LifeBook Shufang is a multilingual workflow for turning public-domain books into reviewed, readable EPUB editions. It is not a one-click raw AI translation repository. The workflow keeps source evidence, rights checks, translation drafts, review records, EPUB validation, random spot checks, and versioned release artifacts.

Contributors can help without being programmers: propose a book, verify public-domain sources, read a chapter, compare source and translation, report awkward passages, test EPUB files, or improve templates and scripts.

For a short user guide, see:

• English guide
• 简体中文说明
• 繁體中文說明
• 日本語ガイド

Minimal prompt for an AI client:

Book I want translated: {title, author optional, and source URL if known}
Target language: {for example Spanish, English, Japanese, or Simplified Chinese}

Automatically choose the correct translation prompt:
- If the matching source-language template already exists, execute doc/public/user_prompt/book_translation_existing_template.md.
- If the matching source-language template does not exist yet, execute doc/public/user_prompt/book_translation_new_template.md.

Do not ask me to fill technical fields unless rights or source evidence cannot be confirmed. Automatically find a reliable public-domain source, create the book project, complete translation, review, EPUB build, stratified random spot-check, and release.
During translation, run the per-chapter post-translation full check and fix gate for every chapter. If any issue is found, fix the chapter, but that round cannot PASS; append a new full-chapter recheck until the latest round is a zero-issue PASS.
After the first EPUB, run stratified random spot-checking and defect-family closure. If any sample exposes a defect, do not fix only that sample. Classify the defect family in the same round, audit the whole book for similar cases, fix confirmed matches, document exceptions, and run a new-seed round. Translation-quality defect families must use `skills/translation-quality-defect-families/SKILL.md`.
If LifeBook Digest is not explicitly requested, decide automatically: generate it after EPUB output for long novels, specialist books, and philosophy books; skip short stories, natural-science books, and other categories.
When Digest should be generated, create `digest.config.json` in the book project root with `enabled=true` and `merge_into_epub=true`, then run from the repository root: `python -m digest.lifebook_digest --book-root books/{target}/{number}_{target_language_title}_{target_language_author}`. The output remains a standard EPUB.

If a first EPUB already exists and higher quality is needed, do not ask the AI to "just polish it." Use the two post-EPUB prompts in the how-to-use guide: Prompt B: Full-chapter recheck and repair when chapter quality closure is uncertain, then Prompt C: Stratified random spot-check and defect-family closure before release.

For non-public-domain books, use private-use mode only. The user must provide a local ebook file and explicitly declare personal study only, no redistribution, and no commercial use. The AI should create the project under books/private/{target}/{number}_{target_language_title}_{target_language_author}/; the script also overlays template/epub_pipeline/modes/private_use/ so private cover, frontmatter, and artifact rules cannot be confused with public publication rules. books/private/ is ignored by Git, and its source text, translations, QA records, EPUB files, and private artifacts must not be published to GitHub.

This repository is model-neutral. Codex App, Claude Code, OpenCode, aider, Antigravity, or any local-file AI client may be used if it can read the repository, edit files, run commands, and follow AGENTS.md.

For the easiest desktop setup, use LifeBook Launcher:

• Windows users can currently double-click tools\lifebook-launcher\LifeBook Launcher Setup.exe.
• Release users only need the LifeBook Launcher app or installer. The launcher prepares and updates the LifeBook project folder automatically; on Windows the default project folder is D:\LifeBook.
• The source folder in this repository is tools/lifebook-launcher/source/ for developers and packagers.
• It keeps the LifeBook project updated automatically, checks/updates OpenCode Desktop, supports LifeBook Launcher self-update, and lets users configure startup launch.

The launcher does not store API keys and does not include OpenCode binaries in this repository. For OpenCode client usage, see the OpenCode client guide.

• .\template\epub_pipeline: check which source-language and source-to-target templates currently exist. Language-pair folders such as English-to-Simplified-Chinese, Japanese-to-Simplified-Chinese, and Ancient-Greek-to-Simplified-Chinese live here.
• .\tools\lifebook-launcher: LifeBook Launcher client install and launch folder. Users need this path to use the LifeBook project and install OpenCode.
• .\doc\public\user_prompt: public starter prompts. Read or adjust these when the prompt given to an AI client needs review or manual refinement.
• .\books\zh-Hans: the most important output area for Simplified Chinese books. After translation succeeds, open the matching book folder and check output\release\; only release artifacts count as publishable results.
• .\books\private: local private-use book projects. This is for user-provided local sources used for personal non-public-domain translation. It is ignored by Git and must not be published to GitHub.

The LifeBook translation publishing system now includes LifeBook Digest. It helps make long books thinner: after EPUB output, LifeBook Digest can ask an AI agent to extract core content from long-form books. The result is not only a text digest; it also includes chapter topology and knowledge-structure signals so readers can see the book's shape more quickly and approach it from a different reading angle.

LifeBook Digest is currently implemented as an independent LifeBook post-processing module. See the LifeBook Digest guide and Digest license notes for acknowledgements and third-party inspiration notes. License and reuse constraints are governed by the Digest license notes.

