Play Japanese. Understand everything.
A private library and real-time translator for Japanese visual novels, RPGs, and doujin titles. Powered by your own AI keys.
Translating 
Three things broken at once.
- I
Your library is scattered.
DLsite, Steam, local folders, mojibake filenames. Finding a game you bought six months ago is detective work.
- II
Translation tools don't talk to your library.
Textractor extracts text. Playnite organizes games. Nobody connects the two for Japanese players.
- III
Most tools weren't built for you.
LaunchBox treats VNs like Steam games. Existing tools each solve a quarter of the problem.
One desktop app. Three quiet certainties.
A single shelf for everything you've ever bought.
Auto-scan DLsite, Steam, and local folders. Visual novels, RPGs, doujin — one searchable library, one place to start an evening.
Translation that knows what kind of game you're playing.
Adapts to the surface: dialogue boxes for VNs, UI elements and menus for RPGs, status windows for sims. Powered by your own keys, never by a fixed pipeline.
「お前の名前を、もう一度教えてくれないか。」
“Could you tell me your name — one more time?”
Desktop-first. Nothing about you leaves your machine.
Library, save data, and API keys are stored locally and stay there. The only outbound traffic is the translation request — to the provider you chose, with the key you own.
- Library index
- Cover art cache
- Save data
- API keys
via OpenRouter
Bring your own AI.
Tethea ships with OpenRouter — one key, access to hundreds of models from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and more. No markup, no lock-in. Direct provider integrations are coming next.
- OpenRouter
- more providers coming
One key, hundreds of models.
No markup on AI usage.
More providers coming.
Following along.
I'm building Tethea openly. Notes, half-finished features, and the occasional dead end — all in the language of the community they're for.
Things people ask.
-
Yes. Library metadata, cover art, save data, and API keys are stored only on your machine. The only traffic that leaves is the translation request itself — to the provider you've chosen, using your key. There is no Tethea server holding your data.
-
Windows first, in alpha. macOS and Linux are on the roadmap once the Windows build is solid. Tethea is desktop-only by design — the architecture isn't a fit for browsers or phones.
-
To use translation, yes — you'll connect an OpenRouter key. From there you can pick any model OpenRouter supports (Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, and more) and switch per game. The library, scanner, and organization features work without any key.
-
Tethea treats every title in your library equally. Age ratings are surfaced honestly (All / R15 / R18) for filtering, and there is no content moderation between you and your own files.
-
Closed alpha is targeted for Q3 2026. Waitlist members get priority access in waves; I'll be honest if a date slips.
-
Pricing isn't decided yet. There's no upsell here while the product is unfinished — joining the waitlist commits you to nothing.
-
Yes. Tethea's scanner reads DLsite RJ codes from folder names and executable metadata, then matches against the catalog to fetch covers and circle info. Steam libraries import via the local Steam install; arbitrary folders work too.
Ready to read every VN
you've ever bought?
I'll only email when there's something real to share.