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Show HN: GemmaTrans – On-device translation for macOS, built with MLX

GemmaTrans is an on-device translation tool for macOS, built using MLX and Google's Gemma model. It enables translation without an internet connection, processing all data locally on the user's machine.

Background

- GemmaTrans is a free, open-source app for macOS that runs translation models directly on your computer (no internet needed) using Apple's MLX machine-learning framework. - "On-device" translation means all processing happens locally — your text never leaves your machine, which preserves privacy and works offline, though the initial model download is large. - Apple's MLX framework is a tool for running AI models efficiently on Apple Silicon (M-series) chips. It is similar to Meta's Llama.cpp or Nvidia's CUDA, but specifically optimized for Mac hardware. - The app uses Google's Gemma models (specifically Gemma 2), a family of small, efficient language models that Google released in 2024 under a permissive open license, making them suitable for local deployment. - This project targets users who want AI-powered translation without cloud subscriptions (like DeepL or Google Translate) and who care about privacy, latency, or working offline.