quetzal, companies can streamline their internationalization efforts and provide a better user experience for their global audience. The combination of AI-powered translation, human verification, and automatic detection of new strings ensures that the translated content is accurate, contextually appropriate, and delivered quickly. This comprehensive approach to translation and internationalization makes Quetzal an ideal choice for businesses looking to expand their reach and improve user satisfaction.

Conclusion

In summary, Quetzal is transforming the landscape of software translation and internationalization. Founded by experienced software engineers Brendan Agliardo and John Thompson, Quetzal offers an LLM-first approach that eliminates the wait times and complexities associated with traditional translation methods. With instant translation, human verification

, and automatic detection of new strings, Quetzal ensures that businesses can provide a seamless and multilingual user experience. Its flexible pricing, easy setup, and comprehensive dashboard make it an ideal choice for any company looking to expand their reach and improve user satisfaction globally.

By leveraging the power of AI and combining it with human expertise, Quetzal provides a reliable and efficient solution for translating and internationalizing software applications. The automated processes and continuous monitoring ensure that applications remain fully internationalized, even as new content is added. Quetzal’s compatibility with popular programming environments and its flexible pricing model make it accessible for businesses of all sizes, empowering them to reach a broader audience and deliver a consistent user experience across different languages and cultures.

Quetzal’s innovative approach to translation and internationalization is set to revolutionize the industry, making it easier than ever for companies to globalize their software and content. With Quetzal, businesses can focus on what they do best—creating amazing user experiences—while leaving the complexities of translation and internationalization to the experts.