Translation workflows

Query-first: translate with the bank's terms

Best for one-off texts. Works without an account against the public bank, or with a collection so its own terms win. MCP prompt: translate_with_termbank.

1. 1pin_terms with the text and both languages, plus collection_id to use a collection's terms. Termbanks returns the text with every known term marked ⟦n|term⟧, holding the bank's translation.
2. 2Translate the pinned text once. Copy every marker to where that term belongs and write the sentence around it. Terms with several meanings come back unpinned, with their candidates, for the agent to decide.
3. 3unpin_terms with the translation. Each marker becomes the bank's term by number, so the output uses the bank's terms whatever the model would have chosen. If a marker went missing, the reply names it and only that sentence needs fixing.
4. 4Offer to push the important terms the bank did not know, for a person to review.

Rules that must always hold belong in the glossary as terms, where pinning enforces them. Written guidelines are advice the agent reads; they are not enforced.

Glossary-first: build a reviewed glossary, then translate

Best for long or recurring work where terminology must be agreed before translating. Needs a collection and the Draft level or higher. MCP prompt: prepare_glossary.

1. 1whoami to see what the agent may do.
2. 2sync_pull with the collection, the languages and the document text, to get the terms already known for this document.
3. 3Draft translations for the missing terms that matter, each with a short context sentence.
4. 4sync_push them. A person reviews the push in Review or in chat. See Agent pushes and review.
5. 5Once committed, collection_guidelines for the style rules, then translate with pinned terms as above: pin_terms with the collection, one translation pass, unpin_terms.

Keeping a collection in shape

The maintain_collection prompt runs a standing task in batches of at most 200 changes, each pushed with a clear message. Terms a person reviewed are left alone unless the person asks, and suspected duplicates are suggested, never merged.

What shapes the terms an agent gets

• A collection's own terms and overrides win over the public bank.
• Collection guidelines arrive with translation context, together with forms to avoid, do-not-translate terms and corrections.
• Unreviewed private terms are included but labelled; ask for include_unreviewed=false to leave them out.
• Pass release_id to pin a request to one published version.