diff --git a/apps/desktop/package.json b/apps/desktop/package.json
index 986289325f45..ba71ba4f91ee 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/package.json
+++ b/apps/desktop/package.json
@@ -74,6 +74,8 @@
     "cmdk": "^1.1.1",
     "hast-util-from-html-isomorphic": "^2.0.0",
     "hast-util-to-text": "^4.0.2",
+    "i18next": "^24.2.0",
+    "i18next-browser-languagedetector": "^8.0.0",
     "ignore": "^7.0.5",
     "katex": "^0.16.45",
     "leva": "^0.10.1",
@@ -85,6 +87,7 @@
     "react-arborist": "^3.5.0",
     "react-dom": "^19.2.5",
     "react-router-dom": "^7.14.2",
+    "react-i18next": "^15.0.0",
     "react-shiki": "^0.9.3",
     "remark-math": "^6.0.0",
     "shiki": "^4.0.2",
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/about-settings.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/about-settings.tsx
index 991b860624b4..2091145ffe40 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/about-settings.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/about-settings.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { useStore } from '@nanostores/react'
 import { useEffect, useState } from 'react'
+import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next'
 
 import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button'
 import { CheckCircle2, ExternalLink, Loader2, RefreshCw, Sparkles } from '@/lib/icons'
@@ -18,29 +19,30 @@ import { ListRow, SectionHeading, SettingsContent } from './primitives'
 
 const RELEASE_NOTES_URL = 'https://github.com/NousResearch/hermes-agent/releases'
 
-function relativeTime(ms: number | undefined) {
+function relativeTime(ms: number | undefined, t: (key: string, options?: Record<string, unknown>) => string) {
   if (!ms) {
-    return 'never'
+    return t('common:never')
   }
 
   const diff = Date.now() - ms
 
   if (diff < 60_000) {
-    return 'just now'
+    return t('common:justNow')
   }
 
   if (diff < 3_600_000) {
-    return `${Math.round(diff / 60_000)} min ago`
+    return t('common:minutesAgo', { count: Math.round(diff / 60_000) })
   }
 
   if (diff < 86_400_000) {
-    return `${Math.round(diff / 3_600_000)} hours ago`
+    return t('common:hoursAgo', { count: Math.round(diff / 3_600_000) })
   }
 
-  return `${Math.round(diff / 86_400_000)} days ago`
+  return t('common:daysAgo', { count: Math.round(diff / 86_400_000) })
 }
 
 export function AboutSettings() {
+  const { t } = useTranslation()
   const version = useStore($desktopVersion)
   const status = useStore($updateStatus)
   const apply = useStore($updateApply)
@@ -69,21 +71,21 @@ export function AboutSettings() {
   let statusTone: 'idle' | 'available' | 'error' = 'idle'
 
   if (!supported) {
-    statusLine = status?.message ?? "This build can't update itself from inside the app."
+    statusLine = status?.message ?? t('settings:about.status.unsupported')
     statusTone = 'error'
   } else if (status?.error) {
-    statusLine = "We couldn't reach the update server."
+    statusLine = t('settings:about.status.error')
     statusTone = 'error'
   } else if (applying) {
-    statusLine = 'An update is currently installing.'
+    statusLine = t('settings:about.status.applying')
     statusTone = 'available'
   } else if (behind > 0) {
-    statusLine = `A new update is ready (${behind} change${behind === 1 ? '' : 's'} included).`
+    statusLine = t('settings:about.status.behind', { count: behind })
     statusTone = 'available'
   } else if (status) {
-    statusLine = "You're on the latest version."
+    statusLine = t('settings:about.status.current')
   } else {
-    statusLine = 'Tap "Check now" to look for updates.'
+    statusLine = t('settings:about.status.prompt')
   }
 
   return (
@@ -95,13 +97,15 @@ export function AboutSettings() {
         <div>
           <h2 className="text-lg font-semibold tracking-tight">Hermes Desktop</h2>
           <p className="mt-1 text-xs text-muted-foreground">
-            {version?.appVersion ? `Version ${version.appVersion}` : 'Version unavailable'}
+            {version?.appVersion
+              ? t('settings:about.version', { version: version.appVersion })
+              : t('settings:about.versionUnavailable')}
           </p>
         </div>
       </div>
 
       <div className="mx-auto mt-4 w-full max-w-2xl">
-        <SectionHeading icon={RefreshCw} title="Updates" />
+        <SectionHeading icon={RefreshCw} title={t('settings:about.updates')} />
 
         <div
           className={cn(
@@ -120,8 +124,9 @@ export function AboutSettings() {
             <div className="min-w-0">
               <p className="font-medium">{statusLine}</p>
               <p className="mt-1 text-xs text-muted-foreground">
-                Last checked {relativeTime(status?.fetchedAt)}
-                {justChecked && !checking ? ' · just now' : ''}
+                {t(justChecked && !checking ? 'settings:about.lastCheckedJustNow' : 'settings:about.lastChecked', {
+                  time: relativeTime(status?.fetchedAt, t)
+                })}
               </p>
             </div>
           </div>
@@ -134,12 +139,12 @@ export function AboutSettings() {
               variant="outline"
             >
               {checking ? <Loader2 className="size-3 animate-spin" /> : <RefreshCw className="size-3" />}
-              {checking ? 'Checking…' : 'Check now'}
+              {checking ? t('settings:about.checking') : t('settings:about.checkNow')}
             </Button>
 
             {behind > 0 && supported && !applying && (
               <Button onClick={() => openUpdatesWindow()} size="sm">
-                See what&apos;s new
+                {t('settings:about.whatsNew')}
               </Button>
             )}
 
@@ -159,16 +164,19 @@ export function AboutSettings() {
                 target="_blank"
               >
                 <ExternalLink className="size-3" />
-                Release notes
+                {t('settings:about.releaseNotes')}
               </a>
             </Button>
           </div>
         </div>
 
         <ListRow
-          description="Hermes checks for updates automatically in the background and lets you know when one is ready."
-          hint={`Branch ${status?.branch ?? 'unknown'} · Commit ${status?.currentSha?.slice(0, 7) ?? 'unknown'}`}
-          title="Automatic updates"
+          description={t('settings:about.automaticUpdatesDescription')}
+          hint={t('settings:about.branchInfo', {
+            branch: status?.branch ?? t('common:unknown'),
+            sha: status?.currentSha?.slice(0, 7) ?? t('common:unknown')
+          })}
+          title={t('settings:about.automaticUpdates')}
         />
       </div>
     </SettingsContent>
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/appearance-settings.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/appearance-settings.tsx
index c35ec3417e56..c56fe0c097f3 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/appearance-settings.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/appearance-settings.tsx
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 import { useStore } from '@nanostores/react'
+import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next'
 
 import { triggerHaptic } from '@/lib/haptics'
+import { LANGUAGE_LABELS, SUPPORTED_LANGUAGES, type SupportedLanguage } from '@/lib/i18n'
 import { Check, Palette } from '@/lib/icons'
 import { cn } from '@/lib/utils'
 import { $toolViewMode, setToolViewMode } from '@/store/tool-view'
@@ -8,7 +10,6 @@ import { useTheme } from '@/themes/context'
 import { BUILTIN_THEMES } from '@/themes/presets'
 
 import { MODE_OPTIONS } from './constants'
-import { prettyName } from './helpers'
 import { Pill, SectionHeading, SettingsContent } from './primitives'
 
 function ThemePreview({ name }: { name: string }) {
@@ -52,33 +53,84 @@ function ThemePreview({ name }: { name: string }) {
 }
 
 export function AppearanceSettings() {
+  const { t, i18n } = useTranslation()
   const { themeName, mode, availableThemes, setTheme, setMode } = useTheme()
   const toolViewMode = useStore($toolViewMode)
   const activeTheme = availableThemes.find(t => t.name === themeName)
 
+  const currentLanguage: SupportedLanguage =
+    SUPPORTED_LANGUAGES.find(lang => lang === (i18n.resolvedLanguage ?? i18n.language)) ?? 'en'
+
   return (
     <SettingsContent>
       <div className="space-y-5">
         <div>
-          <SectionHeading icon={Palette} title="Appearance" />
+          <SectionHeading icon={Palette} title={t('settings:appearance.title')} />
           <p className="max-w-2xl text-[length:var(--conversation-caption-font-size)] leading-(--conversation-caption-line-height) text-(--ui-text-tertiary)">
-            These are desktop-only display preferences. Mode controls brightness; theme controls the accent palette and
-            chat surface styling.
+            {t('settings:appearance.description')}
           </p>
         </div>
 
         <section className="rounded-xl border border-(--ui-stroke-tertiary) bg-(--ui-chat-bubble-background) p-3 shadow-sm">
           <div className="mb-3 flex items-center justify-between gap-3">
             <div>
-              <div className="text-sm font-medium">Color Mode</div>
+              <div className="text-sm font-medium">{t('settings:appearance.language.title')}</div>
               <div className="mt-1 text-xs text-muted-foreground">
-                Pick a fixed mode or let Hermes follow your system setting.
+                {t('settings:appearance.language.description')}
               </div>
             </div>
-            <Pill>{prettyName(mode)}</Pill>
+            <Pill>{LANGUAGE_LABELS[currentLanguage]}</Pill>
           </div>
           <div className="grid gap-2 sm:grid-cols-3">
-            {MODE_OPTIONS.map(({ id, label, description, icon: Icon }) => {
+            {SUPPORTED_LANGUAGES.map(lang => {
+              const active = currentLanguage === lang
+
+              return (
+                <button
+                  className={cn(
+                    'group rounded-lg border border-(--ui-stroke-tertiary) bg-(--ui-bg-quinary) p-2.5 text-left transition hover:bg-(--chrome-action-hover)',
+                    active && 'border-(--ui-stroke-secondary) bg-(--ui-bg-tertiary)'
+                  )}
+                  key={lang}
+                  onClick={() => {
+                    triggerHaptic('crisp')
+                    void i18n.changeLanguage(lang)
+                  }}
+                  type="button"
+                >
+                  <div className="flex items-start justify-between gap-3">
+                    <div className="text-[length:var(--conversation-text-font-size)] font-medium">
+                      {LANGUAGE_LABELS[lang]}
+                    </div>
+                    {active && (
+                      <span className="grid size-5 place-items-center rounded-full bg-primary text-primary-foreground">
+                        <Check className="size-3.5" />
+                      </span>
+                    )}
+                  </div>
+                  <div className="mt-1 text-[length:var(--conversation-caption-font-size)] leading-(--conversation-caption-line-height) text-(--ui-text-tertiary)">
+                    {lang}
+                  </div>
+                </button>
+              )
+            })}
+          </div>
+        </section>
+
+        <section className="rounded-xl border border-(--ui-stroke-tertiary) bg-(--ui-chat-bubble-background) p-3 shadow-sm">
+          <div className="mb-3 flex items-center justify-between gap-3">
+            <div>
+              <div className="text-sm font-medium">{t('settings:appearance.colorMode')}</div>
+              <div className="mt-1 text-xs text-muted-foreground">
+                {t('settings:appearance.colorModeDescription')}
+              </div>
+            </div>
+            <Pill>
+              {t(`settings:appearance.mode.${mode}`)}
+            </Pill>
+          </div>
+          <div className="grid gap-2 sm:grid-cols-3">
+            {MODE_OPTIONS.map(({ id, labelKey, descriptionKey, icon: Icon }) => {
               const active = mode === id
 
               return (
@@ -104,9 +156,11 @@ export function AppearanceSettings() {
                       </span>
                     )}
                   </div>
-                  <div className="mt-2 text-[length:var(--conversation-text-font-size)] font-medium">{label}</div>
+                  <div className="mt-2 text-[length:var(--conversation-text-font-size)] font-medium">
+                    {t(labelKey)}
+                  </div>
                   <div className="mt-1 text-[length:var(--conversation-caption-font-size)] leading-(--conversation-caption-line-height) text-(--ui-text-tertiary)">
-                    {description}
+                    {t(descriptionKey)}
                   </div>
                 </button>
               )
@@ -117,25 +171,34 @@ export function AppearanceSettings() {
         <section className="rounded-xl border border-(--ui-stroke-tertiary) bg-(--ui-chat-bubble-background) p-3 shadow-sm">
           <div className="mb-3 flex items-center justify-between gap-3">
             <div>
-              <div className="text-sm font-medium">Tool Call Display</div>
+              <div className="text-sm font-medium">{t('settings:appearance.toolCallDisplay')}</div>
               <div className="mt-1 text-xs text-muted-foreground">
-                Product hides raw tool payloads; Technical shows full input/output.
+                {t('settings:appearance.toolCallDisplayDescription')}
               </div>
             </div>
-            <Pill>{toolViewMode === 'technical' ? 'Technical' : 'Product'}</Pill>
+            <Pill>
+              {t(
+                toolViewMode === 'technical'
+                  ? 'settings:appearance.toolView.technical'
+                  : 'settings:appearance.toolView.product',
+                toolViewMode === 'technical' ? 'Technical' : 'Product'
+              )}
+            </Pill>
           </div>
           <div className="grid gap-2 sm:grid-cols-2">
             {(
               [
                 {
-                  id: 'product',
-                  label: 'Product',
-                  description: 'Human-friendly tool activity with concise summaries.'
+                  id: 'product' as const,
+                  key: 'product',
+                  fallbackLabel: 'Product',
+                  fallbackDescription: 'Human-friendly tool activity with concise summaries.'
                 },
                 {
-                  id: 'technical',
-                  label: 'Technical',
-                  description: 'Include raw tool args/results and low-level details.'
+                  id: 'technical' as const,
+                  key: 'technical',
+                  fallbackLabel: 'Technical',
+                  fallbackDescription: 'Include raw tool args/results and low-level details.'
                 }
               ] as const
             ).map(option => {
@@ -155,7 +218,9 @@ export function AppearanceSettings() {
                   type="button"
                 >
                   <div className="flex items-start justify-between gap-3">
-                    <div className="text-[length:var(--conversation-text-font-size)] font-medium">{option.label}</div>
+                    <div className="text-[length:var(--conversation-text-font-size)] font-medium">
+                      {t(`settings:appearance.toolView.${option.key}`, option.fallbackLabel)}
+                    </div>
                     {active && (
                       <span className="grid size-5 place-items-center rounded-full bg-primary text-primary-foreground">
                         <Check className="size-3.5" />
@@ -163,7 +228,7 @@ export function AppearanceSettings() {
                     )}
                   </div>
                   <div className="mt-1 text-[length:var(--conversation-caption-font-size)] leading-(--conversation-caption-line-height) text-(--ui-text-tertiary)">
-                    {option.description}
+                    {t(`settings:appearance.toolView.${option.key}Description`, option.fallbackDescription)}
                   </div>
                 </button>
               )
@@ -174,10 +239,8 @@ export function AppearanceSettings() {
         <section className="rounded-xl border border-(--ui-stroke-tertiary) bg-(--ui-chat-bubble-background) p-3 shadow-sm">
           <div className="mb-3 flex items-center justify-between gap-3">
             <div>
-              <div className="text-sm font-medium">Theme</div>
-              <div className="mt-1 text-xs text-muted-foreground">
-                Desktop palettes only. The selected mode is applied on top.
-              </div>
+              <div className="text-sm font-medium">{t('settings:appearance.theme')}</div>
+              <div className="mt-1 text-xs text-muted-foreground">{t('settings:appearance.themeDescription')}</div>
             </div>
             {activeTheme && <Pill>{activeTheme.label}</Pill>}
           </div>
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/config-settings.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/config-settings.tsx
index 3969c2c09b51..97defa0f179b 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/config-settings.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/config-settings.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import type { ChangeEvent, ReactNode } from 'react'
 import { useEffect, useMemo, useRef, useState } from 'react'
+import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next'
 