• AGENTS.md: mandatory rules for all AI agents.
• digest/: reusable LifeBook Digest post-processing module; each book controls enablement and EPUB merge behavior through digest.config.json.
• template/epub_pipeline/: authoritative workflow templates and policies.
• template/epub_pipeline/common/: shared EPUB workflow, scripts, source evidence, rights checks, quality gates, random spot checks, and release rules.
• template/epub_pipeline/{language-pair-template}/: language-pair rules, prompts, glossary guidance, and review rubrics.
• template/epub_pipeline/targets/{target}/: target-language quality rules.
• template/epub_pipeline/profiles/{profile-target}/: optional overlays for special book types.
• template/epub_pipeline/modes/private_use/: private-use overlay copied only for non-public-domain personal-use projects. It contains private cover, frontmatter, artifact, and gate scripts.
• books/{target}/{number}_{target_language_title}_{target_language_author}/: actual book projects. Use readable target-language title and author after the number. Book-specific files belong here.
• books/: shared Node.js tooling; install dependencies once here.
• doc/public/: public instructions, prompt guides, and candidate-book notes.
• doc/project/: project engineering docs, AI-client notes, launcher design, and implementation plans.
• research/{language-pair-template}/: language-pair-specific research artifacts.
• .opencode/ and opencode.jsonc: thin OpenCode adapter only, not workflow rules.
• tools/lifebook-launcher/: LifeBook Launcher desktop entry; development source lives in source/.

Use the project creation script instead of copying folders manually:

cd books
npm run new:book -- "{target_language_title}_{target_language_author}" --source-target {language-pair-template}

The script creates:

books/{target}/{number}_{target_language_title}_{target_language_author}/

It copies template/epub_pipeline/common first, then overlays the matching language-pair template. If a book needs a special profile, overlay the matching profiles/{profile-target}/ after that. Private-use projects receive one more overlay: template/epub_pipeline/modes/private_use/.

Private-use projects must be created explicitly:

cd books
npm run new:book -- "{target_language_title}_{target_language_author}" --source-target {language-pair-template} --mode private-use --local-source-file "{path_to_local_ebook}" --private-use-declaration "Personal study only; no redistribution; no commercial use."

Private mode keeps the translation and QA quality bar, but changes rights, reader-facing wording, and artifact semantics. Private covers use 个人学习版; private frontmatter uses 参考LifeBook书坊 个人自制, removes public-domain notices, and states personal-use/no-redistribution/no-commercial-use plus personal risk responsibility. Private artifacts are written under output/private_artifacts/ and are personal-use outputs, not public releases.

• Preserve source evidence and rights checks before translation; public projects require public-domain or licensed sources.
• Non-public-domain personal-use projects must use private_use mode and stay under ignored books/private/.
• Private-use projects must carry the modes/private_use overlay and must not reuse public-domain cover/frontmatter/release wording.
• Do not use modern copyrighted translations, pirate sites, or unclear EPUB downloads.
• Raw AI output is not publishable.
• Every translated chapter must pass a full post-translation check and fix gate. A just-fixed round cannot PASS; the latest full-chapter recheck must be a zero-issue PASS.
• Keep concrete book content out of template/.
• Important human-facing template files must include the local language expected by contributors.
• After the first EPUB, stratified random spot-checking must treat every finding as a possible defect family: audit similar cases across the whole book, fix confirmed matches, close the family, and rerun with a new seed.
• Translation-quality defect families must be summarized in skills/translation-quality-defect-families/SKILL.md, merging reusable lessons instead of appending duplicate notes.
• Run EPUB validation, reader-facing policy checks, stratified random spot checks, and versioned release gates before final delivery.

Install shared dependencies once:

cd books
npm install

Then run book-local scripts inside a concrete book project, for example:

npm run build:epub
npm run check:epub
npm run review:random-samples
npm run review:random-validate:pass
npm run release:create

For a private-use project, use the private artifact command after the same build, EPUBCheck, and random spot-check gates:

npm run build:private-epub
npm run check:epub
npm run review:random-samples
npm run review:random-validate:pass
npm run private:artifact:create

Useful contributions include source research, rights review, translation review, terminology checks, EPUB testing, accessibility/layout feedback, and automation improvements. Small, traceable corrections are preferred over large unreviewable rewrites.

Each source book requires its own rights check. Public-domain status may vary by country.

Non-code book content produced in this project is released under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 by default unless a file says otherwise. Third-party commercial use requires separate permission from LifeBook Shufang and relevant rights holders.

Private-use projects under books/private/ are not public project content, are not covered by the default public release license, and must not be committed or published to GitHub. Any private translation is for the individual user's personal study only, with no redistribution and no commercial use; the user's private use risk is their own. LifeBook Shufang publishes the reusable LifeBook translation publishing system only and does not assume copyright risk or liability caused by another person's private translation, storage, redistribution, or use of non-public-domain content.

See:

• LICENSE.en.md
• CONTRIBUTING.en.md
• COMMERCIAL_LICENSE.en.md