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Codex Issues / #21924

Add Translate action for selected text in Codex Desktop

Open 💬 0 comments Opened May 9, 2026 by FaigB70

What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?

Feature Request: Built-in Translation Action for Selected Text

What subscription do you have?

Summary Add a built-in translation action for selected text inside Codex. When users select text in a chat, document, bug report, or generated response, the context menu should include a Translate option.

What platform is your computer?

Product Codex Desktop App

What issue are you seeing?

Feature Request: Built-in Translation Action for Selected Text

Product

Codex Desktop App

Summary

Add a built-in translation action for selected text inside Codex. When users select text in a chat, document, bug report, or generated response, the context menu should include a Translate option.

Problem

Codex is used by multilingual users. It is common to read or write content in one language while working in another. For example, the app UI may be Russian, while bug reports, GitHub issues, documentation, and code comments are often in English.

Currently, when text is selected, the context menu only shows actions like:

  • Look Up
  • Search with Google
  • Copy

There is no direct way to translate selected text inside Codex.

Proposed Solution

Add a Translate action to the selected-text context menu.

Possible behavior:

  • User selects text.
  • Right-clicks or opens the context menu.
  • Chooses Translate.
  • Codex shows an inline translation popover or inserts a translated version into the chat composer.
  • Translation direction can be inferred from the app language or user preference.

Example Use Case

A Russian-speaking user selects part of an English bug report inside Codex and wants to quickly translate it into Russian without leaving the app or copying text into another service.

Expected Benefit

This would make Codex more comfortable for multilingual users and reduce context switching when working with English documentation, GitHub issues, error messages, or generated reports.

Suggested Context Menu Item

Translate

What steps can reproduce the bug?

Feature Request: Built-in Translation Action for Selected Text

Product

Codex Desktop App

Summary

Add a built-in translation action for selected text inside Codex. When users select text in a chat, document, bug report, or generated response, the context menu should include a Translate option.

Problem

Codex is used by multilingual users. It is common to read or write content in one language while working in another. For example, the app UI may be Russian, while bug reports, GitHub issues, documentation, and code comments are often in English.

Currently, when text is selected, the context menu only shows actions like:

  • Look Up
  • Search with Google
  • Copy

There is no direct way to translate selected text inside Codex.

Proposed Solution

Add a Translate action to the selected-text context menu.

Possible behavior:

  • User selects text.
  • Right-clicks or opens the context menu.
  • Chooses Translate.
  • Codex shows an inline translation popover or inserts a translated version into the chat composer.
  • Translation direction can be inferred from the app language or user preference.

Example Use Case

A Russian-speaking user selects part of an English bug report inside Codex and wants to quickly translate it into Russian without leaving the app or copying text into another service.

Expected Benefit

This would make Codex more comfortable for multilingual users and reduce context switching when working with English documentation, GitHub issues, error messages, or generated reports.

Suggested Context Menu Item

Translate

What is the expected behavior?

_No response_

Additional information

_No response_

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