 import { Input } from '@/components/ui/input'
 import { Select, SelectContent, SelectItem, SelectTrigger, SelectValue } from '@/components/ui/select'
@@ -37,9 +38,12 @@ function ConfigField({
   optionLabels?: Record<string, string>
   onChange: (value: unknown) => void
 }) {
-  const label = FIELD_LABELS[schemaKey] ?? prettyName(schemaKey.split('.').pop() ?? schemaKey)
+  const { t } = useTranslation()
+  const labelKey = FIELD_LABELS[schemaKey]
+  const label = labelKey ? t(labelKey) : prettyName(schemaKey.split('.').pop() ?? schemaKey)
   const normalize = (v: string) => v.toLowerCase().replace(/[^a-z0-9]+/g, '')
-  const rawDescription = (FIELD_DESCRIPTIONS[schemaKey] ?? schema.description ?? '').trim()
+  const descriptionKey = FIELD_DESCRIPTIONS[schemaKey]
+  const rawDescription = (descriptionKey ? t(descriptionKey) : (schema.description ?? '')).trim()
   const normalizedDesc = normalize(rawDescription)
 
   const description =
@@ -54,7 +58,7 @@ function ConfigField({
   if (schema.type === 'boolean') {
     return row(
       <div className="flex items-center justify-end gap-3">
-        <span className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">{value ? 'On' : 'Off'}</span>
+        <span className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">{value ? t('settings:config.on') : t('settings:config.off')}</span>
         <Switch checked={Boolean(value)} onCheckedChange={onChange} />
       </div>
     )
@@ -77,8 +81,8 @@ function ConfigField({
               {option
                 ? (optionLabels?.[option] ?? prettyName(option))
                 : schemaKey === 'display.personality'
-                  ? 'None'
-                  : '(none)'}
+                  ? t('common:none')
+                  : t('common:noneParens')}
             </SelectItem>
           ))}
         </SelectContent>
@@ -98,7 +102,7 @@ function ConfigField({
             onChange(n)
           }
         }}
-        placeholder="Not set"
+        placeholder={t('common:notSet')}
         type="number"
         value={value === undefined || value === null ? '' : String(value)}
       />
@@ -117,7 +121,7 @@ function ConfigField({
               .filter(Boolean)
           )
         }
-        placeholder="comma-separated values"
+        placeholder={t('settings:config.commaSeparated')}
         value={Array.isArray(value) ? value.join(', ') : String(value ?? '')}
       />
     )
@@ -134,7 +138,7 @@ function ConfigField({
             /* keep last valid */
           }
         }}
-        placeholder="Not set"
+        placeholder={t('common:notSet')}
         spellCheck={false}
         value={JSON.stringify(value, null, 2)}
       />,
@@ -149,14 +153,14 @@ function ConfigField({
       <Textarea
         className={cn('min-h-24 resize-y bg-background', CONTROL_TEXT)}
         onChange={e => onChange(e.target.value)}
-        placeholder="Not set"
+        placeholder={t('common:notSet')}
         value={String(value ?? '')}
       />
     ) : (
       <Input
         className={cn('h-8', CONTROL_TEXT)}
         onChange={e => onChange(e.target.value)}
-        placeholder="Not set"
+        placeholder={t('common:notSet')}
         value={String(value ?? '')}
       />
     ),
@@ -176,6 +180,7 @@ export function ConfigSettings({
   onMainModelChanged?: (provider: string, model: string) => void
   importInputRef: React.RefObject<HTMLInputElement | null>
 }) {
+  const { t } = useTranslation()
   const [config, setConfig] = useState<HermesConfigRecord | null>(null)
   const [_defaults, setDefaults] = useState<HermesConfigRecord | null>(null)
   const [schema, setSchema] = useState<Record<string, ConfigFieldSchema> | null>(null)
@@ -196,10 +201,10 @@ export function ConfigSettings({
         setDefaults(d)
         setSchema(s.fields)
       })
-      .catch(err => notifyError(err, 'Settings failed to load'))
+      .catch(err => notifyError(err, t('settings:config.loadFailed')))
 
     return () => void (cancelled = true)
-  }, [])
+  }, [t])
 
   useEffect(() => {
     let cancelled = false
@@ -230,7 +235,7 @@ export function ConfigSettings({
 
     const v = saveVersion
 
-    const t = window.setTimeout(() => {
+    const timeout = window.setTimeout(() => {
       void (async () => {
         try {
           await saveHermesConfig(config)
@@ -240,14 +245,14 @@ export function ConfigSettings({
           }
         } catch (err) {
           if (saveVersionRef.current === v) {
-            notifyError(err, 'Autosave failed')
+            notifyError(err, t('settings:config.autosaveFailed'))
           }
         }
       })()
     }, 550)
 
-    return () => window.clearTimeout(t)
-  }, [config, onConfigSaved, saveVersion])
+    return () => window.clearTimeout(timeout)
+  }, [config, onConfigSaved, saveVersion, t])
 
   const updateConfig = (next: HermesConfigRecord) => {
     saveVersionRef.current += 1
@@ -309,9 +314,9 @@ export function ConfigSettings({
     reader.onload = () => {
       try {
         updateConfig(JSON.parse(String(reader.result)))
-        notify({ kind: 'success', title: 'Config imported', message: 'Saving…' })
+        notify({ kind: 'success', title: t('settings:config.imported'), message: t('settings:config.importing') })
       } catch (err) {
-        notifyError(err, 'Invalid config JSON')
+        notifyError(err, t('settings:config.invalidJson'))
       }
     }
 
@@ -320,7 +325,7 @@ export function ConfigSettings({
   }
 
   if (!config || !schema) {
-    return <LoadingState label="Loading Hermes configuration..." />
+    return <LoadingState label={t('settings:config.loading')} />
   }
 
   return (
@@ -332,11 +337,14 @@ export function ConfigSettings({
       )}
       {query.trim() && (
         <div className="mb-4 text-xs text-muted-foreground">
-          {fields.length} result{fields.length === 1 ? '' : 's'}
+          {t('settings:config.results', { count: fields.length })}
         </div>
       )}
       {fields.length === 0 ? (
-        <EmptyState description="Try a different search term or choose another section." title="No matching settings" />
+        <EmptyState
+          description={t('settings:config.noMatches.description')}
+          title={t('settings:config.noMatches.title')}
+        />
       ) : (
         <div className="divide-y divide-border/40">
           {fields.map(([key, field]) => (
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/constants.ts b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/constants.ts
index 51f44dcc7b23..44c8c79e0d81 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/constants.ts
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/constants.ts
@@ -77,123 +77,123 @@ export const ENUM_OPTIONS: Record<string, string[]> = {
 }
 
 export const FIELD_LABELS: Record<string, string> = {
-  model: 'Default Model',
-  model_context_length: 'Context Window',
-  fallback_providers: 'Fallback Models',
-  toolsets: 'Enabled Toolsets',
-  timezone: 'Timezone',
-  'display.personality': 'Personality',
-  'display.show_reasoning': 'Reasoning Blocks',
-  'agent.max_turns': 'Max Agent Steps',
-  'agent.image_input_mode': 'Image Attachments',
-  'terminal.cwd': 'Working Directory',
-  'terminal.backend': 'Execution Backend',
-  'terminal.timeout': 'Command Timeout',
-  'terminal.persistent_shell': 'Persistent Shell',
-  'terminal.env_passthrough': 'Environment Passthrough',
-  file_read_max_chars: 'File Read Limit',
-  'tool_output.max_bytes': 'Terminal Output Limit',
-  'tool_output.max_lines': 'File Page Limit',
-  'tool_output.max_line_length': 'Line Length Limit',
-  'code_execution.mode': 'Code Execution Mode',
-  'approvals.mode': 'Approval Mode',
-  'approvals.timeout': 'Approval Timeout',
-  'approvals.mcp_reload_confirm': 'Confirm MCP Reloads',
-  command_allowlist: 'Command Allowlist',
-  'security.redact_secrets': 'Redact Secrets',
-  'security.allow_private_urls': 'Allow Private URLs',
-  'browser.allow_private_urls': 'Browser Private URLs',
-  'browser.auto_local_for_private_urls': 'Local Browser For Private URLs',
-  'checkpoints.enabled': 'File Checkpoints',
-  'checkpoints.max_snapshots': 'Checkpoint Limit',
-  'voice.record_key': 'Voice Shortcut',
-  'voice.max_recording_seconds': 'Max Recording Length',
-  'voice.auto_tts': 'Read Responses Aloud',
-  'stt.enabled': 'Speech To Text',
-  'stt.provider': 'Speech-To-Text Provider',
-  'stt.local.model': 'Local Transcription Model',
-  'stt.local.language': 'Transcription Language',
-  'stt.elevenlabs.model_id': 'ElevenLabs STT Model',
-  'stt.elevenlabs.language_code': 'ElevenLabs Language',
-  'stt.elevenlabs.tag_audio_events': 'Tag Audio Events',
-  'stt.elevenlabs.diarize': 'Speaker Diarization',
-  'tts.provider': 'Text-To-Speech Provider',
-  'tts.edge.voice': 'Edge Voice',
-  'tts.openai.model': 'OpenAI TTS Model',
-  'tts.openai.voice': 'OpenAI Voice',
-  'tts.elevenlabs.voice_id': 'ElevenLabs Voice',
-  'tts.elevenlabs.model_id': 'ElevenLabs Model',
-  'memory.memory_enabled': 'Persistent Memory',
-  'memory.user_profile_enabled': 'User Profile',
-  'memory.memory_char_limit': 'Memory Budget',
-  'memory.user_char_limit': 'Profile Budget',
-  'memory.provider': 'Memory Provider',
-  'context.engine': 'Context Engine',
-  'compression.enabled': 'Auto-Compression',
-  'compression.threshold': 'Compression Threshold',
-  'compression.target_ratio': 'Compression Target',
-  'compression.protect_last_n': 'Protected Recent Messages',
-  'agent.api_max_retries': 'API Retries',
-  'agent.service_tier': 'Service Tier',
-  'agent.tool_use_enforcement': 'Tool-Use Enforcement',
-  'delegation.model': 'Subagent Model',
-  'delegation.provider': 'Subagent Provider',
-  'delegation.max_iterations': 'Subagent Turn Limit',
-  'delegation.max_concurrent_children': 'Parallel Subagents',
-  'delegation.child_timeout_seconds': 'Subagent Timeout',
-  'delegation.reasoning_effort': 'Subagent Reasoning Effort'
+  model: 'settings:field.model',
+  model_context_length: 'settings:field.model_context_length',
+  fallback_providers: 'settings:field.fallback_providers',
+  toolsets: 'settings:field.toolsets',
+  timezone: 'settings:field.timezone',
+  'display.personality': 'settings:field.display.personality',
+  'display.show_reasoning': 'settings:field.display.show_reasoning',
+  'agent.max_turns': 'settings:field.agent.max_turns',
+  'agent.image_input_mode': 'settings:field.agent.image_input_mode',
+  'terminal.cwd': 'settings:field.terminal.cwd',
+  'terminal.backend': 'settings:field.terminal.backend',
+  'terminal.timeout': 'settings:field.terminal.timeout',
+  'terminal.persistent_shell': 'settings:field.terminal.persistent_shell',
+  'terminal.env_passthrough': 'settings:field.terminal.env_passthrough',
+  file_read_max_chars: 'settings:field.file_read_max_chars',
+  'tool_output.max_bytes': 'settings:field.tool_output.max_bytes',
+  'tool_output.max_lines': 'settings:field.tool_output.max_lines',
+  'tool_output.max_line_length': 'settings:field.tool_output.max_line_length',
+  'code_execution.mode': 'settings:field.code_execution.mode',
+  'approvals.mode': 'settings:field.approvals.mode',
+  'approvals.timeout': 'settings:field.approvals.timeout',
+  'approvals.mcp_reload_confirm': 'settings:field.approvals.mcp_reload_confirm',
+  command_allowlist: 'settings:field.command_allowlist',
+  'security.redact_secrets': 'settings:field.security.redact_secrets',
+  'security.allow_private_urls': 'settings:field.security.allow_private_urls',
+  'browser.allow_private_urls': 'settings:field.browser.allow_private_urls',
+  'browser.auto_local_for_private_urls': 'settings:field.browser.auto_local_for_private_urls',
+  'checkpoints.enabled': 'settings:field.checkpoints.enabled',
+  'checkpoints.max_snapshots': 'settings:field.checkpoints.max_snapshots',
+  'voice.record_key': 'settings:field.voice.record_key',
+  'voice.max_recording_seconds': 'settings:field.voice.max_recording_seconds',
+  'voice.auto_tts': 'settings:field.voice.auto_tts',
+  'stt.enabled': 'settings:field.stt.enabled',
+  'stt.provider': 'settings:field.stt.provider',
+  'stt.local.model': 'settings:field.stt.local.model',
+  'stt.local.language': 'settings:field.stt.local.language',
+  'stt.elevenlabs.model_id': 'settings:field.stt.elevenlabs.model_id',
+  'stt.elevenlabs.language_code': 'settings:field.stt.elevenlabs.language_code',
+  'stt.elevenlabs.tag_audio_events': 'settings:field.stt.elevenlabs.tag_audio_events',
+  'stt.elevenlabs.diarize': 'settings:field.stt.elevenlabs.diarize',
+  'tts.provider': 'settings:field.tts.provider',
+  'tts.edge.voice': 'settings:field.tts.edge.voice',
+  'tts.openai.model': 'settings:field.tts.openai.model',
+  'tts.openai.voice': 'settings:field.tts.openai.voice',
+  'tts.elevenlabs.voice_id': 'settings:field.tts.elevenlabs.voice_id',
+  'tts.elevenlabs.model_id': 'settings:field.tts.elevenlabs.model_id',
+  'memory.memory_enabled': 'settings:field.memory.memory_enabled',
+  'memory.user_profile_enabled': 'settings:field.memory.user_profile_enabled',
+  'memory.memory_char_limit': 'settings:field.memory.memory_char_limit',
+  'memory.user_char_limit': 'settings:field.memory.user_char_limit',
+  'memory.provider': 'settings:field.memory.provider',
+  'context.engine': 'settings:field.context.engine',
+  'compression.enabled': 'settings:field.compression.enabled',
+  'compression.threshold': 'settings:field.compression.threshold',
+  'compression.target_ratio': 'settings:field.compression.target_ratio',
+  'compression.protect_last_n': 'settings:field.compression.protect_last_n',
+  'agent.api_max_retries': 'settings:field.agent.api_max_retries',
+  'agent.service_tier': 'settings:field.agent.service_tier',
+  'agent.tool_use_enforcement': 'settings:field.agent.tool_use_enforcement',
+  'delegation.model': 'settings:field.delegation.model',
+  'delegation.provider': 'settings:field.delegation.provider',
+  'delegation.max_iterations': 'settings:field.delegation.max_iterations',
+  'delegation.max_concurrent_children': 'settings:field.delegation.max_concurrent_children',
+  'delegation.child_timeout_seconds': 'settings:field.delegation.child_timeout_seconds',
+  'delegation.reasoning_effort': 'settings:field.delegation.reasoning_effort'
 }
 
