🔌 Bluente Translate MCP

Bluente Translate speaks MCP (Model Context Protocol), so you can translate documents directly from an AI chat — attach a file, say what language you want, get the translated file back. Original layout is retained, across 120+ languages and all major file types.

There are two ways to connect:

ChatGPT connects through the local server: it launches the stdio server on your machine from ChatGPT Work’s plugin settings. A hosted path for ChatGPT is not available yet — until it is, use the local server.

Start here

Using Claude (web, desktop, or Claude Code)? Use the hosted server — no install, no API key. Custom connectors need a paid Claude plan; on a free plan, use the local server below.

In Claude web or desktop, go to Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector and paste:

https://mcp.bluente.com/

In Claude Code:

claude mcp add --transport http bluente-translate https://mcp.bluente.com/

Then run /mcp and choose Authenticate. Full steps, including the two Claude settings you must turn on before it can send your files: Hosted MCP Server (Claude).

Using Codex, Cursor, ChatGPT Work, or anything else? Use the local server. First get an API key from your Bluente dashboard (see API Key), then:

Claude Code:

claude mcp add bluente-translate -e BLUENTE_API_KEY=your_api_key_here -- npx -y @bluente/translate-mcp-server

Codex:

codex mcp add bluente-translate --env BLUENTE_API_KEY=your_api_key_here -- npx -y @bluente/translate-mcp-server

Claude Desktop and Cursor take a JSON config block; ChatGPT Work takes a form. See Local MCP Server · ChatGPT Work.

Claude Desktop can go either way — the hosted connector above, or the local server if you want it reading files straight off your disk.

Check it worked. Ask “What languages does Bluente translation support?” — a free, read-only call. A language list back means you’re connected. The first local run takes a few extra seconds while npx downloads the package.

Then translate something. Attach a document, say “translate this into Japanese”, and read the confirmation card before you reply — that’s where the page count and the cost are.

The three guides

• Hosted MCP Server (Claude) — Claude web, desktop, and Claude Code
• Local MCP Server (Claude Code, Codex, etc) — open source, any MCP client
• Local MCP Server (ChatGPT Work) — ChatGPT’s form-based setup

How the hosted server works

1. Connect your AI client to https://mcp.bluente.com/ and log in with your Bluente account. No client ID or secret needed — leave those fields blank; clients discover everything from the URL.
2. Ask to translate a document: attach a file (or give a link) and say what language you want. You can name languages in plain words — “translate this to Japanese” just works.
3. Confirm before anything is charged. The first call only uploads and inspects your document, then shows a confirmation card with the page count and the settings it plans to use. Nothing starts and no credits are deducted until you reply to confirm.
4. Download. You get a direct download link valid for 15 minutes. If it expires, just ask for a fresh link — that re-issues the link only, it does not re-translate or cost more credits.

Translation is billed from your Bluente credits at one credit per page, and only for the pages you asked for. Image mode is the one exception, at five credits per page. Billing happens when translation starts — that is, after you confirm. Connecting, listing languages, checking status, and re-issuing an expired download link are all free. See pricing, where plans are sold in pages — one page is one credit — and Get User Credits for checking your balance.

The local server works the same way, confirmation card included: from v0.4.0 its bluente_translate_document_workflow tool is the same two-call flow, and nothing is charged until you confirm. It differs only in how files move — it reads them from disk and saves results back to disk instead of issuing download links. (Its raw bluente_translate_file tool is the one exception: it starts a translation immediately, with no confirmation.)

Settings you’ll be asked about

• Source and target language. Both are required — the tools do not auto-detect the source, so say what you are translating from as well as to. Plain words are fine; see the full language list, or just ask your agent, which is a free call.

• Output format — PDF, Word, or PowerPoint, and nothing else. You can ask for several at once at no extra cost: the formats are download-time conversions of the same finished translation. Spreadsheets are accepted as input, but to_type has no xlsx option — there is no way to ask MCP for a workbook back as a workbook. Use Bluente Web when you need one.

• Document mode — this one matters for both quality and cost, so you may be asked outright rather than have it guessed:

  • Standard — normal digital documents, e.g. exported from Word or PowerPoint. This fits most files.
  • Scanned (text) — the document is a scan. The text is OCR’d, translated, and placed in a new clean document, without the original’s non-text elements.
  • Scanned (overlay) — the document is a scan. The translation is placed back over the original layout, keeping the original elements.
  • Image — re-renders a graphic such as a brochure or poster in the target language, preserving its visual style, colours, and layout. Not for pulling text out of an image.

  Standard fits most files. Both scanned modes cost the same 1 credit per page as standard; image mode is the only one charged above that, at 5 credits per page. The confirmation card shows Mode as a decision rather than a silent default, because getting it wrong is a quality problem before it is a cost one — running a scan as Standard translates blank pages and wastes the credits anyway.

• Bilingual output — off gives a clean translated document; on keeps the original text alongside the translation. If you turn it on you’ll be asked for the layout: left-right (side by side) or top-down (the translation stacked under the original). Those are the only two layouts.

• Page range — translate only part of a document, e.g. 1-3,5. You are charged only for the pages you select.

File size. The hosted server caps uploads at 50MB. The local server sets no limit of its own — there the ceiling is whatever the Bluente API accepts. Either way, for very large files use Bluente Web directly.

Troubleshooting (hosted)

• You’re asked to log in again after a while. Expected. The server’s discovery document advertises authorization_code only — no refresh tokens are issued, so every client eventually asks you to re-authenticate rather than renewing in the background. Just log in again; your credits and translation history are unaffected.
• The authorize page says “Third-party application” or “redirect destination is not registered”. Connectors added before 27 August 2026 may have cached an old client registration. Remove the connector and add it again.
• Download link expired. Links are valid for 15 minutes. Ask for a fresh link in chat — it costs nothing and doesn’t re-translate the document.
• A scanned PDF came back with blank or missing pages. It was probably translated as a standard document. Ask for it again as scanned (text) or scanned (overlay).
• Translation won’t start, or fails right after you confirm. Most often an empty credit balance — the confirmation gate does not check it, so the error surfaces at the start call. Check your balance at translate.bluente.com and top up on pricing.
• File won’t upload. Check it’s under 50MB, and see the attachment notes in your client’s setup guide. Anything larger or stubborn: upload it at Bluente Web directly.