Translation Plugin for Binary Ninja

A plugin that translates foreign language text in binaries to any supported language using offline translation.

IMPORTANT: Enable Correct Unicode Support Required

This plugin requires Binary Ninja's Unicode support to be enabled to display non-ASCII characters in the appropriate codepages!

Enable Unicode Support in Binary Ninja

Features

Modes

1. Real-time Translation (Render Layer)
   • Replaces foreign text with translations directly in the disassembly view
   • Works in both Linear and Graph views
   • Non-destructive - original text preserved in database
   • Toggle on/off via View → Layer menu

Warning, this method can be slow!

2. Manual Changes
   • Plugins / Translate / Translate All Symbols
   • Plugins / Translate / Translate Current Symbol

Note that these changes will be made as user changes so saving them in an analysis database will persist.

3. String Translation Comments
   • Adds translation comments at string usage locations
   • Comments appear at both string definitions and references
   • Preserves existing comments

Installation

Step 1: Install the Plugin

Option A: Plugin Manager (Recommended)

Install from Binary Ninja's Plugin Manager - dependencies will be installed automatically.

Option B: Manual Installation

1. Clone or download this repository
2. Copy the translate-layer folder to your Binary Ninja plugins directory:
   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Binary Ninja/plugins/
   • Linux: ~/.binaryninja/plugins/
   • Windows: %APPDATA%\Binary Ninja\plugins\
3. Restart Binary Ninja (it will automatically install the required Python packages)

Step 2: Install Translation Models

The plugin uses Argos Translate's offline models. Install models for the language pairs you need:

# Update the package index
argospm update

# List available packages
argospm search

# Install language pairs (format: translate-[source]_[dest])
# Examples:
argospm install translate-ru_en    # Russian to English
argospm install translate-ja_en    # Japanese to English
argospm install translate-zh_en    # Chinese to English
argospm install translate-en_es    # English to Spanish
argospm install translate-fr_de    # French to German

Configuration

Access settings via Edit → Preferences → Settings → Translation

Available settings:

• Destination Language: Target language for translations (based on installed models)
• Translated Symbol Prefix: Prefix for renamed symbols (default: "🌎")

Supported Languages

The plugin can translate between any languages supported by Argos Translate models.

Check available models with argospm search.

Troubleshooting

No destination languages available

• Install translation models: argospm install translate-[source]_[dest]
• Restart Binary Ninja after installing models

Manual dependency installation

If Binary Ninja doesn't automatically install dependencies:

pip install argostranslate

Translations not appearing

• Check that a destination language is selected in settings
• Verify translation models are installed: argospm list
• Check the Binary Ninja log for error messages (enable debug logs for more information)

Performance

• First translation after loading may be slow as models load
• Subsequent translations use the cache for instant results