Image Translate — Translate Text on Images
Translate text on one or more images to a target language while preserving the background, using the platform API. Use when the user asks to translate image text, localize a poster/screenshot, or convert on-image copy to another language.
Language consistency
--language is the target language for on-image text, not the agent's reply language.
| Priority | Rule |
|---|---|
| 1 | User explicitly names a target (e.g. "translate to English", "翻译成日文") → use that language code |
| 2 | User does not specify target → infer from intent: English request → --language en; 中文请求 → --language zh; 日本語 → --language ja |
| 3 | Ambiguous → ask the user which target language they want |
- Always pass
--language— do not rely on the script default (en) without checking user intent. - Reply to the user in the same language they used in their request (agent reply ≠
--languagetarget).
What the Skill Does
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Translate image | Pass local file(s) or URL(s); script uploads and translates in one step |
| Batch translate | Pass multiple images in one call; result is a ZIP download URL |
| Check task status | When run with --nowait true, poll by taskId via surgepix-query-task |
| Download result | Single image → image URL; multiple images → ZIP URL |
By default (
--nowait false), the API waits for completion and returns the finaldownloadURL in one call. With--nowait true, the API returns ataskIdimmediately; resolve it later with the surgepix-query-task skill.
Setup
Requirement: Set the SURGEPIX_API_KEY environment variable.
Get your API Key at your platform's API management page.
export SURGEPIX_API_KEY=your-api-key-here
This skill uses the script at <skills-dir>/surgepix-image-translate/scripts/image_translate.mjs.
Usage Examples
First run — translate a local image to English (default):
node "<skills-dir>/surgepix-image-translate/scripts/image_translate.mjs" \
./poster.png
# Output (JSON):
# {"ok":true,"taskId":"task_abc123","sessionId":123,"progress":"succeeded","download":"<DOWNLOAD_URL>","imageCount":1,"resultType":"image"}
# ← Save sessionId for retries
Translate to Chinese:
node "<skills-dir>/surgepix-image-translate/scripts/image_translate.mjs" \
./poster.png \
--language zh
Retry / iterate with same session:
node "<skills-dir>/surgepix-image-translate/scripts/image_translate.mjs" \
./poster.png \
--language en \
--session-id 123
Multiple images (returns ZIP):
node "<skills-dir>/surgepix-image-translate/scripts/image_translate.mjs" \
./page1.png ./page2.png \
--language en
# download → ZIP URL; resultType=zip
Async submit (return taskId only):
node "<skills-dir>/surgepix-image-translate/scripts/image_translate.mjs" \
./poster.png \
--language ja \
--nowait true
# Returns JSON immediately:
# {"ok":true,"async":true,"taskId":"task_abc123","hint":"<HINT>"}
# Then use surgepix-query-task to check status
Workflow
Step 0: Check environment (required)
Before first use, run the environment check:
node "<skills-dir>/surgepix-setup/scripts/check_env.mjs"
- Exit 0 → proceed to Step 1
- Exit 1 → follow the surgepix-setup skill to configure
.env, then retry
Step 1: Identify the input
- Local file(s) → script uploads automatically, then calls API
- URL(s) → script uses them directly
- Ask the user for the target language if not specified. Infer from user language or explicit request (see Language consistency); do not blindly default to
en.
Step 2: Collect inputs
- The user must provide at least one image. Accept either:
- Local file path(s) (e.g.
./poster.png) - URL(s) pointing to images
- Local file path(s) (e.g.
- Language (required in practice): target language code —
en,zh,ja, etc. Always pass based on user intent (see Language consistency). - Session ID (optional): if the user is retrying, use the
sessionIdfrom the last run. Omit on first run — the platform auto-creates a new session. - Validate each file before submitting:
- Supported formats:
JPEG,JPG,PNG,WEBP - Maximum size: 20MB per file
- If unsupported or oversized, inform the user and ask for a different file.
- Supported formats:
Step 3: Submit the translation task
node "<skills-dir>/surgepix-image-translate/scripts/image_translate.mjs" \
"<file path or URL>" [<image2> ...] \
[--language <code>] \
[--session-id <sessionId>] \
[--nowait <true|false>]
- Image parameters are positional arguments (at least one required). Pass file paths or URLs directly — no
--fileprefix. The script uploads local files automatically. - Default (
--nowait false): API waits for completion and returns the finaldownloadURL. - Pass
--nowait trueto return thetaskIdimmediately; resolve later with surgepix-query-task.
Step 4: Parse output
Sync success (--nowait false, stdout):
{"ok":true,"taskId":"task_abc123","sessionId":123,"progress":"succeeded","download":"<DOWNLOAD_URL>","imageCount":1,"resultType":"image"}
Async submitted (--nowait true, stdout):
{"ok":true,"async":true,"taskId":"task_abc123","sessionId":123,"progress":"processing","download":null,"imageCount":1,"resultType":"image","hint":"<HINT>"}
Failure (stderr):
{"ok":false,"error":"<ERROR>"}
Step 5: Handle the result
- On success: Show the
downloadURL.resultType: "image"— single translated imageresultType: "zip"— multiple images packaged as ZIP
- Always show
sessionId(number type, e.g.123) so the user can retry in the same session. - On failure: Report the
errorfield. Common causes:unsupported_image_format— file format not supportedimage_too_large— file exceeds 20MB
Step 6: Session sync and iteration
- Results are attached to the session (auto-created or reused). The user can view all iterations on the platform frontend.
- To retry, pass
--session-id 123— both attempts appear in the same session history.
Parameters
image-translate
| Parameter | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
<file path or URL> |
Yes | — | Positional argument(s). One or more local paths or image URLs |
--language <code> |
Yes* | user intent | Target language for on-image text, e.g. en, zh, ja. Always pass — match explicit request or user's language |
--session-id <id> |
No | auto-created | Omit on first run; provide on retries to group iterations in one session |
--nowait <true|false> |
No | false |
false = sync: API waits and returns final download. true = async: returns taskId; resolve via surgepix-query-task |
Notes
- Single image →
downloadis an image URL; multiple images →downloadis a ZIP URL. - Supported input formats:
JPEG,JPG,PNG,WEBP. Max file size: 20MB per image. - The download link is valid for 24 hours; download before it expires.
- Always display the
sessionIdfrom output (number type). Pass--session-id 123on retry to keep iterations in one session. - Image parameters are positional arguments — pass paths or URLs directly, no
--fileprefix. - Must run
check_env.mjsbefore first use in each session. - Never pass local paths to the API — the script handles upload internally.
- Never invent download URLs — only use the
downloadvalue from output. - Never expose auth tokens in logs or output.