Real-time translation system for mosque lectures and prayers, supporting multiple languages.
This application captures live audio from a microphone, transcribes speech using OpenAI's GPT-4o-transcribe, and translates it using GPT-4o-mini. Translations are displayed as subtitles on a full-screen GUI.
⚠️ Language Note: The primary development and testing focus was Arabic → German. While the app supports 15+ source languages and 35+ target languages, other language combinations have not been extensively tested. The Quran and Athan dictionaries are available in German, English, Turkish, Albanian, and Bosnian. Contributions for additional language support are welcome!
- Real-time audio capture with automatic silence detection
- Multi-language support (15+ source, 35+ target languages)
- Semantic buffering for complete sentence translation (configurable)
- RAG-enhanced translation using precomputed Quran verse embeddings
- Dictionary matching for Athan phrases
- Three subtitle modes: Continuous scroll, stacking, or static display
- Multi-monitor support with transparent overlay option
- Secure API key storage using OS keychain
- Automatic retry with exponential backoff
📚 More details: See the doc/ folder for architecture, configuration, and data file documentation.
This application makes continuous API calls to OpenAI while running. You will be charged for usage.
| Usage Pattern | Transcription | Translation | Embeddings | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 hour session | ~$0.36 | ~$0.10 | ~$0.05 | ~$0.50 |
| Weekly Friday prayer (1 hr × 4) | ~$1.44 | ~$0.40 | ~$0.20 | ~$2.00/month |
Note: Prices may change. Check OpenAI Pricing for current rates. Set a usage limit in your OpenAI account to avoid surprises.
- Python 3.10+ (Option B only)
- OpenAI API key
- Audio input device (microphone or virtual audio cable)
- Download the latest EXE: Click here
- Run
MinbarLive.exe - Paste your OpenAI API key when prompted - Tutorial EN/DE
- It's Running!
Windows SmartScreen: You may see a warning because the EXE is not code-signed. Click "More info" → "Run anyway".
Platform Note: The EXE is Windows-only. Linux users have had success with Wine. macOS is not supported via EXE.
git clone https://github.com/mosait/MinbarLive.git
cd MinbarLive
python -m venv .venv
.\.venv\Scripts\activate # Windows
# source .venv/bin/activate # Linux/Mac
pip install -r requirements.txt
python main.pySet your OpenAI API key via .env file or let the app prompt you on first run (stored securely in OS keychain).
Two windows will appear:
- Control Panel - Start/Stop, settings, API key management, logs
- Subtitles - Full-screen translated text display
Press Escape to exit.
Easiest way to mirror, stream or record with camera + subtitles using OBS Studio:
- Add your camera: Sources → Add → Video Capture Device
- Add the subtitle window: Sources → Add → Window Capture → Select
[MinbarLive.exe]: MinbarLive Subtitles - Position subtitles at bottom: Right-click the subtitle source → Transform → Edit Transform → Set "Positional Alignment" to Bottom Center
- Display on another monitor: Right-click the canvas → Open Preview Projector → Select your monitor (press
Escapeto exit) - Auto-restore projector on startup: Go to File → Settings → General → Projectors → Enable "Save projectors on exit" to automatically reopen the projector window when OBS starts
This overlays the live translations on your camera feed for Mirroring, YouTube, Zoom, or recording.
Runtime files are written to a per-user app data folder:
- Windows:
%APPDATA%\MinbarLive\ - macOS:
~/Library/Application Support/MinbarLive/ - Linux:
~/.local/share/MinbarLive/
| Document | Description |
|---|---|
| doc/architecture.md | System architecture and data flow |
| doc/project-structure.md | Full project tree and file descriptions |
| doc/configuration.md | All configurable settings and constants |
| doc/data-files.md | Quran/Athan translations, embeddings, adding languages |
| doc/testing.md | Running tests and coverage |
- GitHub Issues: Open an issue
- Google Forms: Submit feedback anonymously
Contributions are welcome! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
GPL-3.0. See LICENSE.