 export const FIELD_DESCRIPTIONS: Record<string, string> = {
-  model: 'Used for new chats unless you pick a different model in the composer.',
-  model_context_length: "Leave at 0 to use the selected model's detected context window.",
-  fallback_providers: 'Backup provider:model entries to try if the default model fails.',
-  'display.personality': 'Default assistant style for new sessions.',
-  timezone: 'Used when Hermes needs local time context. Blank uses the system timezone.',
-  'display.show_reasoning': 'Show reasoning sections when the backend provides them.',
-  'agent.image_input_mode': 'Controls how image attachments are sent to the model.',
-  'terminal.cwd': 'Default project folder for tool and terminal work.',
-  'code_execution.mode': 'How strictly code execution is scoped to the current project.',
-  'terminal.persistent_shell': 'Keep shell state between commands when the backend supports it.',
-  'terminal.env_passthrough': 'Environment variables to pass into tool execution.',
-  file_read_max_chars: 'Maximum characters Hermes can read from one file request.',
-  'approvals.mode': 'How Hermes handles commands that need explicit approval.',
-  'approvals.timeout': 'How long approval prompts wait before timing out.',
-  'security.redact_secrets': 'Hide detected secrets from model-visible content when possible.',
-  'checkpoints.enabled': 'Create rollback snapshots before file edits.',
-  'memory.memory_enabled': 'Save durable memories that can help future sessions.',
-  'memory.user_profile_enabled': 'Maintain a compact profile of user preferences.',
-  'context.engine': 'Strategy for managing long conversations near the context limit.',
-  'compression.enabled': 'Summarize older context when conversations get large.',
-  'voice.auto_tts': 'Automatically speak assistant responses.',
-  'stt.enabled': 'Enable local or provider-backed speech transcription.',
-  'stt.elevenlabs.language_code': 'Optional ISO-639-3 language code. Blank lets ElevenLabs auto-detect.',
-  'agent.max_turns': 'Upper bound for tool-calling turns before Hermes stops a run.'
+  model: 'settings:fieldDesc.model',
+  model_context_length: 'settings:fieldDesc.model_context_length',
+  fallback_providers: 'settings:fieldDesc.fallback_providers',
+  'display.personality': 'settings:fieldDesc.display.personality',
+  timezone: 'settings:fieldDesc.timezone',
+  'display.show_reasoning': 'settings:fieldDesc.display.show_reasoning',
+  'agent.image_input_mode': 'settings:fieldDesc.agent.image_input_mode',
+  'terminal.cwd': 'settings:fieldDesc.terminal.cwd',
+  'code_execution.mode': 'settings:fieldDesc.code_execution.mode',
+  'terminal.persistent_shell': 'settings:fieldDesc.terminal.persistent_shell',
+  'terminal.env_passthrough': 'settings:fieldDesc.terminal.env_passthrough',
+  file_read_max_chars: 'settings:fieldDesc.file_read_max_chars',
+  'approvals.mode': 'settings:fieldDesc.approvals.mode',
+  'approvals.timeout': 'settings:fieldDesc.approvals.timeout',
+  'security.redact_secrets': 'settings:fieldDesc.security.redact_secrets',
+  'checkpoints.enabled': 'settings:fieldDesc.checkpoints.enabled',
+  'memory.memory_enabled': 'settings:fieldDesc.memory.memory_enabled',
+  'memory.user_profile_enabled': 'settings:fieldDesc.memory.user_profile_enabled',
+  'context.engine': 'settings:fieldDesc.context.engine',
+  'compression.enabled': 'settings:fieldDesc.compression.enabled',
+  'voice.auto_tts': 'settings:fieldDesc.voice.auto_tts',
+  'stt.enabled': 'settings:fieldDesc.stt.enabled',
+  'stt.elevenlabs.language_code': 'settings:fieldDesc.stt.elevenlabs.language_code',
+  'agent.max_turns': 'settings:fieldDesc.agent.max_turns'
 }
 
 // Curated desktop config surface: only fields a user might tune from the app.
 export const SECTIONS: DesktopConfigSection[] = [
   {
     id: 'model',
-    label: 'Model',
+    label: 'settings:section.model',
     icon: Sparkles,
     keys: ['model_context_length', 'fallback_providers']
   },
   {
     id: 'chat',
-    label: 'Chat',
+    label: 'settings:section.chat',
     icon: MessageCircle,
     keys: ['display.personality', 'timezone', 'display.show_reasoning', 'agent.image_input_mode']
   },
   {
     id: 'appearance',
-    label: 'Appearance',
+    label: 'settings:section.appearance',
     icon: Palette,
     keys: []
   },
   {
     id: 'workspace',
-    label: 'Workspace',
+    label: 'settings:section.workspace',
     icon: Monitor,
     keys: [
       'terminal.cwd',
@@ -205,7 +205,7 @@ export const SECTIONS: DesktopConfigSection[] = [
   },
   {
     id: 'safety',
-    label: 'Safety',
+    label: 'settings:section.safety',
     icon: Lock,
     keys: [
       'approvals.mode',
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ export const SECTIONS: DesktopConfigSection[] = [
   },
   {
     id: 'memory',
-    label: 'Memory & Context',
+    label: 'settings:section.memory',
     icon: Brain,
     keys: [
       'memory.memory_enabled',
@@ -238,7 +238,7 @@ export const SECTIONS: DesktopConfigSection[] = [
   },
   {
     id: 'voice',
-    label: 'Voice',
+    label: 'settings:section.voice',
     icon: Mic,
     keys: [
       'tts.provider',
@@ -262,7 +262,7 @@ export const SECTIONS: DesktopConfigSection[] = [
   },
   {
     id: 'advanced',
-    label: 'Advanced',
+    label: 'settings:section.advanced',
     icon: Wrench,
     keys: [
       'toolsets',
@@ -288,22 +288,39 @@ export const SECTIONS: DesktopConfigSection[] = [
 
 export interface ModeOption {
   id: ThemeMode
-  label: string
-  description: string
+  /** i18n key under the `settings` namespace. */
+  labelKey: string
+  /** i18n key under the `settings` namespace. */
+  descriptionKey: string
   icon: IconComponent
 }
 
 export const MODE_OPTIONS: ModeOption[] = [
-  { id: 'light', label: 'Light', description: 'Bright desktop surfaces', icon: Sun },
-  { id: 'dark', label: 'Dark', description: 'Low-glare workspace', icon: Moon },
-  { id: 'system', label: 'System', description: 'Follow OS appearance', icon: Monitor }
+  {
+    id: 'light',
+    labelKey: 'settings:appearance.mode.light',
+    descriptionKey: 'settings:appearance.mode.lightDescription',
+    icon: Sun
+  },
+  {
+    id: 'dark',
+    labelKey: 'settings:appearance.mode.dark',
+    descriptionKey: 'settings:appearance.mode.darkDescription',
+    icon: Moon
+  },
+  {
+    id: 'system',
+    labelKey: 'settings:appearance.mode.system',
+    descriptionKey: 'settings:appearance.mode.systemDescription',
+    icon: Monitor
+  }
 ]
 
-export const SEARCH_PLACEHOLDER: Record<'about' | 'config' | 'gateway' | 'keys' | 'mcp' | 'sessions', string> = {
-  about: 'About Hermes Desktop',
-  config: 'Search settings...',
-  gateway: 'Gateway connection...',
-  keys: 'Search API keys...',
-  mcp: 'Search MCP servers...',
-  sessions: 'Search archived sessions...'
+export const SEARCH_PLACEHOLDER: Record<'about' | 'config' | 'gateway' | 'keys' | 'mcp' | 'sessions' | 'tools',string> = {
+  about: 'settings:search.about',
+  config: 'settings:search.placeholder',
+  gateway: 'settings:search.gateway',
+  keys: 'settings:search.keys',
+  mcp: 'settings:search.mcp',
+  sessions: 'settings:search.sessions'
 }
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/gateway-settings.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/gateway-settings.tsx
index 81649a1621fb..2e0985d12be1 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/gateway-settings.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/gateway-settings.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { useEffect, useMemo, useState } from 'react'
+import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next'
 
 import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button'
 import { Input } from '@/components/ui/input'
@@ -68,6 +69,7 @@ function ModeCard({
 }
 
 export function GatewaySettings() {
+  const { t } = useTranslation()
   const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true)
   const [saving, setSaving] = useState(false)
   const [testing, setTesting] = useState(false)
@@ -94,7 +96,7 @@ export function GatewaySettings() {
 
         setState(config)
       })
-      .catch(err => notifyError(err, 'Gateway settings failed to load'))
+      .catch(err => notifyError(err, t('settings:gateway.loadFailed')))
       .finally(() => {
         if (!cancelled) {
           setLoading(false)
@@ -102,7 +104,7 @@ export function GatewaySettings() {
       })
 
     return () => void (cancelled = true)
-  }, [])
+  }, [t])
 
   const canUseRemote = useMemo(
     () => Boolean(state.remoteUrl.trim()) && (Boolean(remoteToken.trim()) || state.remoteTokenSet),
@@ -119,8 +121,8 @@ export function GatewaySettings() {
     if (state.mode === 'remote' && !canUseRemote) {
       notify({
         kind: 'warning',
-        title: 'Remote gateway incomplete',
-        message: 'Enter a remote URL and session token before switching to remote.'
+        title: t('settings:gateway.incomplete.title'),
+        message: t('settings:gateway.incomplete.connect')
       })
 
       return
@@ -137,11 +139,11 @@ export function GatewaySettings() {
       setRemoteToken('')
       notify({
         kind: 'success',
-        title: apply ? 'Gateway connection restarting' : 'Gateway settings saved',
-        message: apply ? 'Hermes Desktop will reconnect using the saved settings.' : 'Saved for the next restart.'
+        title: apply ? t('settings:gateway.restarting.title') : t('settings:gateway.saved.title'),
+        message: apply ? t('settings:gateway.restarting.message') : t('settings:gateway.saved.message')
       })
     } catch (err) {
-      notifyError(err, apply ? 'Could not apply gateway settings' : 'Could not save gateway settings')
+      notifyError(err, apply ? t('settings:gateway.applyFailed') : t('settings:gateway.saveFailed'))
     } finally {
       setSaving(false)
     }
@@ -151,8 +153,8 @@ export function GatewaySettings() {
     if (!canUseRemote) {
       notify({
         kind: 'warning',
-        title: 'Remote gateway incomplete',
-        message: 'Enter a remote URL and session token before testing.'
+        title: t('settings:gateway.incomplete.title'),
+        message: t('settings:gateway.incomplete.test')
       })
 
       return
@@ -168,25 +170,28 @@ export function GatewaySettings() {
         remoteUrl: state.remoteUrl.trim()
       })
 
-      const message = `Connected to ${result.baseUrl}${result.version ? ` · Hermes ${result.version}` : ''}`
+      const message = result.version
+        ? t('settings:gateway.testSuccess.version', { url: result.baseUrl, version: result.version })
+        : t('settings:gateway.testSuccess.connected', { url: result.baseUrl })
+
       setLastTest(message)
-      notify({ kind: 'success', title: 'Remote gateway reachable', message })
+      notify({ kind: 'success', title: t('settings:gateway.testSuccess.title'), message })
     } catch (err) {
-      notifyError(err, 'Remote gateway test failed')
+      notifyError(err, t('settings:gateway.testFailed'))
     } finally {
       setTesting(false)
     }
   }
 
   if (loading) {
-    return <LoadingState label="Loading gateway settings..." />
+    return <LoadingState label={t('settings:gateway.loading')} />
   }
 
   if (!window.hermesDesktop?.getConnectionConfig) {
     return (
       <EmptyState
-        description="The desktop IPC bridge does not expose gateway settings."
-        title="Gateway settings unavailable"
+        description={t('settings:gateway.unavailable.description')}
+        title={t('settings:gateway.unavailable.title')}
       />
     )
   }
@@ -196,12 +201,11 @@ export function GatewaySettings() {
       <div className="mb-5">
         <div className="flex items-center gap-2 text-[length:var(--conversation-text-font-size)] font-medium">
           <Globe className="size-4 text-muted-foreground" />
-          Gateway Connection
-          {state.envOverride ? <Pill tone="primary">env override</Pill> : null}
+          {t('settings:gateway.title')}
+          {state.envOverride ? <Pill tone="primary">{t('settings:gateway.envOverride')}</Pill> : null}
         </div>
         <p className="mt-2 max-w-2xl text-[length:var(--conversation-caption-font-size)] leading-(--conversation-caption-line-height) text-(--ui-text-tertiary)">
-          Hermes Desktop starts its own local gateway by default. Use a remote gateway when you want this app to control
-          an already-running Hermes backend on another machine or behind a trusted proxy.
+          {t('settings:gateway.description')}
         </p>
       </div>
 
@@ -209,11 +213,8 @@ export function GatewaySettings() {
         <div className="mb-5 flex items-start gap-2 rounded-xl border border-destructive/30 bg-destructive/10 px-3 py-2.5 text-[length:var(--conversation-caption-font-size)] text-destructive">
           <AlertCircle className="mt-0.5 size-4 shrink-0" />
           <div>
-            <div className="font-medium">Environment variables are controlling this desktop session.</div>
-            <div className="mt-1 leading-5">
-              Unset <code>HERMES_DESKTOP_REMOTE_URL</code> and <code>HERMES_DESKTOP_REMOTE_TOKEN</code> to use the saved
-              setting below.
-            </div>
+            <div className="font-medium">{t('settings:gateway.envOverrideWarning.title')}</div>
+            <div className="mt-1 leading-5">{t('settings:gateway.envOverrideWarning.description')}</div>
           </div>
         </div>
       ) : null}
@@ -221,19 +222,19 @@ export function GatewaySettings() {
       <div className="grid gap-3 sm:grid-cols-2">
         <ModeCard
           active={state.mode === 'local'}
-          description="Start a private Hermes backend on localhost. This is the default and works offline."
+          description={t('settings:gateway.localMode.description')}
           disabled={state.envOverride}
           icon={Monitor}
           onSelect={() => setState(current => ({ ...current, mode: 'local' }))}
-          title="Local gateway"
+          title={t('settings:gateway.localMode.title')}
         />
         <ModeCard
           active={state.mode === 'remote'}
-          description="Connect this desktop shell to a remote Hermes backend using its session token."
+          description={t('settings:gateway.remoteMode.description')}
           disabled={state.envOverride}
           icon={Globe}
           onSelect={() => setState(current => ({ ...current, mode: 'remote' }))}
-          title="Remote gateway"
+          title={t('settings:gateway.remoteMode.title')}
         />
       </div>
 
