> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://koharu.rs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Connect a translation provider

> Use local GGUF models, hosted services, or a compatible model server.

The translation picker combines local and hosted backends. A selection records the provider, model ID, optional local quantization, and vision-input setting.

## Available connections

| Connection | Providers |
| - | - |
| Local inference | GGUF models through llama.cpp |
| Hosted models | OpenAI, Gemini, Claude, Grok, MiniMax, DeepSeek, OpenRouter |
| Compatible servers | LM Studio and OpenAI-compatible endpoints |
| Machine translation | DeepL, Google Cloud Translation, Caiyun |

Each provider owns its endpoint defaults, request mapping, and model discovery. Available models can change independently of these docs.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Save the connection">
    Open **Settings → Providers**, choose a provider, and fill in its fields. Hosted services
    require credentials. A local compatible server needs its base URL; LM Studio defaults to
    `http://localhost:1234` and OpenAI-compatible defaults to `http://localhost:11434/v1`. Whether a
    local server needs a secret depends on that server.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select a model">
    Open the processing selector or **Settings → Translation**. Opening the processing selector, or
    the Settings page, refreshes provider discovery. An unreachable provider may have no discovered
    models even while its saved settings remain intact.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose whether to include the page image">
    **Vision** is on by default and the switch stays available for every model. If the selected
    model does not accept images, Koharu drops the image from the request. OpenAI-compatible
    endpoints are assumed to accept images, so turn the switch off when the server cannot handle
    image messages.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Try one page">
    Check the source OCR, run translation on the current page, and review the response before
    processing a chapter.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Credentials and privacy

Provider secrets use the operating system's secure credential service. Non-secret endpoint settings live in `~/.koharu/config.toml`.

Local models keep prompts and text on your machine after download. Hosted providers receive request content and apply their own retention terms. Local detection and OCR do not make a hosted translation request local.

<Warning>
  Keep keys out of project instructions, text layers, and configuration files. Save credentials
  through **Settings → Providers**.
</Warning>


## Related topics

- [Troubleshooting](/reference/troubleshooting.md)
- [Koharu documentation](/index.md)
- [Configure translation](/models/translation.md)
- [Settings](/reference/settings.md)
- [Formats and data](/reference/data.md)


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