How to Install LibreTranslate on Ubuntu 24.04

LibreTranslate is a self-hosted, open-source machine translation service. It provides a lightweight API and web interface for translating text between multiple languages without relying on cloud providers. This guide walks you through installing LibreTranslate on Ubuntu 24.04 with Python virtual environments, systemd service configuration, and firewall setup.

Step 1: Update System and Install Dependencies

Start by updating your package cache and installing required dependencies including Python, pip, git, and build tools.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y curl wget gnupg software-properties-common build-essential python3-pip python3-venv git time

Step 2: Install Python 3.11

Ubuntu 24.04 comes with Python 3.12 by default, but LibreTranslate recommends Python 3.11. Add the deadsnakes PPA and install Python 3.11.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:deadsnakes/ppa -y
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y python3.11 python3.11-venv python3.11-dev

Step 3: Create User and Directories

Create a dedicated system user for LibreTranslate and the necessary directories for code, virtual environment, logs, and data.

sudo useradd -r -m -d /opt/libretranslate -s /bin/bash libretranslate
sudo mkdir -p /opt/libretranslate/{venv,logs,data}
sudo chown -R libretranslate:libretranslate /opt/libretranslate

Step 4: Create Python Virtual Environment

Set up a virtual environment to isolate LibreTranslate dependencies.

sudo -u libretranslate python3.11 -m venv /opt/libretranslate/venv
sudo -u libretranslate /opt/libretranslate/venv/bin/pip install --upgrade pip

Note: The installation downloads ~3GB of libraries including Torch and language models. Expect 15–20 minutes for completion.

Step 5: Install LibreTranslate

Activate the virtual environment and install LibreTranslate using pip.

sudo -u libretranslate bash -c "
cd /opt/libretranslate
source venv/bin/activate
pip install libretranslate
"

Step 6: Install Gunicorn for Production Serving

sudo -u libretranslate /opt/libretranslate/venv/bin/pip install gunicorn

Step 7: Configure Systemd Service

Create a systemd service to run LibreTranslate as a background service.

sudo nano /etc/systemd/system/libretranslate.service

Paste the following:

[Unit]
Description=LibreTranslate Translation Service
After=network.target

[Service]
Type=exec
User=libretranslate
WorkingDirectory=/opt/libretranslate
Environment="PATH=/opt/libretranslate/venv/bin"
ExecStart=/opt/libretranslate/venv/bin/libretranslate \
  --host 0.0.0.0 \
  --port 5000 \
  --load-only en,es \
  --threads 2
Restart=always
RestartSec=5
StandardOutput=journal
StandardError=journal
NoNewPrivileges=yes
PrivateTmp=yes
ProtectSystem=strict
ProtectHome=yes
ReadWritePaths=/opt/libretranslate

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Reload systemd and start the service:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable --now libretranslate

Step 8: Firewall Configuration

If UFW is active, allow access to LibreTranslate’s port:

sudo ufw allow 5000/tcp
sudo ufw reload

Step 9: Create Helper Scripts

Startup script:

nano /opt/libretranslate/start.sh

#!/bin/bash
cd /opt/libretranslate
source venv/bin/activate
libretranslate --host 0.0.0.0 --port 5000 --load-only en,es --threads 2

Update script:

nano /opt/libretranslate/update.sh

#!/bin/bash
cd /opt/libretranslate
source venv/bin/activate
pip install -U libretranslate
libretranslate --update-models --load-only en,es

Make both executable:

sudo chmod +x /opt/libretranslate/{start.sh,update.sh}
sudo chown libretranslate:libretranslate /opt/libretranslate/{start.sh,update.sh}

Step 10: Access LibreTranslate

Once the service is running, access LibreTranslate via:

• Web Interface / API:

http://<server-ip>:5000

Example API Request:

curl -X POST "http://<server-ip>:5000/translate" \
     -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
     -d '{"q":"Hello world","source":"en","target":"es"}'

Conclusion

You now have a fully functional LibreTranslate installation on Ubuntu 24.04. It runs securely under a dedicated system user, uses a Python virtual environment, and starts automatically with systemd.

Your translation service is ready for API integrations, web applications, or personal use, all without relying on external cloud providers.