Skip to content

Languages

The device's web interface is available in 14 languages: English, Bahasa Indonesia, Deutsch, Español, Français, Italiano, Nederlands, Polski, Português (Brasil), Türkçe, العربية (Arabic, right-to-left), 日本語, 한국어 and 简体中文.

Choosing a language

Open Settings → Device → Language, pick the language and Save.

  • The language is a device setting, so it applies to everyone who opens the device.
  • English is built in. Another language is a small file (about 22 KB) that the device downloads from the GitHub release matching its firmware and keeps in its storage. The Language card shows what the device is doing (Downloading with a progress bar, Restarting, Installed) and reloads the page in the new language once the file is there, usually within a few seconds. If the download fails, the card says why on one line, with Retry: a release published before languages existed has no language files, so then upload one by hand (below) or update the firmware. Until the file is there, the dashboard's Status card lists Language: Not loaded.
  • Switching back to English deletes the file.
  • After a firmware update the device downloads the file for the new version by itself.

Numbers, dates and times follow the language too (for example a decimal comma in German), and Arabic lays the page out right to left. Readings, units, coordinates and charts stay left to right, and digits are always 0-9.

When you type a number in Settings, use your language's decimal separator (21,5 in German) or a point (21.5) - both work. Thousands separators are fine in whole groups (1.234,5). If a number could be read two ways, such as 1.234 in German, the field asks you to write it unambiguously instead of guessing. Coordinates can be pasted as 51.4779, -0.0015, 51,4779; -0,0015 or 51,4779 -0,0015.

Without internet

If the device can't reach GitHub (no internet, or a firewall), the interface stays in English and the Language card says why. You can install the file by hand:

  1. On a computer with internet, open the release page for the firmware version shown under Updates.
  2. Download sqmeter-i18n-<code>.json.gz for your language, for example sqmeter-i18n-es.json.gz.
  3. In Settings → Device → Language, choose Upload a language file and pick the file.

A file made for a different firmware version still works: any text it lacks shows in English, and the card says so.

What stays in English

  • Alerts the device sends (ntfy, Pushover, webhook, MQTT and Bluetooth). Write your own alert title and message under Settings → Alerts to send them in your language.
  • The demo's own controls (the Demo panel and the tour).
  • Names and units: SQMeter, N.I.N.A., Alpaca, MQTT, mag/arcsec², °C and so on.

Improving a translation

The translations were written for SQMeter by an AI acting as a native-speaker UI writer for each language, with a glossary per language and a review pass. If something reads oddly in your language, a pull request or an issue is very welcome; see Translations.