Sniper region selection
Select a subtitle, dialog, or UI area once and let USTA keep monitoring it.
Real-time OCR translation for Linux desktops
Translate any screen region without leaving your game or video.
USTA watches the exact area you choose, extracts text with OCR, translates it instantly, and places the result back on your screen as a focused HUD overlay.
Built for untranslated games, videos, and desktop workflows.
USTA combines region capture, OCR, machine translation, and overlay rendering into a lightweight desktop companion for real-time language support.
Modular OCR backends
Use OCR engines such as Tesseract, EasyOCR, RapidOCR, or PaddleOCR depending on your setup.
Instant translation
Translate recognized text through Google Translate or DeepL-compatible engines.
Overlay HUD
Keep translated text visible above the original content without switching windows.
Unix socket IPC
Broadcast every translation as JSON for OBS, logging, subtitles, TTS, or custom tools.
Linux-first design
Optimized for modern Linux desktops, with current focus on KDE Plasma and GNOME Wayland workflows.
A translation layer that stays out of your way.
Designed for moments when pausing, copying, or switching applications breaks the flow: visual novels, RPGs, videos, livestreams, tutorials, and foreign-language software. Open the demo on YouTube.
Games
Follow dialog and UI text in untranslated titles.
Videos
Translate subtitles or captions as they appear.
Streaming
Pipe translation output into overlays or OBS scenes.
Accessibility
Send recognized text to logs or text-to-speech tools.
From screen text to translated overlay in seconds.
USTA keeps the workflow simple, repeatable, and script-friendly.
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1
Choose a target region
Use sniper mode to capture only the part of the screen that matters.
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2
Let OCR read the text
The selected engine extracts text continuously from the region.
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3
See the translation instantly
The translated result appears in the overlay and is also broadcast over IPC.
Integration example
Every translation can be streamed from the local Unix socket at /tmp/usta.sock.
Current builds are optimized for KDE Plasma and GNOME Wayland environments using xcb-compatible workflows. Wider platform support is planned.
Ready to make screen text understandable?
Explore the source, follow setup instructions, and try USTA on your Linux desktop.