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Windows and WSL

The package runs on Windows 10/11 with Node.js 20 or later, from PowerShell or cmd.

  • The settings file lives in %APPDATA%\libretranslate\.env, protected by that folder's per-user permissions (file modes mean nothing on Windows).
  • libretranslate mcp boot enable registers a logon task.
  • libretranslate mcp stop asks the server to shut down through a token-guarded POST /shutdown before falling back to terminating it: a signal on Windows is TerminateProcess, which would not let the server shut down.
  • The client CLIs are run through cross-spawn, so Windows .cmd shims work.
  • Files are written through a rename that retries, because antivirus and editors hold files open.

From WSL​

When the package is installed inside WSL, libretranslate mcp install and uninstall also list the clients installed on the Windows side, as Claude Code (Windows) and so on (--client claude@windows). They start the server with wsl.exe -d <distro> -e node …/dist/mcp/cli.js, so it keeps reading the configuration saved inside WSL. The first call after WSL has been idle waits for the distro to start (a second or two).

The Windows side is reached through powershell.exe, taken from the PATH or, with appendWindowsPath = false, from /mnt/c/Windows/System32/WindowsPowerShell/v1.0/. When it cannot be reached, --client claude@windows says which step failed.

To start the server at login inside WSL, enable systemd in /etc/wsl.conf first, then run npx libretranslate mcp boot enable.