@@ -244,12 +245,12 @@ export function GatewaySettings() {
               className={cn('h-8', CONTROL_TEXT)}
               disabled={state.envOverride}
               onChange={event => setState(current => ({ ...current, remoteUrl: event.target.value }))}
-              placeholder="https://gateway.example.com/hermes"
+              placeholder={t('settings:gateway.remoteUrl.placeholder')}
               value={state.remoteUrl}
             />
           }
-          description="Base URL for the remote dashboard backend. Path prefixes are supported, for example /hermes."
-          title="Remote URL"
+          description={t('settings:gateway.remoteUrl.description')}
+          title={t('settings:gateway.remoteUrl')}
         />
         <ListRow
           action={
@@ -259,14 +260,18 @@ export function GatewaySettings() {
               disabled={state.envOverride}
               onChange={event => setRemoteToken(event.target.value)}
               placeholder={
-                state.remoteTokenSet ? `Existing token ${state.remoteTokenPreview ?? 'saved'}` : 'Paste session token'
+                state.remoteTokenSet
+                  ? t('settings:gateway.sessionToken.existing', {
+                      preview: state.remoteTokenPreview ?? t('common:saved')
+                    })
+                  : t('settings:gateway.sessionToken.placeholder')
               }
               type="password"
               value={remoteToken}
             />
           }
-          description="The dashboard session token used for REST and WebSocket access. Leave blank to keep the saved token."
-          title="Session token"
+          description={t('settings:gateway.sessionToken.description')}
+          title={t('settings:gateway.sessionToken')}
         />
       </div>
 
@@ -279,14 +284,14 @@ export function GatewaySettings() {
           variant="outline"
         >
           {testing ? <Loader2 className="size-4 animate-spin" /> : null}
-          Test remote
+          {t('settings:gateway.testRemote')}
         </Button>
         <Button disabled={state.envOverride || saving} onClick={() => void save(false)} variant="outline">
-          Save for next restart
+          {t('settings:gateway.saveForRestart')}
         </Button>
         <Button disabled={state.envOverride || saving} onClick={() => void save(true)}>
           {saving ? <Loader2 className="size-4 animate-spin" /> : null}
-          Save and reconnect
+          {t('settings:gateway.saveAndReconnect')}
         </Button>
       </div>
 
@@ -295,11 +300,11 @@ export function GatewaySettings() {
           action={
             <Button onClick={() => void window.hermesDesktop?.revealLogs()} variant="outline">
               <FileText className="size-4" />
-              Open logs
+              {t('settings:gateway.openLogs')}
             </Button>
           }
-          description="Reveal desktop.log in your file manager — useful when the gateway fails to start."
-          title="Diagnostics"
+          description={t('settings:gateway.logsDescription')}
+          title={t('settings:gateway.diagnostics')}
         />
       </div>
     </SettingsContent>
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/index.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/index.tsx
index 9aa590c873c1..f450da38e758 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/index.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/index.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { IconDownload, IconRefresh, IconUpload } from '@tabler/icons-react'
 import { useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react'
+import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next'
 
 import { getHermesConfigDefaults, getHermesConfigRecord, saveHermesConfig } from '@/hermes'
 import { triggerHaptic } from '@/lib/haptics'
@@ -32,6 +33,7 @@ const SETTINGS_VIEWS: readonly SettingsViewId[] = [
 ]
 
 export function SettingsView({ gateway, onClose, onConfigSaved, onMainModelChanged }: SettingsPageProps) {
+  const { t } = useTranslation()
   const [activeView, setActiveView] = useRouteEnumParam('tab', SETTINGS_VIEWS, 'config:model' as SettingsViewId)
 
   const [queries, setQueries] = useState<Record<SettingsQueryKey, string>>({
@@ -62,12 +64,12 @@ export function SettingsView({ gateway, onClose, onConfigSaved, onMainModelChang
       URL.revokeObjectURL(url)
       triggerHaptic('success')
     } catch (err) {
-      notifyError(err, 'Export failed')
+      notifyError(err, t('settings:exportFailed'))
     }
   }
 
   const resetConfig = async () => {
-    if (!window.confirm('Reset all settings to Hermes defaults?')) {
+    if (!window.confirm(t('settings:resetConfirm'))) {
       return
     }
 
@@ -76,7 +78,7 @@ export function SettingsView({ gateway, onClose, onConfigSaved, onMainModelChang
       triggerHaptic('success')
       onConfigSaved?.()
     } catch (err) {
-      notifyError(err, 'Reset failed')
+      notifyError(err, t('settings:resetFailed'))
     }
   }
 
@@ -97,13 +99,13 @@ export function SettingsView({ gateway, onClose, onConfigSaved, onMainModelChang
 
   return (
     <OverlayView
-      closeLabel="Close settings"
+      closeLabel={t('settings:close')}
       headerContent={
         <OverlaySearchInput
           containerClassName="w-[min(36rem,calc(100vw-32rem))] min-w-80"
           inputRef={searchInputRef}
           onChange={setQuery}
-          placeholder={SEARCH_PLACEHOLDER[queryKey]}
+          placeholder={t(SEARCH_PLACEHOLDER[queryKey])}
           value={query}
         />
       }
@@ -119,7 +121,7 @@ export function SettingsView({ gateway, onClose, onConfigSaved, onMainModelChang
                 active={activeView === view && !queries.config.trim()}
                 icon={s.icon}
                 key={s.id}
-                label={s.label}
+                label={t(s.label)}
                 onClick={() => setActiveView(view)}
               />
             )
@@ -128,36 +130,36 @@ export function SettingsView({ gateway, onClose, onConfigSaved, onMainModelChang
           <OverlayNavItem
             active={activeView === 'gateway'}
             icon={Globe}
-            label="Gateway"
+            label={t('settings:nav.gateway')}
             onClick={() => setActiveView('gateway')}
           />
           <OverlayNavItem
             active={activeView === 'keys'}
             icon={KeyRound}
-            label="API Keys"
+            label={t('settings:nav.keys')}
             onClick={() => setActiveView('keys')}
           />
           <OverlayNavItem
             active={activeView === 'mcp'}
             icon={Wrench}
-            label="MCP"
+            label={t('settings:nav.mcp')}
             onClick={() => setActiveView('mcp')}
           />
           <OverlayNavItem
             active={activeView === 'sessions'}
             icon={Archive}
-            label="Archived Chats"
+            label={t('settings:nav.sessions')}
             onClick={() => setActiveView('sessions')}
           />
           <div className="my-2 h-px bg-border/30" />
           <OverlayNavItem
             active={activeView === 'about'}
             icon={Info}
-            label="About"
+            label={t('settings:nav.about')}
             onClick={() => setActiveView('about')}
           />
           <div className="mt-auto flex items-center gap-1 pt-2">
-            <OverlayIconButton onClick={() => void exportConfig()} title="Export config">
+            <OverlayIconButton onClick={() => void exportConfig()} title={t('settings:exportConfig')}>
               <IconDownload className="size-3.5" />
             </OverlayIconButton>
             <OverlayIconButton
@@ -165,7 +167,7 @@ export function SettingsView({ gateway, onClose, onConfigSaved, onMainModelChang
                 triggerHaptic('open')
                 importInputRef.current?.click()
               }}
-              title="Import config"
+              title={t('settings:importConfig')}
             >
               <IconUpload className="size-3.5" />
             </OverlayIconButton>
@@ -175,7 +177,7 @@ export function SettingsView({ gateway, onClose, onConfigSaved, onMainModelChang
                 triggerHaptic('warning')
                 void resetConfig()
               }}
-              title="Reset to defaults"
+              title={t('settings:resetToDefaults')}
             >
               <IconRefresh className="size-3.5" />
             </OverlayIconButton>
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/keys-settings.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/keys-settings.tsx
index 0b778b12e1dd..ce52b76b0a81 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/keys-settings.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/keys-settings.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useState } from 'react'
+import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next'
 
 import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button'
 import { Codicon } from '@/components/ui/codicon'
@@ -43,12 +44,14 @@ function EnvActions({
   isRevealed,
   showReveal = true
 }: EnvActionsProps) {
+  const { t } = useTranslation()
+
   return (
     <div className="flex shrink-0 items-center gap-1.5">
       {info.url && (
-        <Button asChild size="xs" title="Open provider docs" variant="ghost">
+        <Button asChild size="xs" title={t('settings:keys.openDocs')} variant="ghost">
           <a href={info.url} rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">
-            Docs
+            {t('settings:keys.docs')}
           </a>
         </Button>
       )}
@@ -56,21 +59,21 @@ function EnvActions({
         <Button
           onClick={() => onReveal(varKey)}
           size="icon-xs"
-          title={isRevealed ? 'Hide value' : 'Reveal value'}
+          title={isRevealed ? t('settings:keys.hideValue') : t('settings:keys.revealValue')}
           variant="ghost"
         >
           {isRevealed ? <EyeOff /> : <Eye />}
         </Button>
       )}
       <Button onClick={onEdit} size="xs" variant="outline">
-        {info.is_set ? 'Replace' : 'Set'}
+        {info.is_set ? t('common:replace') : t('common:set')}
       </Button>
       {info.is_set && (
         <Button
           disabled={saving === varKey}
           onClick={() => onClear(varKey)}
           size="icon-xs"
-          title="Clear value"
+          title={t('settings:keys.clearValue')}
           variant="ghost"
         >
           <Trash2 />
@@ -92,6 +95,7 @@ function EnvVarRow({
   onReveal,
   compact = false
 }: EnvRowProps) {
+  const { t } = useTranslation()
   const isEditing = edits[varKey] !== undefined
   const isRevealed = revealed[varKey] !== undefined
   const value = isRevealed ? revealed[varKey] : info.redacted_value
@@ -126,7 +130,7 @@ function EnvVarRow({
             <span className="font-mono text-xs font-medium">{varKey}</span>
             <Pill tone={info.is_set ? 'primary' : 'muted'}>
               {info.is_set && <Check className="size-3" />}
-              {info.is_set ? 'Set' : 'Not set'}
+              {info.is_set ? t('settings:keys.isSet') : t('settings:keys.notSet')}
             </Pill>
           </div>
           <p className="mt-1 text-xs leading-5 text-muted-foreground">{info.description}</p>
@@ -149,7 +153,7 @@ function EnvVarRow({
             isRevealed ? 'bg-background text-foreground' : 'bg-muted/30 text-muted-foreground'
           )}
         >
-          {value || '---'}
+          {value || t('settings:keys.emptyValue')}
         </div>
       )}
 
@@ -159,17 +163,17 @@ function EnvVarRow({
             autoFocus
             className={cn('min-w-56 flex-1 font-mono', CONTROL_TEXT)}
             onChange={e => setEdits(c => ({ ...c, [varKey]: e.target.value }))}
-            placeholder={info.is_set ? 'Replace current value' : 'Enter value'}
+            placeholder={info.is_set ? t('settings:keys.replaceValue') : t('settings:keys.enterValue')}
             type={info.is_password ? 'password' : 'text'}
             value={edits[varKey]}
           />
           <Button disabled={saving === varKey || !edits[varKey]} onClick={() => onSave(varKey)} size="sm">
             <Save />
-            {saving === varKey ? 'Saving' : 'Save'}
+            {saving === varKey ? t('settings:keys.saving') : t('settings:keys.save')}
           </Button>
           <Button onClick={() => setEdits(c => withoutKey(c, varKey))} size="sm" variant="outline">
             <Codicon name="close" />
-            Cancel
+            {t('settings:keys.cancel')}
           </Button>
         </div>
       )}
@@ -184,6 +188,7 @@ function EnvProviderGroup({
   group: ProviderGroup
   rowProps: Omit<EnvRowProps, 'varKey' | 'info'>
 }) {
+  const { t } = useTranslation()
   const setCount = group.entries.filter(([, info]) => info.is_set).length
   // Default-expand providers that already have at least one key set; the
   // user is much more likely to be coming back to edit those than to start
@@ -200,11 +205,11 @@ function EnvProviderGroup({
         <span className="flex min-w-0 items-center gap-2">
           <Zap className="size-4 shrink-0 text-muted-foreground" />
           <span className="truncate text-sm font-medium">
-            {group.name === 'Other' ? 'Other providers' : group.name}
+            {group.name === 'Other' ? t('settings:keys.otherProviders') : group.name}
           </span>
-          {setCount > 0 && <Pill tone="primary">{setCount} set</Pill>}
+          {setCount > 0 && <Pill tone="primary">{t('settings:keys.setCount', { count: setCount })}</Pill>}
         </span>
-        <span className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">{group.entries.length} keys</span>
+        <span className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">{t('settings:keys.keysCount', { count: group.entries.length })}</span>
       </button>
       {expanded && (
         <div className="grid gap-2 bg-muted/20 p-3">
@@ -218,6 +223,7 @@ function EnvProviderGroup({
 }
 
 export function KeysSettings({ query }: SearchProps) {
+  const { t } = useTranslation()
   const [vars, setVars] = useState<Record<string, EnvVarInfo> | null>(null)
   const [edits, setEdits] = useState<Record<string, string>>({})
   const [revealed, setRevealed] = useState<Record<string, string>>({})
@@ -246,12 +252,12 @@ export function KeysSettings({ query }: SearchProps) {
           setVars(next)
         }
       } catch (err) {
-        notifyError(err, 'API keys failed to load')
+        notifyError(err, t('settings:keys.loadFailed'))
       }
     })()
 
     return () => void (cancelled = true)
-  }, [])
+  }, [t])
 
   const filterEnv = useCallback((info: EnvVarInfo, key: string, q: string, cat: string, extra?: string) => {
     if (asText(info.category) !== cat) {
@@ -303,9 +309,9 @@ export function KeysSettings({ query }: SearchProps) {
     const q = query.trim().toLowerCase()
 
     const labels: Record<string, string> = {
-      tool: 'Tools',
-      messaging: 'Messaging',
-      setting: 'Settings'
+      tool: t('settings:keys.categories.tools'),
+      messaging: t('settings:keys.categories.messaging'),
+      setting: t('settings:keys.categories.settings')
     }
 
     return ['tool', 'messaging', 'setting'].flatMap(cat => {
@@ -315,7 +321,7 @@ export function KeysSettings({ query }: SearchProps) {
 
       return entries.length === 0 ? [] : [{ category: cat, label: labels[cat] ?? prettyName(cat), entries }]
     })
-  }, [filterEnv, query, vars])
+  }, [filterEnv, query, t, vars])
 
   function patchVar(key: string, patch: EnvPatch) {
     setVars(c => (c ? { ...c, [key]: { ...c[key], ...patch } } : c))
@@ -339,16 +345,16 @@ export function KeysSettings({ query }: SearchProps) {
       await setEnvVar(key, value)
       patchVar(key, { is_set: true, redacted_value: redactedValue(value) })
       clearLocalState(key)
-      notify({ kind: 'success', title: 'Credential saved', message: `${key} updated.` })
+      notify({ kind: 'success', title: t('settings:keys.saved.title'), message: t('settings:keys.saved.message', { key }) })
     } catch (err) {
-      notifyError(err, `Failed to save ${key}`)
+      notifyError(err, t('settings:keys.saveFailed', { key }))
     } finally {
       setSaving(null)
     }
   }
 
   async function handleClear(key: string) {
-    if (!window.confirm(`Remove ${key} from .env?`)) {
+    if (!window.confirm(t('settings:keys.removeConfirm', { key }))) {
       return
     }
 
