Translate the whole game. Break nothing.
Aside opens a Ren'Py game's translation and walks you through it, line by line. It checks every tag, variable and line length as you type, shows the scene and the choices behind each line, and keeps count of what is done.
Tried on 8 real Ren'Py games, from archive to translation
A translation is thousands of tiny chances to crash a game.
One unclosed {i}, one mistyped [name], one line too long for the box. Aside catches them while you write, not after a player reports them.
In a text editor the usual way
- You find a broken tag when the game throws an exception.
- You guess who says a line and what is on screen.
- A choice is a lone string, cut off from what follows it.
- Progress lives in a spreadsheet you forget to update.
- Texts the generator skipped stay in English.
In Aside the calm way
- Every line is checked against its original as you type.
- The speaker, the scene and the lines around it sit next to the text.
- The Menu tab shows the question, every option and what follows it.
- Progress per line, file and episode, a weekly goal, a finish estimate.
- Missed texts are found and added once you approve them.
Everything a line needs, in one window.
Go on, try to break this line.
Edit the Czech translation. The checks run as you type, the same way they run on every line in Aside, and the scene shows what the player would get.
The whole translating workflow costs nothing.
No trial, no account, no ads. These stay free.
Editor, filters and searchWhole-word search, filters by state, undo
Quick translating and proofreadingScene and editor together, "result 3 of 16"
All the checksTags, variables, numbers, length, box fit
Find and replaceAcross the whole project, in plain text
History and diffEvery version of every line
Backups and snapshotsBefore every write, restorable
Scene preview and choice menusRead from the game's own scripts
Glossary and spelling hintsHints from your project's own words
Missed textsStrings the generator skipped (experimental)
Groups and progressEpisodes, chapters or folders found for you
Machine translation of a lineDeepL, LibreTranslate or OpenAI-compatible, your key
Language packsCzech first; neutral rules for any language
Three zeros we are proud of.
Aside is a desktop app. Your game, your translation and your notes stay on your computer.
bytes written into your game
Game folders are only read. Aside writes translation files, after a backup, and its own small data folder.
telemetry, analytics, crash reports
Nothing about your projects is ever sent to us. No file names, no texts, no settings.
accounts to make
Install and open a game. Pro asks only for a licence key, never for a login.
Machine translation is off until you turn it on, and then talks straight to the service you chose. What leaves your computer →
Free to translate. Pro to go faster.
Pro is for long games and release work. Try its speed features on your own project before you pay.
Aside
Free foreverEverything you need to translate, check and finish a game.
- Editor, quick modes, find and replace
- All checks, glossary, spelling hints
- Scene preview, choice menus, history
- Progress, groups, missed texts
- A taste of the Pro speed features20 lines a run
Aside Pro
One-off licenceEverything in Free, plus the speed layer that takes the boring hours away.
- Batch machine translation with glossary and contextunlimited
- Safe bulk fixes with a preview of every changeunlimited
- Group suggestions for hundreds of filesunlimited
- Regex batches that keep tags and variables safe
- Publish your progress to your site or Patreon
| Feature | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Editor, filters, search, undo, backups | ✓ | ✓ |
| Quick translating and proofreading | ✓ | ✓ |
| All checks, glossary, spelling hints | ✓ | ✓ |
| Find and replace, history and diff | ✓ | ✓ |
| Scene preview, choice menus | ✓ | ✓ |
| Groups, progress, missed texts | ✓ | ✓ |
| Machine translation of one line (your key) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Approve identical lines, language packs | ✓ | ✓ |
| Speed layer | ||
| Batch machine translation | 20 / run | Unlimited |
| Safe bulk fixes | 20 / run | Unlimited |
| Group suggestions | 5 / run | Unlimited |
| Regex batches | – | ✓ |
| Publish progress to your site | – | ✓ |
| Coming to Pro | ||
| Carry a translation to a new game version | – | Soon |
| Fuzzy translation memory, style check | – | Planned |
| Release builder, teamwork | – | Planned |
| Price | ||
| Licence | 0 | One-off, price soon |
Short guides for your first evening.
Almost ready for its first release.
Aside was rebuilt as one fast desktop app with a Rust core and checked against the original on 8 real games: 8 968 read calls, no difference.
Fast new core
All 80 operations rebuilt in Rust; 749 of 749 recorded cases match.
Desktop app
One window, no Python, no local web server, the same interface.
Installer
Per-user install without admin rights. Signing and updates are being finished.
First public build
A game picker, the "prepare a game" window, and Windows downloads.
A few seats before the release.
A small group, picked by hand: testers for the builds and sponsored licences for active translations. Each route has its own application.
Translated with Aside.
It started with the Czech translation of Being a DIK. The next spot on the wall could be yours.
Does Aside change my game?
game/tl/<language>, always after a backup, and keeps its own data in a small .aside folder next to them.Which games work?
tl folder and with .rpa archives. It was tried on 8 real games with 9 to 687 script files. The scene preview is best on games made of full-screen renders.Is it only for Czech?
Do I need the Ren'Py SDK?
What is the catch with Free?
Why will Windows warn me about the installer?
Your translation is waiting. What do you do?
The first Windows build is in final testing. Make your choice.
Aside is made by one translator. Ko-fi support goes first to a code-signing certificate, so Windows stops warning about the installer.