Babel Fish AI: New Features, Context Menu, Auto-Copy, Code Quality Control, etc.

With Babel Fish AI, I already introduced a Chrome extension capable of converting voice to text via OpenAI’s Whisper API, also offering real-time translation. Today I’m back with a set of new features and many improvements: from the context menu to automatic copying of the transcribed text, through automatic rephrasing (now activatable from a button in the banner), this post reviews the developments since the very first version.

1. Overview: What’s changing?

Babel Fish AI continues its mission: to let you transcribe, translate, and rephrase your text in a browser, with ease. Here are some of the major new features since the last post:

• Powerful context menu:
  Right-click on selected text to rephrase it or translate it to the language of your choice. The original text is directly replaced by the new version.

• Immediate control from the banner:
  No need to go into options to enable/disable rephrasing or translation! The banner buttons (at the top of the screen during transcription) let you adjust your preferences live, depending on what you want to do with your transcription or text.

• Smart auto-copy feature:
  Enable the Automatic copy to clipboard option to automatically copy the text when the dialog is displayed and no input field is focused.

• Interface improvements:

  • Better integrated copy button.
  • Option to keep the dialog open or set a delay before it closes automatically.
  • More modern animations and style (rounded corners, shadows, etc.).

• Various optimizations:

  • Connection check (navigator.onLine) before each call to avoid offline errors.
  • Better error handling and clearer messages (missing API key, network inactive, etc.).
  • More modular code (dedicated files for languages, the banner, the UI, etc.).

2. Videos: 15 Languages, 15 Demonstrations

Here is the list of videos; each video shows voice transcription, real-time translation, and rephrasing.

1. French (FR) : https://youtu.be/7iLJ_MPQ33k
2. English (EN) : https://youtu.be/ie7vR_9IJCw
3. Japanese (JA) : https://youtu.be/bjoGWvSyQPo
4. Korean (KO) : https://youtu.be/e4E5K4il6t8
5. Chinese (ZH) : https://youtu.be/mdxffjYetJs
6. Spanish (ES) : https://youtu.be/pXvQBsjKHLk
7. German (DE) : https://youtu.be/FdjPCvDEYXc
8. Polish (PL) : https://youtu.be/ckkgQ1wtYok
9. Italian (IT) : https://youtu.be/1XTbqCksu2s
10. Portuguese (PT) : https://youtu.be/s6BcKsTdUdg
11. Dutch (NL) : https://youtu.be/8jMHRjzNM2k
12. Hindi (HI) : https://youtu.be/VFuh-qrAFKU
13. Arabic (AR) : https://youtu.be/pMbzVmCudDQ
14. Romanian (RO) : https://youtu.be/FmQgv3Ezu0s
15. Swedish (SV) : https://youtu.be/1hHPh6cYOkY

Discover how Babel Fish AI makes communication easier in your preferred language!

3. Summary of Recent Versions

Here is a brief summary of the notable changes since version 1.1.0:

3.1. Context menu (v1.1.12)

• Right-click on selected text:
  • Rephrase Selection to rephrase instantly.
  • Translate Selection to translate the selected text into any supported language.
• Improved dialog:
  • Visual timer, “Keep Open” button, modernized style, integrated copy button.

3.2. Auto-copy and focus handling (v1.1.14 → v1.1.15)

• “Automatic copy to clipboard” option:
  • Copies the text only if the dialog is displayed and no field is focused.
• Improved detection:
  • Avoids flooding the clipboard when the text is already inserted in a field.
• Preservation of focus and cursor:
  • Your position in the text is no longer lost when interacting with the banner or buttons.

3.3. UI and UX improvements (v1.1.13)

• Controls moved to the top of the dialog for better accessibility.
• More compact interface (reduced spacing, adjusted margins).
• Better timer management (visual counter, “Keep Open” option).

3.4. Various optimizations and fixes

• Code refactoring: more modular (separate files for languages, the banner, API calls…).
• More reliable connections: offline state checks to avoid unnecessary API calls.
• Clearer error messages: detailed instructions to resolve issues (invalid API key, etc.).
• Security improvements: window.clearTimeout, safer injection, etc.

4. Setting Up Code Analyzers

Alongside AI-assisted development via Roo Code (I mainly use Google’s gemini-2.0-pro-exp-02-05, gemini-2.0-flash-thinking-exp-01-21 models which are currently free, and Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 3.7), I integrated several static analysis tools to ensure the quality and security of generated code:

• SonarCloud
• CodeFactor
• Codacy
• DeepSource

On every pull request on GitHub, these services analyze the code and immediately report vulnerabilities, technical debt, or bad practices. The feedback appears directly in GitHub’s interface, which allows quick fixes before any merge into the main branch. That way, even if AIs produce large blocks of code, these analyzers act as safeguards to maintain clean and secure code.

5. Updated Technical Architecture

Since my previous post, the extension’s structure has slightly evolved. Key points:

• manifest.json (MV3): manages permissions (activeTab, scripting, contextMenus…) and dynamic injection.
• background.js: service worker responsible for reacting to icon clicks, shortcuts, and injecting content.js.
• content.js: central role for audio (MediaRecorder) and calling APIs (Whisper, GPT) via specialized modules.
• Context menu: created by background.js, applied by content.js.
• i18n.js and languages-shared.js: centralization of translation data.

6. Want to Test?

• Install Babel Fish AI:
  • Chrome Web Store
  • GitHub (open source project)
• OpenAI API key:
  • Create your key at platform.openai.com/account/api-keys and enter it in the options.

7. Conclusion

With these updates, Babel Fish AI becomes even more versatile, user-friendly, and intelligent. Thanks to the context menu, the rephrase/translate buttons accessible directly in the banner, the auto-copy system, and strengthened code analysis, the user experience is significantly improved.

Feel free to watch the demonstration videos. Thanks for following, and good luck with your transcription and translation projects!

This document was translated from the fr version to the en language by using the gpt-5-mini model. For more information on the translation process, see https://gitlab.com/jls42/ai-powered-markdown-translator