@@ -358,9 +364,9 @@ export function KeysSettings({ query }: SearchProps) {
       await deleteEnvVar(key)
       patchVar(key, { is_set: false, redacted_value: null })
       clearLocalState(key)
-      notify({ kind: 'success', title: 'Credential removed', message: `${key} removed.` })
+      notify({ kind: 'success', title: t('settings:keys.removed.title'), message: t('settings:keys.removed.message', { key }) })
     } catch (err) {
-      notifyError(err, `Failed to remove ${key}`)
+      notifyError(err, t('settings:keys.removeFailed', { key }))
     } finally {
       setSaving(null)
     }
@@ -377,12 +383,12 @@ export function KeysSettings({ query }: SearchProps) {
       const result = await revealEnvVar(key)
       setRevealed(c => ({ ...c, [key]: result.value }))
     } catch (err) {
-      notifyError(err, `Failed to reveal ${key}`)
+      notifyError(err, t('settings:keys.revealFailed', { key }))
     }
   }
 
   if (!vars) {
-    return <LoadingState label="Loading API keys and credentials..." />
+    return <LoadingState label={t('settings:keys.loading')} />
   }
 
   const rowProps = {
@@ -402,8 +408,8 @@ export function KeysSettings({ query }: SearchProps) {
       <div className="mb-6">
         <SectionHeading
           icon={Zap}
-          meta={`${configuredCount} of ${providerGroups.length} configured`}
-          title="LLM providers"
+          meta={t('settings:keys.configured', { configured: configuredCount, total: providerGroups.length })}
+          title={t('settings:keys.llmProviders')}
         />
         <div className="grid gap-2">
           {providerGroups.map(group => (
@@ -412,20 +418,24 @@ export function KeysSettings({ query }: SearchProps) {
         </div>
       </div>
 
-      {otherGroups.map(group => (
-        <div className="mb-6" key={group.category}>
-          <SectionHeading
-            icon={Settings2}
-            meta={`${group.entries.filter(([, i]) => i.is_set).length} of ${group.entries.length} set`}
-            title={group.label}
-          />
-          <div className="grid gap-2">
-            {group.entries.map(([key, info]) => (
-              <EnvVarRow info={info} key={key} varKey={key} {...rowProps} />
-            ))}
+      {otherGroups.map(group => {
+        const setCount = group.entries.filter(([, i]) => i.is_set).length
+
+        return (
+          <div className="mb-6" key={group.category}>
+            <SectionHeading
+              icon={Settings2}
+              meta={t('settings:keys.setStatus', { set: setCount, total: group.entries.length })}
+              title={group.label}
+            />
+            <div className="grid gap-2">
+              {group.entries.map(([key, info]) => (
+                <EnvVarRow info={info} key={key} varKey={key} {...rowProps} />
+              ))}
+            </div>
           </div>
-        </div>
-      ))}
+        )
+      })}
     </SettingsContent>
   )
 }
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/mcp-settings.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/mcp-settings.tsx
index 794ea3c46950..2676668e24d1 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/mcp-settings.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/mcp-settings.tsx
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 import { useStore } from '@nanostores/react'
 import { useEffect, useMemo, useState } from 'react'
+import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next'
 
 import { OverlayActionButton, OverlayCard } from '@/app/overlays/overlay-chrome'
 import { Input } from '@/components/ui/input'
@@ -33,14 +34,21 @@ function getServers(config: HermesConfigRecord | null): McpServers {
   return raw && typeof raw === 'object' && !Array.isArray(raw) ? (raw as McpServers) : {}
 }
 
-const transportLabel = (server: Record<string, unknown>) =>
-  typeof server.transport === 'string'
-    ? server.transport
-    : typeof server.url === 'string'
-      ? 'http'
-      : typeof server.command === 'string'
-        ? 'stdio'
-        : 'custom'
+function transportLabel(server: Record<string, unknown>, t: (key: string) => string): string {
+  if (typeof server.transport === 'string') {
+    return server.transport
+  }
+
+  if (typeof server.url === 'string') {
+    return t('settings:mcp.transport.http')
+  }
+
+  if (typeof server.command === 'string') {
+    return t('settings:mcp.transport.stdio')
+  }
+
+  return t('settings:mcp.transport.custom')
+}
 
 function serverMatches(name: string, server: Record<string, unknown>, query: string) {
   if (!query) {
@@ -51,6 +59,7 @@ function serverMatches(name: string, server: Record<string, unknown>, query: str
 }
 
 export function McpSettings({ gateway, onConfigSaved, query }: McpSettingsProps) {
+  const { t } = useTranslation()
   const activeSessionId = useStore($activeSessionId)
   const [config, setConfig] = useState<HermesConfigRecord | null>(null)
   const [selected, setSelected] = useState<string | null>(null)
@@ -72,10 +81,10 @@ export function McpSettings({ gateway, onConfigSaved, query }: McpSettingsProps)
         const first = Object.keys(getServers(next)).sort()[0] ?? null
         setSelected(first)
       })
-      .catch(err => notifyError(err, 'MCP config failed to load'))
+      .catch(err => notifyError(err, t('settings:mcp.loadFailed')))
 
     return () => void (cancelled = true)
-  }, [])
+  }, [t])
 
   const servers = useMemo(() => getServers(config), [config])
   const names = useMemo(() => Object.keys(servers).sort(), [servers])
@@ -93,14 +102,14 @@ export function McpSettings({ gateway, onConfigSaved, query }: McpSettingsProps)
   }, [selected, servers])
 
   if (!config) {
-    return <LoadingState label="Loading MCP servers..." />
+    return <LoadingState label={t('settings:mcp.loading')} />
   }
 
   const saveServer = async () => {
     const nextName = name.trim()
 
     if (!nextName) {
-      notify({ kind: 'error', title: 'Name required', message: 'Give this MCP server a config key.' })
+      notify({ kind: 'error', title: t('settings:mcp.nameRequired.title'), message: t('settings:mcp.nameRequired.message') })
 
       return
     }
@@ -116,7 +125,7 @@ export function McpSettings({ gateway, onConfigSaved, query }: McpSettingsProps)
 
       parsed = raw as Record<string, unknown>
     } catch (err) {
-      notifyError(err, 'Invalid MCP JSON')
+      notifyError(err, t('settings:mcp.invalidJson'))
 
       return
     }
@@ -137,9 +146,9 @@ export function McpSettings({ gateway, onConfigSaved, query }: McpSettingsProps)
       setConfig(nextConfig)
       setSelected(nextName)
       onConfigSaved?.()
-      notify({ kind: 'success', title: 'MCP server saved', message: `${nextName} applies after MCP reload.` })
+      notify({ kind: 'success', title: t('settings:mcp.saved.title'), message: t('settings:mcp.saved.message', { name: nextName }) })
     } catch (err) {
-      notifyError(err, 'Save failed')
+      notifyError(err, t('settings:mcp.saveFailed'))
     } finally {
       setSaving(false)
     }
@@ -158,7 +167,7 @@ export function McpSettings({ gateway, onConfigSaved, query }: McpSettingsProps)
       setSelected(Object.keys(nextServers).sort()[0] ?? null)
       onConfigSaved?.()
     } catch (err) {
-      notifyError(err, 'Remove failed')
+      notifyError(err, t('settings:mcp.removeFailed'))
     } finally {
       setSaving(false)
     }
@@ -166,7 +175,7 @@ export function McpSettings({ gateway, onConfigSaved, query }: McpSettingsProps)
 
   const reloadMcp = async () => {
     if (!gateway) {
-      notify({ kind: 'warning', title: 'Gateway unavailable', message: 'Reconnect the gateway before reloading MCP.' })
+      notify({ kind: 'warning', title: t('settings:mcp.gatewayUnavailable.title'), message: t('settings:mcp.gatewayUnavailable.message') })
 
       return
     }
@@ -178,9 +187,9 @@ export function McpSettings({ gateway, onConfigSaved, query }: McpSettingsProps)
         confirm: true,
         session_id: activeSessionId ?? undefined
       })
-      notify({ kind: 'success', title: 'MCP tools reloaded', message: 'New tool schemas apply to fresh turns.' })
+      notify({ kind: 'success', title: t('settings:mcp.reloaded.title'), message: t('settings:mcp.reloaded.message') })
     } catch (err) {
-      notifyError(err, 'MCP reload failed')
+      notifyError(err, t('settings:mcp.reloadFailed'))
     } finally {
       setReloading(false)
     }
@@ -189,11 +198,11 @@ export function McpSettings({ gateway, onConfigSaved, query }: McpSettingsProps)
   return (
     <SettingsContent>
       <div className="mb-4 flex items-center justify-between gap-3">
-        <SectionHeading icon={Package} meta={`${names.length} configured`} title="MCP servers" />
+        <SectionHeading icon={Package} meta={t('settings:mcp.configured', { count: names.length })} title={t('settings:mcp.title')} />
         <div className="flex items-center gap-2">
-          <OverlayActionButton onClick={() => setSelected(null)}>New server</OverlayActionButton>
+          <OverlayActionButton onClick={() => setSelected(null)}>{t('settings:mcp.newServer')}</OverlayActionButton>
           <OverlayActionButton disabled={reloading} onClick={() => void reloadMcp()}>
-            {reloading ? 'Reloading...' : 'Reload MCP'}
+            {reloading ? t('settings:mcp.reloading') : t('settings:mcp.reload')}
           </OverlayActionButton>
         </div>
       </div>
@@ -201,7 +210,7 @@ export function McpSettings({ gateway, onConfigSaved, query }: McpSettingsProps)
       <div className="grid min-h-0 gap-4 lg:grid-cols-[17rem_minmax(0,1fr)]">
         <OverlayCard className="min-h-64 overflow-hidden p-2">
           {filtered.length === 0 ? (
-            <EmptyState description="Add a stdio or HTTP server to expose MCP tools." title="No MCP servers" />
+            <EmptyState description={t('settings:mcp.empty.description')} title={t('settings:mcp.empty.title')} />
           ) : (
             <div className="grid gap-1">
               {filtered.map(serverName => {
@@ -219,8 +228,8 @@ export function McpSettings({ gateway, onConfigSaved, query }: McpSettingsProps)
                   >
                     <div className="truncate text-sm font-medium">{serverName}</div>
                     <div className="mt-1 flex items-center gap-1.5">
-                      <Pill>{transportLabel(server)}</Pill>
-                      {server.disabled === true && <Pill>disabled</Pill>}
+                      <Pill>{transportLabel(server, t)}</Pill>
+                      {server.disabled === true && <Pill>{t('settings:mcp.disabled')}</Pill>}
                     </div>
                   </button>
                 )
@@ -232,14 +241,14 @@ export function McpSettings({ gateway, onConfigSaved, query }: McpSettingsProps)
         <OverlayCard className="grid gap-3 p-4">
           <div className="flex items-center gap-2 text-sm font-medium">
             <Wrench className="size-4 text-muted-foreground" />
-            {selected ? 'Edit server' : 'New server'}
+            {selected ? t('settings:mcp.editServer') : t('settings:mcp.newServerForm')}
           </div>
           <label className="grid gap-1.5">
-            <span className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">Name</span>
-            <Input onChange={event => setName(event.currentTarget.value)} placeholder="filesystem" value={name} />
+            <span className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">{t('settings:mcp.name')}</span>
+            <Input onChange={event => setName(event.currentTarget.value)} placeholder={t('settings:mcp.name.placeholder')} value={name} />
           </label>
           <label className="grid gap-1.5">
-            <span className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">Server JSON</span>
+            <span className="text-xs text-muted-foreground">{t('settings:mcp.serverJson')}</span>
             <Textarea
               className="min-h-80 font-mono text-xs"
               onChange={event => setBody(event.currentTarget.value)}
@@ -250,13 +259,13 @@ export function McpSettings({ gateway, onConfigSaved, query }: McpSettingsProps)
           <div className="flex items-center justify-between">
             {selected ? (
               <OverlayActionButton disabled={saving} onClick={() => void removeServer(selected)} tone="danger">
-                Remove
+                {t('settings:mcp.remove')}
               </OverlayActionButton>
             ) : (
               <span />
             )}
             <OverlayActionButton disabled={saving} onClick={() => void saveServer()}>
-              {saving ? 'Saving...' : 'Save server'}
+              {saving ? t('settings:mcp.saving') : t('settings:mcp.save')}
             </OverlayActionButton>
           </div>
         </OverlayCard>
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/sessions-settings.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/sessions-settings.tsx
index b56af9020403..37d110715501 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/sessions-settings.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/sessions-settings.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useState } from 'react'
+import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next'
 
 import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button'
 import { deleteSession, listSessions, setSessionArchived } from '@/hermes'
@@ -31,6 +32,7 @@ function workspaceLabel(cwd: null | string | undefined): string {
 }
 
 export function SessionsSettings({ query }: SearchProps) {
+  const { t } = useTranslation()
   const [sessions, setLocalSessions] = useState<SessionInfo[]>([])
   const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true)
   const [busyId, setBusyId] = useState<string | null>(null)
@@ -42,50 +44,56 @@ export function SessionsSettings({ query }: SearchProps) {
       const result = await listSessions(ARCHIVED_FETCH_LIMIT, 0, 'only')
       setLocalSessions(result.sessions)
     } catch (err) {
-      notifyError(err, 'Could not load archived sessions')
+      notifyError(err, t('settings:sessions.unarchiveFailed'))
     } finally {
       setLoading(false)
     }
-  }, [])
+  }, [t])
 
   useEffect(() => {
     void load()
   }, [load])
 
-  const unarchive = useCallback(async (session: SessionInfo) => {
-    setBusyId(session.id)
-
-    try {
-      await setSessionArchived(session.id, false)
-      setLocalSessions(prev => prev.filter(s => s.id !== session.id))
-      // Surface it again in the sidebar without waiting for a full refresh.
-      setSessions(prev => [{ ...session, archived: false }, ...prev.filter(s => s.id !== session.id)])
-      triggerHaptic('selection')
-      notify({ durationMs: 2_000, kind: 'success', message: 'Restored' })
-    } catch (err) {
-      notifyError(err, 'Unarchive failed')
-    } finally {
-      setBusyId(null)
-    }
-  }, [])
+  const unarchive = useCallback(
+    async (session: SessionInfo) => {
+      setBusyId(session.id)
+
+      try {
+        await setSessionArchived(session.id, false)
+        setLocalSessions(prev => prev.filter(s => s.id !== session.id))
+        // Surface it again in the sidebar without waiting for a full refresh.
+        setSessions(prev => [{ ...session, archived: false }, ...prev.filter(s => s.id !== session.id)])
+        triggerHaptic('selection')
+        notify({ durationMs: 2_000, kind: 'success', message: t('settings:sessions.restored') })
+      } catch (err) {
+        notifyError(err, t('settings:sessions.unarchiveFailed'))
+      } finally {
+        setBusyId(null)
+      }
+    },
+    [t]
+  )
 
-  const remove = useCallback(async (session: SessionInfo) => {
-    if (!window.confirm(`Permanently delete "${sessionTitle(session)}"? This cannot be undone.`)) {
-      return
-    }
+  const remove = useCallback(
+    async (session: SessionInfo) => {
+      if (!window.confirm(t('settings:sessions.deleteConfirm', { title: sessionTitle(session) }))) {
+        return
+      }
 
-    setBusyId(session.id)
+      setBusyId(session.id)
 
