LingoBot — AI-powered Real-time Korean-English Translation Bot for Discord

Overview

LingoBot is an AI-powered Discord bot that provides real-time bidirectional translation between Korean and English in Discord servers.
It helps global project teams and online communities communicate seamlessly across language barriers.

The bot leverages OpenAI GPT API for translation, combined with lightweight infrastructure designed for easy deployment and scalability.

Features

• Bidirectional translation between Korean and English
• Real-time translation in selected Discord channels with 0.5-1.5 second response time
• AI-powered translation using GPT models with custom prompts for natural translation
• Channel management via slash commands (/add_channel, /del_channel)
• Text preprocessing with URL masking and message splitting
• Discord formatting preservation and bot conflict prevention

Development Background

LingoBot (V1) was developed in September 2024 for an international game jam project to solve communication problems caused by language barriers between Korean and English users. The development resulted in immediate positive effects on team collaboration and atmosphere improvement.

Detailed review: Lingo V1 - Real Team Adoption Case Study

LingoBot V1 vs V2 Comparison

Feature	V1	V2
User Interface	Text-based commands (!add_channel, !del_channel)	App slash commands added (/add_channel, /del_channel)
Language Detection	Basic Korean character inclusion check (may be inaccurate)	Accurate language detection using langdetect library
Environment Configuration	Code variable modification at runtime (inconvenient management)	Separation and management via .env file (safer and more convenient)
Deployment	GCP Compute Engine Free Tier	GCP Compute Engine Free Tier with Terraform and GitHub Actions infrastructure deployment

Architecture

• Language: Python (discord.py, openai, langdetect)
• Infrastructure:
  • Deployed on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) Compute Engine
  • Infrastructure automated with Terraform and GitHub Actions
  • GitHub Secrets used for secure credential management
  • Current Terraform setup enables initial deployment; plans to implement remote tfstate backend for improved update workflows

Prerequisites

• Discord Bot Token: Must be generated manually from Discord Developer Portal
• OpenAI API Token: Required for GPT API access

GitHub Secrets

Secret Name	Purpose
DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN	Discord bot authentication token
OPENAI_API_KEY	OpenAI GPT API key for translations
GCP_SA_KEY	Google Cloud Platform service account key for Compute Engine access
IGNORED_ROLE_IDS	List of Discord role IDs to exclude from translation
REMOTE_SSH_HOST	Target VM host for SSH-based deployment
REMOTE_SSH_USERNAME	SSH username for VM access
REMOTE_SSH_KEY	Private SSH key for deployment
REMOTE_SSH_PASSPHRASE	SSH key passphrase for secure connection

Limitations & Future Plans

• Current version supports bidirectional Korean ↔ English translation only.
• Future enhancements planned:
  • Multi-language support beyond Korean-English
  • Configurable translation pairs per channel
  • Improved remote Terraform state management for safer incremental updates
  • Enhanced logging and monitoring

Usage

Commands

• /add_channel — Enable bidirectional Korean-English translation in the current channel
• /del_channel — Disable translation in the current channel

Deployment

Infrastructure Setup

1. Configure GitHub Secrets with required credentials (see table above)
2. Manually trigger the "Terraform GCP Deploy" workflow to provision GCP infrastructure
3. Terraform creates a Compute Engine instance with the specified configuration

Bot Deployment

1. Manually trigger the "Deploy Python Bot" workflow
2. GitHub Actions connects to the VM using pre-configured SSH credentials from GitHub Secrets
3. The workflow automatically:
   • Copies the Python bot source code to the VM
   • Sets up Python virtual environment
   • Installs dependencies from requirements.txt
   • Creates .env file with environment variables (DISCORD_BOT_TOKEN, OPENAI_API_KEY, IGNORED_ROLE_IDS)
   • Starts the bot service using run.sh
4. Invite the bot to your Discord server and manage translation via bot commands

Deployment Flow: Infrastructure (manual) → Deploy (manual)

Note: Both workflows use workflow_dispatch triggers, requiring manual execution through GitHub Actions interface.

Bot Server Invitation

1. Generate Invitation Link from Discord Developer Portal

1. Access Discord Developer Portal
2. Select your bot application
3. Navigate to "OAuth2" → "URL Generator"

2. Configure Required Permissions

SCOPES:

• ✅ bot
• ✅ applications.commands (for slash commands)

BOT PERMISSIONS:

• ✅ Send Messages
• ✅ View Channels
• ✅ Read Message History
• ✅ Use Slash Commands

3. Server Invitation & Setup

1. Copy the GENERATED URL and open in browser
2. Select target server and click "Authorize"
3. Ensure bot role has appropriate position in server hierarchy (avoid permission restrictions)
4. Use /add_channel command to activate bot in desired channels
5. Test translation functionality with sample messages

Documentation & Support

This README provides a high-level overview and basic usage guide.
More detailed technical documentation and advanced configuration guides will be added in future updates.

For questions or feedback, please contact: [hanzoom2000@gmail.com]

License

MIT License