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:
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Upload the file to Lara
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Check the translation status periodically
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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 Monthly Billing
Lara’s document translation API includes a minimum billing threshold of 20,000 characters per month. This means that even if your usage falls below this amount, billing will be based on a minimum of 20,000 characters.
For example, if you upload a document with 12,000 characters, you will still be billed as if 20,000 characters were processed.
Please note: The minimum monthly billing does not apply to Free plans. If you’re on a Free plan (non-paying), you are limited to translating up to 10,000 characters total for document translation. You won’t be billed, but you also won’t be able to exceed this limit unless you upgrade to a Pro plan.
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
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:
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Document translation with Lara API
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Translate documents API
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Localization and multilingual content translation