-    try {
-      await deleteSession(session.id)
-      setLocalSessions(prev => prev.filter(s => s.id !== session.id))
-      triggerHaptic('warning')
-    } catch (err) {
-      notifyError(err, 'Delete failed')
-    } finally {
-      setBusyId(null)
-    }
-  }, [])
+      try {
+        await deleteSession(session.id)
+        setLocalSessions(prev => prev.filter(s => s.id !== session.id))
+        triggerHaptic('warning')
+      } catch (err) {
+        notifyError(err, t('settings:sessions.deleteFailed'))
+      } finally {
+        setBusyId(null)
+      }
+    },
+    [t]
+  )
 
   const filtered = useMemo(() => {
     const needle = query.trim().toLowerCase()
@@ -100,7 +108,7 @@ export function SessionsSettings({ query }: SearchProps) {
   }, [query, sessions])
 
   if (loading) {
-    return <LoadingState label="Loading archived sessions…" />
+    return <LoadingState label={t('settings:sessions.loading')} />
   }
 
   return (
@@ -110,17 +118,16 @@ export function SessionsSettings({ query }: SearchProps) {
       <SectionHeading
         icon={Archive}
         meta={sessions.length ? String(sessions.length) : undefined}
-        title="Archived sessions"
+        title={t('settings:sessions.title')}
       />
       <p className="mb-2 text-[length:var(--conversation-caption-font-size)] text-(--ui-text-tertiary)">
-        Archived chats are hidden from the sidebar but keep all their messages. Ctrl/⌘-click a chat in the sidebar to
-        archive it.
+        {t('settings:sessions.description')}
       </p>
 
       {filtered.length === 0 ? (
         <EmptyState
-          description={query.trim() ? 'No archived chats match your search.' : 'Archive a chat to hide it here.'}
-          title="Nothing archived"
+          description={query.trim() ? t('settings:sessions.empty.search') : t('settings:sessions.empty.idle')}
+          title={t('settings:sessions.empty.title')}
         />
       ) : (
         <div className="divide-y divide-border/30">
@@ -140,15 +147,15 @@ export function SessionsSettings({ query }: SearchProps) {
                       variant="outline"
                     >
                       {busy ? <Loader2 className="size-3.5 animate-spin" /> : <ArchiveOff className="size-3.5" />}
-                      <span>Unarchive</span>
+                      <span>{t('settings:sessions.unarchive')}</span>
                     </Button>
                     <Button
-                      aria-label="Delete permanently"
+                      aria-label={t('settings:sessions.delete')}
                       className="text-muted-foreground hover:text-destructive"
                       disabled={busy}
                       onClick={() => void remove(session)}
                       size="icon"
-                      title="Delete permanently"
+                      title={t('settings:sessions.delete')}
                       type="button"
                       variant="ghost"
                     >
@@ -157,7 +164,11 @@ export function SessionsSettings({ query }: SearchProps) {
                   </div>
                 }
                 description={session.preview || undefined}
-                hint={label ? `${label} · ${session.message_count} messages` : `${session.message_count} messages`}
+                hint={
+                  label
+                    ? `${label} · ${t('common:messages', { count: session.message_count })}`
+                    : t('common:messages', { count: session.message_count })
+                }
                 key={session.id}
                 title={sessionTitle(session)}
               />
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/toolset-config-panel.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/toolset-config-panel.tsx
index aeb5ac81a5ce..bad4598b9385 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/toolset-config-panel.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/app/settings/toolset-config-panel.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import { useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useState } from 'react'
+import { Trans, useTranslation } from 'react-i18next'
 
 import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button'
 import { Input } from '@/components/ui/input'
@@ -33,6 +34,7 @@ interface EnvVarFieldProps {
 }
 
 function EnvVarField({ envVar, isSet, onSaved, onCleared }: EnvVarFieldProps) {
+  const { t } = useTranslation()
   const [editing, setEditing] = useState(false)
   const [value, setValue] = useState('')
   const [revealed, setRevealed] = useState<string | null>(null)
@@ -50,16 +52,16 @@ function EnvVarField({ envVar, isSet, onSaved, onCleared }: EnvVarFieldProps) {
       setEditing(false)
       setValue('')
       onSaved(envVar.key)
-      notify({ kind: 'success', title: 'Credential saved', message: `${envVar.key} updated.` })
+      notify({ kind: 'success', title: t('settings:keys.saved.title'), message: t('settings:keys.saved.message', { key: envVar.key }) })
     } catch (err) {
-      notifyError(err, `Failed to save ${envVar.key}`)
+      notifyError(err, t('settings:keys.saveFailed', { key: envVar.key }))
     } finally {
       setBusy(false)
     }
   }
 
   async function handleClear() {
-    if (!window.confirm(`Remove ${envVar.key} from .env?`)) {
+    if (!window.confirm(t('settings:keys.removeConfirm', { key: envVar.key }))) {
       return
     }
 
@@ -69,9 +71,9 @@ function EnvVarField({ envVar, isSet, onSaved, onCleared }: EnvVarFieldProps) {
       await deleteEnvVar(envVar.key)
       setRevealed(null)
       onCleared(envVar.key)
-      notify({ kind: 'success', title: 'Credential removed', message: `${envVar.key} removed.` })
+      notify({ kind: 'success', title: t('settings:keys.removed.title'), message: t('settings:keys.removed.message', { key: envVar.key }) })
     } catch (err) {
-      notifyError(err, `Failed to remove ${envVar.key}`)
+      notifyError(err, t('settings:keys.removeFailed', { key: envVar.key }))
     } finally {
       setBusy(false)
     }
@@ -88,7 +90,7 @@ function EnvVarField({ envVar, isSet, onSaved, onCleared }: EnvVarFieldProps) {
       const result = await revealEnvVar(envVar.key)
       setRevealed(result.value)
     } catch (err) {
-      notifyError(err, `Failed to reveal ${envVar.key}`)
+      notifyError(err, t('settings:keys.revealFailed', { key: envVar.key }))
     }
   }
 
@@ -100,7 +102,7 @@ function EnvVarField({ envVar, isSet, onSaved, onCleared }: EnvVarFieldProps) {
             <span className="font-mono text-xs font-medium">{envVar.key}</span>
             <Pill tone={isSet ? 'primary' : 'muted'}>
               {isSet && <Check className="size-3" />}
-              {isSet ? 'Set' : 'Not set'}
+              {isSet ? t('settings:keys.isSet') : t('settings:keys.notSet')}
             </Pill>
           </div>
           {envVar.prompt && envVar.prompt !== envVar.key && (
@@ -109,23 +111,23 @@ function EnvVarField({ envVar, isSet, onSaved, onCleared }: EnvVarFieldProps) {
         </div>
         <div className="flex shrink-0 items-center gap-1.5">
           {envVar.url && (
-            <Button asChild size="xs" title="Open provider docs" variant="ghost">
+            <Button asChild size="xs" title={t('settings:keys.openDocs')} variant="ghost">
               <a href={envVar.url} rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">
-                Docs
+                {t('settings:keys.docs')}
                 <ExternalLink className="size-3" />
               </a>
             </Button>
           )}
           {isSet && (
-            <Button onClick={() => void handleReveal()} size="icon-xs" title="Reveal value" variant="ghost">
+            <Button onClick={() => void handleReveal()} size="icon-xs" title={t('settings:keys.revealValue')} variant="ghost">
               {revealed !== null ? <EyeOff /> : <Eye />}
             </Button>
           )}
           <Button onClick={() => setEditing(e => !e)} size="xs" variant="outline">
-            {isSet ? 'Replace' : 'Set'}
+            {isSet ? t('common:replace') : t('common:set')}
           </Button>
           {isSet && (
-            <Button disabled={busy} onClick={() => void handleClear()} size="icon-xs" title="Clear value" variant="ghost">
+            <Button disabled={busy} onClick={() => void handleClear()} size="icon-xs" title={t('settings:keys.clearValue')} variant="ghost">
               <Trash2 />
             </Button>
           )}
@@ -133,7 +135,7 @@ function EnvVarField({ envVar, isSet, onSaved, onCleared }: EnvVarFieldProps) {
       </div>
 
       {isSet && revealed !== null && (
-        <div className="rounded-md bg-background px-2.5 py-1.5 font-mono text-xs text-foreground">{revealed || '---'}</div>
+        <div className="rounded-md bg-background px-2.5 py-1.5 font-mono text-xs text-foreground">{revealed || t('settings:keys.emptyValue')}</div>
       )}
 
       {editing && (
@@ -148,10 +150,10 @@ function EnvVarField({ envVar, isSet, onSaved, onCleared }: EnvVarFieldProps) {
           />
           <Button disabled={busy || !value} onClick={() => void handleSave()} size="sm">
             {busy ? <Loader2 className="size-3.5 animate-spin" /> : <Save />}
-            Save
+            {t('common:save')}
           </Button>
           <Button onClick={() => setEditing(false)} size="sm" variant="outline">
-            Cancel
+            {t('common:cancel')}
           </Button>
         </div>
       )}
@@ -160,6 +162,7 @@ function EnvVarField({ envVar, isSet, onSaved, onCleared }: EnvVarFieldProps) {
 }
 
 export function ToolsetConfigPanel({ toolset, onConfiguredChange }: ToolsetConfigPanelProps) {
+  const { t } = useTranslation()
   const [cfg, setCfg] = useState<ToolsetConfig | null>(null)
   const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true)
   const [selecting, setSelecting] = useState<string | null>(null)
@@ -183,11 +186,11 @@ export function ToolsetConfigPanel({ toolset, onConfiguredChange }: ToolsetConfi
 
       setEnvState(seeded)
     } catch (err) {
-      notifyError(err, 'Tool configuration failed to load')
+      notifyError(err, t('settings:toolset.loadFailed'))
     } finally {
       setLoading(false)
     }
-  }, [toolset])
+  }, [t, toolset])
 
   useEffect(() => {
     void refresh()
@@ -219,10 +222,10 @@ export function ToolsetConfigPanel({ toolset, onConfiguredChange }: ToolsetConfi
 
     try {
       await selectToolsetProvider(toolset, provider.name)
-      notify({ kind: 'success', title: 'Provider selected', message: `${provider.name} is now active.` })
+      notify({ kind: 'success', title: t('settings:toolset.providerSelected.title'), message: t('settings:toolset.providerSelected.message', { name: provider.name }) })
       onConfiguredChange?.()
     } catch (err) {
-      notifyError(err, `Failed to select ${provider.name}`)
+      notifyError(err, t('settings:toolset.selectFailed', { name: provider.name }))
     } finally {
       setSelecting(null)
     }
@@ -239,21 +242,21 @@ export function ToolsetConfigPanel({ toolset, onConfiguredChange }: ToolsetConfi
     }
 
     if (!cfg.has_category) {
-      return 'This toolset has no provider options — enable it and it works with your current setup.'
+      return t('settings:toolset.empty.noProviders')
     }
 
     if (providers.length === 0) {
-      return 'No providers are available for this toolset right now.'
+      return t('settings:toolset.empty.noAvailable')
     }
 
     return null
-  }, [cfg, loading, providers.length])
+  }, [cfg, loading, providers.length, t])
 
