Documentation
Local Mac translation and language learning — Lanwich
Lanwich is a Mac menu-bar app for translating selected text on your device and learning vocabulary and grammar from everyday reading. Save useful passages and expressions in your local Library; optional AI explanations use your own OpenAI API key.
Requires macOS 26 or later and Apple silicon. Local translation needs downloaded language assets, but no account, subscription or API key. New AI explanations need internet and separately billed API access.
The public download is being prepared. No public release is available here yet.
Getting started
- Your Mac
- Install and update
- On your Mac and online
- AI explanations
- Saved material and privacy
- Quality and demonstrations
- Troubleshooting and recovery
- What comes next
Two ways to use Lanwich
Translate selected text on your Mac
While reading an article or working in another Mac app, select a passage and open its translation card. Choose a prepared target language and keep reading without pasting the passage into a website. Accessibility support varies by app; copy-triggered mode can help when selection is unavailable.
Translate selected text on your Mac
Learn from reading and save expressions
Select an expression in the translated passage to open an AI explanation of its meaning and grammar. Inspect forms, listen with an installed voice, and bookmark the expression with its context. Reopen saved material from Library; generating missing explanations still needs online API access.
Learn from reading and save expressions
Frequently asked questions
Does it work offline?
Translation works locally after the required language assets are downloaded. Saved translations and fully cached explanations remain readable offline. New AI explanations need internet.
Do I need an API key or subscription?
Local translation needs neither. Optional AI explanations use your own OpenAI API key with separate provider billing; a ChatGPT subscription does not cover API usage. Managed paid features are planned, not purchasable.
Which languages are supported?
Check the native app’s Settings for available language pairs and downloads. Catalan uses additional local models. The ten website languages and the Latin film example are not a list of supported translation pairs.
Does my text leave my Mac?
Ordinary translation stays on your Mac. Optional AI explanations can send selected passages and their context to OpenAI. Saved content is stored locally; it is not automatically uploaded as a Library.
Can I practise speaking?
Current pronunciation reads text with installed macOS voices. Microphone conversations and adaptive practice are planned features.
Can I download Lanwich now?
The release notice on this page is the source of truth. A development feature or demonstration does not mean a public installer is available.