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Lara API – Document Translation

Upload, translate, and download documents programmatically using the Lara API and SDKs.

How Document Translation Works

Document translation through the Lara API follows an asynchronous process with three main phases:

  1. Upload the file to Lara

  2. Check the translation status periodically

  3. Download the translated document when ready

Translation Memory Support

When using the Lara API to translate documents, you can apply Translation Memories (TMs) to ensure consistent terminology and tone. These are repositories of pre-approved translations that Lara automatically references during processing.

You can create multiple TMs, each linked to a specific domain or language pair. Including a TM in your API request helps speed up translation, maintain quality, and reduce manual editing.

To learn how to attach a TM to your request, check the Developer Hub.

 

Minimum Billing per Document

Lara’s document translation API applies a minimum billing threshold of 20,000 characters per document. This means that even if a document contains fewer characters, billing will be calculated as if 20,000 characters were processed.

For example, if you upload a document with 12,000 characters, you will still be billed for 20,000 characters.

Please note: The minimum billing per document does not apply to Free plans. On a Free plan, you can translate up to 10,000 characters total per document. No charges apply, but you will need to upgrade to a Pro plan to exceed this limit.

 

Supported File Types

Lara supports a wide range of file types for business, technical, and localization use cases.

Office Documents

For everyday business and personal productivity.

Word Processing:
DOCX, DOCM, DOTX, DOTM, ODT, OTT

Spreadsheets:
XLSX, XLSM, XLTX, XLTM, ODS, OTS

Presentations:
PPTX, PPTM, POTX, POTM, ODP, OTP

General Documents:
PDF, TXT

 

If uploading a PDF document, Lara lets you choose between two output formats for the translated file - PDF and .DOCX. 

Data Interchange Formats

Used for data exchange between systems.

CSV, TSV, XML, DTD, JSON, YAML

Desktop Publishing

Common in professional layout and publishing tools.

MIF, IDML, ICML, DITA, TEX


Programming & Development

Ideal for app development and localization.

Web & Script Languages:
HTM, HTML, XHTML, PHP, PYTHON, MARKDOWN, MD

App Localization:
STRINGS, PROPERTIES, WIX, TS, RESX

Localization & Translation Memory

Tailored for multilingual content, subtitles, and structured translation.

XLF, XLIFF, PO, TTX, SRT, VTT, SBV, TXML, XINI

 

For implementation details and code examples, visit the Developer Hub.

 

This article is about:

  • Document translation with Lara API

  • Translate documents API

  • Localization and multilingual content translation