   if (loading) {
     return (
       <div className="flex items-center gap-2 px-1 py-3 text-xs text-muted-foreground">
         <Loader2 className="size-3.5 animate-spin" />
-        Loading configuration...
+        {t('settings:toolset.loading')}
       </div>
     )
   }
@@ -285,7 +288,7 @@ export function ToolsetConfigPanel({ toolset, onConfiguredChange }: ToolsetConfi
                 {configured && (
                   <Pill tone="primary">
                     <Check className="size-3" />
-                    Ready
+                    {t('settings:toolset.ready')}
                   </Pill>
                 )}
               </span>
@@ -296,12 +299,10 @@ export function ToolsetConfigPanel({ toolset, onConfiguredChange }: ToolsetConfi
               <div className="grid gap-2 bg-muted/20 p-3">
                 {provider.tag && <p className="text-[0.72rem] text-muted-foreground">{provider.tag}</p>}
                 {provider.requires_nous_auth && (
-                  <p className="text-[0.72rem] text-muted-foreground">
-                    Included with a Nous subscription — sign in to Nous Portal to activate.
-                  </p>
+                  <p className="text-[0.72rem] text-muted-foreground">{t('settings:toolset.nousAuth')}</p>
                 )}
                 {provider.env_vars.length === 0 ? (
-                  <p className="text-[0.72rem] text-muted-foreground">No API key required.</p>
+                  <p className="text-[0.72rem] text-muted-foreground">{t('settings:toolset.noKeyRequired')}</p>
                 ) : (
                   provider.env_vars.map(ev => (
                     <EnvVarField
@@ -315,8 +316,11 @@ export function ToolsetConfigPanel({ toolset, onConfiguredChange }: ToolsetConfi
                 )}
                 {provider.post_setup && (
                   <p className="text-[0.72rem] text-muted-foreground">
-                    This provider needs an extra setup step ({provider.post_setup}). Run it from the CLI with{' '}
-                    <code className="font-mono">hermes tools</code> for now.
+                    <Trans
+                      components={{ code: <code className="font-mono" /> }}
+                      i18nKey="settings:toolset.postSetup"
+                      values={{ step: provider.post_setup }}
+                    />
                   </p>
                 )}
               </div>
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/lib/i18n.ts b/apps/desktop/src/lib/i18n.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..0fe174ee5690
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/lib/i18n.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+import i18n from 'i18next'
+import LanguageDetector from 'i18next-browser-languagedetector'
+import { initReactI18next } from 'react-i18next'
+
+import en from '@/locales/en/translation.json'
+import zhCN from '@/locales/zh-CN/translation.json'
+
+/**
+ * Languages bundled into the renderer. Add a new entry here when you ship a
+ * new translation file under src/locales/<lang>/translation.json. The
+ * language picker (settings/appearance) reads SUPPORTED_LANGUAGES to render
+ * its options, so no other code change is needed for a new language.
+ */
+export const SUPPORTED_LANGUAGES = ['en', 'zh-CN'] as const
+export type SupportedLanguage = (typeof SUPPORTED_LANGUAGES)[number]
+
+/**
+ * Display names for the language picker. Kept outside the translation file
+ * so the picker can show the *native* name of each language regardless of
+ * the currently active locale.
+ */
+export const LANGUAGE_LABELS: Record<SupportedLanguage, string> = {
+  en: 'English',
+  'zh-CN': '简体中文'
+}
+
+const LOCALE_STORAGE_KEY = 'hermes-desktop-locale-v1'
+
+void i18n
+  .use(LanguageDetector)
+  .use(initReactI18next)
+  .init({
+    resources: {
+      en: { translation: en },
+      'zh-CN': { translation: zhCN }
+    },
+    fallbackLng: 'en',
+    supportedLngs: SUPPORTED_LANGUAGES as unknown as string[],
+    // Hermes Desktop uses flat i18n keys with a `namespace:section.subsection`
+    // convention (e.g. `settings:mcp.configured`). i18next's defaults treat
+    // `:` as a namespace separator and `.` as a keypath separator, which would
+    // try to navigate into a non-existent nested object. We want a literal
+    // key match against the flat JSON, so disable both separators.
+    nsSeparator: false,
+    keySeparator: false,
+    detection: {
+      order: ['localStorage', 'navigator'],
+      lookupLocalStorage: LOCALE_STORAGE_KEY,
+      caches: ['localStorage']
+    },
+    interpolation: {
+      escapeValue: false // React already escapes
+    },
+    react: {
+      useSuspense: false
+    },
+    returnNull: false
+  })
+
+export default i18n
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/locales/README.md b/apps/desktop/src/locales/README.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..04bfaecc3d5c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/locales/README.md
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+# Locale files
+
+UI translations for the Hermes Desktop renderer. The Python-side CLI/Gateway
+has its own `locales/*.yaml` tree at the repo root — this directory only
+covers the React shell.
+
+## Layout
+
+```
+locales/
+├── en/translation.json       # source of truth (English)
+├── zh-CN/translation.json    # 简体中文
+└── locales.test.ts           # parity guard (run in CI)
+```
+
+One JSON file per language, single namespace (`translation`). Keys are
+flat, `namespace:subsection.path` style:
+
+```json
+{
+  "common.close": "Close",
+  "settings.appearance.mode.dark": "Dark"
+}
+```
+
+The leading segment (`common`, `settings`, `chat`, …) groups related
+strings but is purely organizational — i18next treats every key as a
+single flat string.
+
+## Adding a new language
+
+1. Copy `en/translation.json` to `locales/<lang>/translation.json` (use a
+   BCP-47 code: `ja`, `ko`, `zh-TW`, `pt-BR`, …).
+2. Translate the values. **Keep every key**, and **do not add or remove
+   keys** — the parity test will fail.
+3. If your translation uses `{{placeholder}}` interpolation, keep the
+   placeholder names identical to the English file.
+4. Add the language to `SUPPORTED_LANGUAGES` in `src/lib/i18n.ts` and to
+   `LANGUAGE_LABELS` next to it (use the **native** name of the language).
+5. Add the language to the picker grid in
+   `src/app/settings/appearance-settings.tsx`.
+6. Add the file path to the `others` list in
+   `src/locales/locales.test.ts` so the parity test runs against it.
+7. Run `npm run test:ui -- src/locales/locales.test.ts` and `npm run
+   type-check` before opening a PR.
+
+## Adding a new key
+
+1. Add the key to **every** locale file in the same commit. The parity
+   test will fail otherwise.
+2. Use it in the React component with `const { t } = useTranslation()`
+   followed by `t('namespace:key.path')`.
+
+## Conventions
+
+- **Voice.** Match the tone of the English file: short, neutral, present
+  tense ("Save", not "Saving"). Settings copy tends to be a little more
+  conversational than chat — keep that.
+- **Plurals.** i18next supports `_one` / `_other` / `_many` suffixes:
+  ```json
+  { "session.count_one": "{{count}} session", "session.count_other": "{{count}} sessions" }
+  ```
+- **Punctuation.** End sentences with a period only when the original
+  English does.
+- **Code in strings.** Wrap product/code names in code formatting in the
+  React source (`<code>`). Don't try to encode it in the translation
+  file.
+
+## Verification
+
+```bash
+npm run test:ui -- src/locales/locales.test.ts   # parity
+npm run type-check                                # types
+npm run lint                                      # style
+npm run dev                                       # manual smoke (toggle language in Settings → Appearance)
+```
+
+The smoke test: open Settings → Appearance, switch language, all visible
+labels should swap to the new language **without** showing any raw key
+names (a raw key means a missing translation). Switch back to English —
+the layout should be byte-identical to a pre-i18n screenshot.
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/locales/en/translation.json b/apps/desktop/src/locales/en/translation.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..c56db26085c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/locales/en/translation.json
@@ -0,0 +1,361 @@
+{
+  "common:back": "Back",
+  "common:cancel": "Cancel",
+  "common:close": "Close",
+  "common:daysAgo": "{{count}} days ago",
+  "common:delete": "Delete",
+  "common:hoursAgo": "{{count}} hours ago",
+  "common:justNow": "just now",
+  "common:loading": "Loading…",
+  "common:messages_one": "{{count}} message",
+  "common:messages_other": "{{count}} messages",
+  "common:minutesAgo": "{{count}} min ago",
+  "common:never": "never",
+  "common:none": "None",
+  "common:noneParens": "(none)",
+  "common:notSet": "Not set",
+  "common:off": "Off",
+  "common:on": "On",
+  "common:open": "Open",
+  "common:remove": "Remove",
+  "common:replace": "Replace",
+  "common:save": "Save",
+  "common:saved": "Saved",
+  "common:saving": "Saving",
+  "common:search": "Search",
+  "common:set": "Set",
+  "common:unknown": "unknown",
+  "settings:about.automaticUpdates": "Automatic updates",
+  "settings:about.automaticUpdatesDescription": "Hermes checks for updates automatically in the background and lets you know when one is ready.",
+  "settings:about.branchInfo": "Branch {{branch}} · Commit {{sha}}",
+  "settings:about.checkNow": "Check now",
+  "settings:about.checking": "Checking…",
+  "settings:about.lastChecked": "Last checked {{time}}",
+  "settings:about.lastCheckedJustNow": "Last checked {{time}} · just now",
+  "settings:about.releaseNotes": "Release notes",
+  "settings:about.status.applying": "An update is currently installing.",
+  "settings:about.status.behind_one": "A new update is ready ({{count}} change included).",
+  "settings:about.status.behind_other": "A new update is ready ({{count}} changes included).",
+  "settings:about.status.current": "You're on the latest version.",
+  "settings:about.status.error": "We couldn't reach the update server.",
+  "settings:about.status.prompt": "Tap \"Check now\" to look for updates.",
+  "settings:about.status.unsupported": "This build can't update itself from inside the app.",
+  "settings:about.updates": "Updates",
+  "settings:about.version": "Version {{version}}",
+  "settings:about.versionUnavailable": "Version unavailable",
+  "settings:about.whatsNew": "See what's new",
+  "settings:appearance.colorMode": "Color Mode",
+  "settings:appearance.colorModeDescription": "Pick a fixed mode or let Hermes follow your system setting.",
+  "settings:appearance.description": "These are desktop-only display preferences. Mode controls brightness; theme controls the accent palette and chat surface styling.",
+  "settings:appearance.language.description": "Pick the language used across the desktop app. More languages are added by the community — see the contributor guide.",
+  "settings:appearance.language.title": "Language",
+  "settings:appearance.mode.dark": "Dark",
+  "settings:appearance.mode.darkDescription": "Low-glare workspace",
+  "settings:appearance.mode.light": "Light",
+  "settings:appearance.mode.lightDescription": "Bright desktop surfaces",
+  "settings:appearance.mode.system": "System",
+  "settings:appearance.mode.systemDescription": "Follow OS appearance",
+  "settings:appearance.theme": "Theme",
+  "settings:appearance.themeDescription": "Desktop palettes only. The selected mode is applied on top.",
+  "settings:appearance.title": "Appearance",
+  "settings:appearance.toolCallDisplay": "Tool Call Display",
+  "settings:appearance.toolCallDisplayDescription": "Product hides raw tool payloads; Technical shows full input/output.",
+  "settings:appearance.toolView.product": "Product",
+  "settings:appearance.toolView.productDescription": "Human-friendly tool activity with concise summaries.",
+  "settings:appearance.toolView.technical": "Technical",
+  "settings:appearance.toolView.technicalDescription": "Include raw tool args/results and low-level details.",
+  "settings:close": "Close settings",
+  "settings:config.autosaveFailed": "Autosave failed",
+  "settings:config.commaSeparated": "comma-separated values",
+  "settings:config.empty.description": "Settings you tune from this page will show up here.",
+  "settings:config.empty.title": "No settings yet",
+  "settings:config.importFailed": "Import failed",
+  "settings:config.imported": "Configuration imported",
+  "settings:config.importing": "Saving…",
+  "settings:config.invalidJson": "Invalid config JSON",
+  "settings:config.loadFailed": "Settings failed to load",
+  "settings:config.noMatches": "No settings match your search.",
+  "settings:config.noMatches.description": "Try a different search term or choose another section.",
+  "settings:config.noMatches.title": "No matching settings",
+  "settings:config.off": "Off",
+  "settings:config.on": "On",
+  "settings:config.results_one": "{{count}} result",
+  "settings:config.results_other": "{{count}} results",
+  "settings:config.saveFailed": "Could not save setting",
+  "settings:config.search.placeholder": "Search settings...",
+  "settings:exportConfig": "Export config",
+  "settings:exportFailed": "Export failed",
+  "settings:field.agent.api_max_retries": "API Retries",
+  "settings:field.agent.image_input_mode": "Image Attachments",
+  "settings:field.agent.max_turns": "Max Agent Steps",
+  "settings:field.agent.service_tier": "Service Tier",
+  "settings:field.agent.tool_use_enforcement": "Tool-Use Enforcement",
+  "settings:field.approvals.mcp_reload_confirm": "Confirm MCP Reloads",
+  "settings:field.approvals.mode": "Approval Mode",
+  "settings:field.approvals.timeout": "Approval Timeout",
+  "settings:field.auxiliary.compression.model": "Compression Model",
+  "settings:field.auxiliary.compression.provider": "Compression Provider",
+  "settings:field.auxiliary.title_generation.model": "Title Model",
+  "settings:field.auxiliary.title_generation.provider": "Title Provider",
+  "settings:field.auxiliary.vision.model": "Vision Model",
+  "settings:field.auxiliary.vision.provider": "Vision Provider",
+  "settings:field.browser.allow_private_urls": "Browser Private URLs",
+  "settings:field.browser.auto_local_for_private_urls": "Local Browser For Private URLs",
+  "settings:field.checkpoints.enabled": "File Checkpoints",
+  "settings:field.checkpoints.max_snapshots": "Checkpoint Limit",
+  "settings:field.code_execution.mode": "Code Execution Mode",
+  "settings:field.command_allowlist": "Command Allowlist",
+  "settings:field.compression.enabled": "Auto-Compression",
+  "settings:field.compression.protect_last_n": "Protected Recent Messages",
+  "settings:field.compression.target_ratio": "Compression Target",
+  "settings:field.compression.threshold": "Compression Threshold",
+  "settings:field.context.engine": "Context Engine",
+  "settings:field.delegation.child_timeout_seconds": "Subagent Timeout",
+  "settings:field.delegation.max_concurrent_children": "Parallel Subagents",
+  "settings:field.delegation.max_iterations": "Subagent Turn Limit",
+  "settings:field.delegation.model": "Subagent Model",
+  "settings:field.delegation.provider": "Subagent Provider",
+  "settings:field.delegation.reasoning_effort": "Subagent Reasoning Effort",
+  "settings:field.display.personality": "Personality",
+  "settings:field.display.show_reasoning": "Reasoning Blocks",
+  "settings:field.fallback_providers": "Fallback Models",
+  "settings:field.file_read_max_chars": "File Read Limit",
+  "settings:field.memory.memory_char_limit": "Memory Budget",
+  "settings:field.memory.memory_enabled": "Persistent Memory",
+  "settings:field.memory.provider": "Memory Provider",
+  "settings:field.memory.user_char_limit": "Profile Budget",
+  "settings:field.memory.user_profile_enabled": "User Profile",
+  "settings:field.model": "Default Model",
+  "settings:field.model_context_length": "Context Window",
+  "settings:field.security.allow_private_urls": "Allow Private URLs",
+  "settings:field.security.redact_secrets": "Redact Secrets",
+  "settings:field.stt.elevenlabs.diarize": "Speaker Diarization",
+  "settings:field.stt.elevenlabs.language_code": "ElevenLabs Language",
+  "settings:field.stt.elevenlabs.model_id": "ElevenLabs STT Model",
+  "settings:field.stt.elevenlabs.tag_audio_events": "Tag Audio Events",
+  "settings:field.stt.enabled": "Speech To Text",
+  "settings:field.stt.local.language": "Transcription Language",
+  "settings:field.stt.local.model": "Local Transcription Model",
+  "settings:field.stt.provider": "Speech-To-Text Provider",
+  "settings:field.terminal.backend": "Execution Backend",
+  "settings:field.terminal.cwd": "Working Directory",
+  "settings:field.terminal.env_passthrough": "Environment Passthrough",
+  "settings:field.terminal.persistent_shell": "Persistent Shell",
+  "settings:field.terminal.timeout": "Command Timeout",
+  "settings:field.timezone": "Timezone",
+  "settings:field.tool_output.max_bytes": "Terminal Output Limit",
+  "settings:field.tool_output.max_line_length": "Line Length Limit",
+  "settings:field.tool_output.max_lines": "File Page Limit",
+  "settings:field.toolsets": "Enabled Toolsets",
+  "settings:field.tts.edge.voice": "Edge Voice",
+  "settings:field.tts.elevenlabs.model_id": "ElevenLabs Model",
+  "settings:field.tts.elevenlabs.voice_id": "ElevenLabs Voice",
+  "settings:field.tts.openai.model": "OpenAI TTS Model",
+  "settings:field.tts.openai.voice": "OpenAI Voice",
+  "settings:field.tts.provider": "Text-To-Speech Provider",
+  "settings:field.voice.auto_tts": "Read Responses Aloud",
+  "settings:field.voice.max_recording_seconds": "Max Recording Length",
+  "settings:field.voice.record_key": "Voice Shortcut",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.agent.image_input_mode": "Controls how image attachments are sent to the model.",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.agent.max_turns": "Upper bound for tool-calling turns before Hermes stops a run.",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.approvals.mode": "How Hermes handles commands that need explicit approval.",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.approvals.timeout": "How long approval prompts wait before timing out.",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.checkpoints.enabled": "Create rollback snapshots before file edits.",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.code_execution.mode": "How strictly code execution is scoped to the current project.",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.compression.enabled": "Summarize older context when conversations get large.",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.context.engine": "Strategy for managing long conversations near the context limit.",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.display.personality": "Default assistant style for new sessions.",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.display.show_reasoning": "Show reasoning sections when the backend provides them.",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.fallback_providers": "Backup provider:model entries to try if the default model fails.",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.file_read_max_chars": "Maximum characters Hermes can read from one file request.",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.memory.memory_enabled": "Save durable memories that can help future sessions.",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.memory.user_profile_enabled": "Maintain a compact profile of user preferences.",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.model": "Used for new chats unless you pick a different model in the composer.",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.model_context_length": "Leave at 0 to use the selected model's detected context window.",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.security.redact_secrets": "Hide detected secrets from model-visible content when possible.",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.stt.elevenlabs.language_code": "Optional ISO-639-3 language code. Blank lets ElevenLabs auto-detect.",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.stt.enabled": "Enable local or provider-backed speech transcription.",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.terminal.cwd": "Default project folder for tool and terminal work.",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.terminal.env_passthrough": "Environment variables to pass into tool execution.",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.terminal.persistent_shell": "Keep shell state between commands when the backend supports it.",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.timezone": "Used when Hermes needs local time context. Blank uses the system timezone.",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.voice.auto_tts": "Automatically speak assistant responses.",
+  "settings:gateway.applyFailed": "Could not apply gateway settings",
+  "settings:gateway.description": "Hermes Desktop starts its own local gateway by default. Use a remote gateway when you want this app to control an already-running Hermes backend on another machine or behind a trusted proxy.",
+  "settings:gateway.diagnostics": "Diagnostics",
+  "settings:gateway.envOverride": "env override",
+  "settings:gateway.envOverrideWarning.description": "Unset HERMES_DESKTOP_REMOTE_URL and HERMES_DESKTOP_REMOTE_TOKEN to use the saved setting below.",
+  "settings:gateway.envOverrideWarning.title": "Environment variables are controlling this desktop session.",
+  "settings:gateway.incomplete.connect": "Enter a remote URL and session token before switching to remote.",
+  "settings:gateway.incomplete.test": "Enter a remote URL and session token before testing.",
+  "settings:gateway.incomplete.title": "Remote gateway incomplete",
+  "settings:gateway.loadFailed": "Gateway settings failed to load",
+  "settings:gateway.loading": "Loading gateway settings...",
+  "settings:gateway.localMode.description": "Start a private Hermes backend on localhost. This is the default and works offline.",
+  "settings:gateway.localMode.title": "Local gateway",
+  "settings:gateway.logsDescription": "Reveal desktop.log in your file manager — useful when the gateway fails to start.",
+  "settings:gateway.openLogs": "Open logs",
+  "settings:gateway.remoteMode.description": "Connect this desktop shell to a remote Hermes backend using its session token.",
+  "settings:gateway.remoteMode.title": "Remote gateway",
+  "settings:gateway.remoteUrl": "Remote URL",
+  "settings:gateway.remoteUrl.description": "Base URL for the remote dashboard backend. Path prefixes are supported, for example /hermes.",
+  "settings:gateway.remoteUrl.placeholder": "https://gateway.example.com/hermes",
+  "settings:gateway.restarting.message": "Hermes Desktop will reconnect using the saved settings.",
+  "settings:gateway.restarting.title": "Gateway connection restarting",
+  "settings:gateway.saveAndReconnect": "Save and reconnect",
+  "settings:gateway.saveFailed": "Could not save gateway settings",
+  "settings:gateway.saveForRestart": "Save for next restart",
+  "settings:gateway.saved.message": "Saved for the next restart.",
+  "settings:gateway.saved.title": "Gateway settings saved",
+  "settings:gateway.sessionToken": "Session token",
+  "settings:gateway.sessionToken.description": "The dashboard session token used for REST and WebSocket access. Leave blank to keep the saved token.",
+  "settings:gateway.sessionToken.existing": "Existing token {{preview}}",
+  "settings:gateway.sessionToken.placeholder": "Paste session token",
+  "settings:gateway.testFailed": "Remote gateway test failed",
+  "settings:gateway.testRemote": "Test remote",
+  "settings:gateway.testSuccess.connected": "Connected to {{url}}",
+  "settings:gateway.testSuccess.title": "Remote gateway reachable",
+  "settings:gateway.testSuccess.version": "Connected to {{url}} · Hermes {{version}}",
+  "settings:gateway.title": "Gateway Connection",
+  "settings:gateway.unavailable.description": "The desktop IPC bridge does not expose gateway settings.",
+  "settings:gateway.unavailable.title": "Gateway settings unavailable",
+  "settings:importConfig": "Import config",
+  "settings:keys.cancel": "Cancel",
+  "settings:keys.categories.messaging": "Messaging",
+  "settings:keys.categories.settings": "Settings",
+  "settings:keys.categories.tools": "Tools",
+  "settings:keys.clearValue": "Clear value",
+  "settings:keys.configured": "{{configured}} of {{total}} configured",
+  "settings:keys.docs": "Docs",
+  "settings:keys.emptyValue": "---",
+  "settings:keys.enterValue": "Enter value",
+  "settings:keys.hideAdvanced": "Hide advanced",
+  "settings:keys.hideValue": "Hide value",
+  "settings:keys.isSet": "Set",
+  "settings:keys.keysCount": "{{count}} keys",
+  "settings:keys.llmProviders": "LLM providers",
+  "settings:keys.loadFailed": "API keys failed to load",
+  "settings:keys.loading": "Loading API keys and credentials...",
+  "settings:keys.notSet": "Not set",
+  "settings:keys.openDocs": "Open provider docs",
+  "settings:keys.otherProviders": "Other providers",
+  "settings:keys.removeConfirm": "Remove {{key}} from .env?",
+  "settings:keys.removeFailed": "Failed to remove {{key}}",
+  "settings:keys.removed.message": "{{key}} removed.",
+  "settings:keys.removed.title": "Credential removed",
+  "settings:keys.replaceValue": "Replace current value",
+  "settings:keys.revealFailed": "Failed to reveal {{key}}",
+  "settings:keys.revealValue": "Reveal value",
+  "settings:keys.save": "Save",
+  "settings:keys.saveFailed": "Failed to save {{key}}",
+  "settings:keys.saved.message": "{{key}} updated.",
+  "settings:keys.saved.title": "Credential saved",
+  "settings:keys.saving": "Saving",
+  "settings:keys.setCount": "{{count}} set",
+  "settings:keys.setStatus": "{{set}} of {{total}} set",
+  "settings:keys.showAdvanced": "Show advanced",
+  "settings:mcp.configured": "{{count}} configured",
+  "settings:mcp.disabled": "disabled",
+  "settings:mcp.editServer": "Edit server",
+  "settings:mcp.empty.description": "Add a stdio or HTTP server to expose MCP tools.",
+  "settings:mcp.empty.title": "No MCP servers",
+  "settings:mcp.gatewayUnavailable.message": "Reconnect the gateway before reloading MCP.",
+  "settings:mcp.gatewayUnavailable.title": "Gateway unavailable",
+  "settings:mcp.invalidJson": "Invalid MCP JSON",
+  "settings:mcp.loadFailed": "MCP config failed to load",
+  "settings:mcp.name": "Name",
+  "settings:mcp.name.placeholder": "filesystem",
+  "settings:mcp.nameRequired.message": "Give this MCP server a config key.",
+  "settings:mcp.nameRequired.title": "Name required",
+  "settings:mcp.newServer": "New server",
+  "settings:mcp.newServerForm": "New server",
+  "settings:mcp.reload": "Reload MCP",
+  "settings:mcp.reloadFailed": "MCP reload failed",
+  "settings:mcp.reloaded.message": "New tool schemas apply to fresh turns.",
+  "settings:mcp.reloaded.title": "MCP tools reloaded",
+  "settings:mcp.reloading": "Reloading...",
+  "settings:mcp.remove": "Remove",
+  "settings:mcp.removeFailed": "Remove failed",
+  "settings:mcp.save": "Save server",
+  "settings:mcp.saveFailed": "Save failed",
+  "settings:mcp.saved.message": "{{name}} applies after MCP reload.",
+  "settings:mcp.saved.title": "MCP server saved",
+  "settings:mcp.saving": "Saving...",
+  "settings:mcp.serverJson": "Server JSON",
+  "settings:mcp.title": "MCP servers",
+  "settings:mcp.transport.custom": "custom",
+  "settings:mcp.transport.http": "http",
+  "settings:mcp.transport.stdio": "stdio",
+  "settings:nav.about": "About",
+  "settings:nav.appearance": "Appearance",
+  "settings:nav.gateway": "Gateway",
+  "settings:nav.keys": "API Keys",
+  "settings:nav.mcp": "MCP",
+  "settings:nav.sessions": "Archived Chats",
+  "settings:nav.tools": "Skills & Tools",
+  "settings:resetConfirm": "Reset all settings to Hermes defaults?",
+  "settings:resetFailed": "Reset failed",
+  "settings:resetToDefaults": "Reset to defaults",
+  "settings:search.about": "About Hermes Desktop",
+  "settings:search.gateway": "Gateway connection...",
+  "settings:search.keys": "Search API keys...",
+  "settings:search.mcp": "Search MCP servers...",
+  "settings:search.placeholder": "Search settings...",
+  "settings:search.sessions": "Search archived sessions...",
+  "settings:search.tools": "Search skills and tools...",
+  "settings:section.advanced": "Advanced",
+  "settings:section.appearance": "Appearance",
+  "settings:section.chat": "Chat",
+  "settings:section.memory": "Memory & Context",
+  "settings:section.model": "Model",
+  "settings:section.safety": "Safety",
+  "settings:section.voice": "Voice",
+  "settings:section.workspace": "Workspace",
+  "settings:sessions.delete": "Delete permanently",
+  "settings:sessions.deleteConfirm": "Permanently delete \"{{title}}\"? This cannot be undone.",
+  "settings:sessions.deleteFailed": "Delete failed",
+  "settings:sessions.description": "Archived chats are hidden from the sidebar but keep all their messages. Ctrl/⌘-click a chat in the sidebar to archive it.",
+  "settings:sessions.empty.idle": "Archive a chat to hide it here.",
+  "settings:sessions.empty.search": "No archived chats match your search.",
+  "settings:sessions.empty.title": "Nothing archived",
+  "settings:sessions.loading": "Loading archived sessions…",
+  "settings:sessions.restored": "Restored",
+  "settings:sessions.title": "Archived sessions",
+  "settings:sessions.unarchive": "Unarchive",
+  "settings:sessions.unarchiveFailed": "Unarchive failed",
+  "settings:tools.configureAria": "Configure {{name}}",
+  "settings:tools.configured": "Configured",
+  "settings:tools.loadFailed": "Capabilities failed to load",
+  "settings:tools.loading": "Loading skills and toolsets...",
+  "settings:tools.more": "+{{count}} more",
+  "settings:tools.needsKeys": "Needs keys",
+  "settings:tools.refreshFailed": "Toolsets failed to refresh",
+  "settings:tools.skillDisabled": "Skill disabled",
+  "settings:tools.skillEnabled": "Skill enabled",
+  "settings:tools.skillUpdateFailed": "Failed to update {{name}}",
+  "settings:tools.skillUpdated": "{{name}} applies to new sessions.",
+  "settings:tools.skills": "Skills",
+  "settings:tools.skillsEnabled": "{{count}} enabled",
+  "settings:tools.toggleAria": "Toggle {{name}} toolset",
+  "settings:tools.toolsetDisabled": "Toolset disabled",
+  "settings:tools.toolsetEnabled": "Toolset enabled",
+  "settings:tools.toolsetUpdateFailed": "Failed to update {{name}}",
+  "settings:tools.toolsetUpdated": "{{name}} applies to new sessions.",
+  "settings:tools.toolsets": "Toolsets",
+  "settings:toolset.active": "Active",
+  "settings:toolset.done": "Done",
+  "settings:toolset.empty.noAvailable": "No providers are available for this toolset right now.",
+  "settings:toolset.empty.noProviders": "This toolset has no provider options — enable it and it works with your current setup.",
+  "settings:toolset.loadFailed": "Tool configuration failed to load",
+  "settings:toolset.loading": "Loading configuration...",
+  "settings:toolset.noKeyRequired": "No API key required.",
+  "settings:toolset.nousAuth": "Included with a Nous subscription — sign in to Nous Portal to activate.",
+  "settings:toolset.optionalKeys": "Optional keys",
+  "settings:toolset.postSetup": "This provider needs an extra setup step ({{step}}). Run it from the CLI with `hermes tools` for now.",
+  "settings:toolset.providerSelected.message": "{{name}} is now active.",
+  "settings:toolset.providerSelected.title": "Provider selected",
+  "settings:toolset.providers": "Providers",
+  "settings:toolset.ready": "Ready",
+  "settings:toolset.requiredKeys": "Required keys",
+  "settings:toolset.selectFailed": "Failed to select {{name}}"
+}
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/locales/locales.test.ts b/apps/desktop/src/locales/locales.test.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..ec12844d3970
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/locales/locales.test.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
+/**
+ * Parity guard for the renderer-side translation files.
+ *
+ * Mirrors the Python-side convention (locales/*.yaml + tests/agent/test_i18n.py):
+ * every leaf key in the source-of-truth file (en) must exist in every other
+ * language, every value must be a string, and the {{placeholder}} tokens
+ * interpolated by i18next must line up. This keeps the tree green even when
+ * contributors add or rename keys.
+ */
+
+import { describe, expect, it } from 'vitest'
+
+import en from './en/translation.json'
+import zhCN from './zh-CN/translation.json'
+
+const PLACEHOLDER_RE = /\{\{(\w+)\}\}/g
+
+type Flat = Record<string, string>
+
+function isFlat(value: unknown): value is Flat {
+  if (!value || typeof value !== 'object') {
+    return false
+  }
+
+  return Object.values(value).every(v => typeof v === 'string')
+}
+
+function placeholders(value: string): string[] {
+  return [...value.matchAll(PLACEHOLDER_RE)].map(m => m[1]).sort()
+}
+
+describe('locales parity', () => {
+  // The source file uses flat keys (common.close, settings.appearance.mode.dark)
+  // rather than nested JSON. That makes them grep-friendly and matches the
+  // i18next convention of treating keys as opaque strings.
+  it('en is a flat string→string map', () => {
+    expect(isFlat(en)).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  it('zh-CN is a flat string→string map', () => {
+    expect(isFlat(zhCN)).toBe(true)
+  })
+
+  const enFlat = en as unknown as Flat
+  const zhFlat = zhCN as unknown as Flat
+  const sourceKeys = Object.keys(enFlat)
+
+  it('source (en) has at least one key', () => {
+    expect(sourceKeys.length).toBeGreaterThan(0)
+  })
+
+  describe('zh-CN/translation.json', () => {
+    it('has the same keys as en', () => {
+      const enSet = new Set(sourceKeys)
+      const zhSet = new Set(Object.keys(zhFlat))
+
+      const missing = [...enSet].filter(k => !zhSet.has(k))
+      const extra = [...zhSet].filter(k => !enSet.has(k))
+
+      expect(missing, `keys missing in zh-CN`).toEqual([])
+      expect(extra, `extra keys in zh-CN not present in en`).toEqual([])
+    })
+
+    it('placeholder tokens match en for every key', () => {
+      for (const key of sourceKeys) {
+        const expected = placeholders(enFlat[key])
+        const actual = placeholders(zhFlat[key])
+
+        expect(actual, `${key}: zh-CN placeholders must match en`).toEqual(expected)
+      }
+    })
+  })
+})
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/locales/zh-CN/translation.json b/apps/desktop/src/locales/zh-CN/translation.json
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..b6a8def3a3db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/locales/zh-CN/translation.json
@@ -0,0 +1,361 @@
+{
+  "common:back": "返回",
+  "common:cancel": "取消",
+  "common:close": "关闭",
+  "common:daysAgo": "{{count}} 天前",
+  "common:delete": "删除",
+  "common:hoursAgo": "{{count}} 小时前",
+  "common:justNow": "刚刚",
+  "common:loading": "加载中…",
+  "common:messages_one": "{{count}} 条消息",
+  "common:messages_other": "{{count}} 条消息",
+  "common:minutesAgo": "{{count}} 分钟前",
+  "common:never": "从未",
+  "common:none": "无",
+  "common:noneParens": "(无)",
+  "common:notSet": "未设置",
+  "common:off": "关",
+  "common:on": "开",
+  "common:open": "打开",
+  "common:remove": "移除",
+  "common:replace": "替换",
+  "common:save": "保存",
+  "common:saved": "已保存",
+  "common:saving": "保存中",
+  "common:search": "搜索",
+  "common:set": "设置",
+  "common:unknown": "未知",
+  "settings:about.automaticUpdates": "自动更新",
+  "settings:about.automaticUpdatesDescription": "Hermes 在后台自动检查更新,有新版本时通知你。",
+  "settings:about.branchInfo": "分支 {{branch}} · 提交 {{sha}}",
+  "settings:about.checkNow": "立即检查",
+  "settings:about.checking": "检查中…",
+  "settings:about.lastChecked": "上次检查:{{time}}",
+  "settings:about.lastCheckedJustNow": "上次检查:{{time}} · 刚刚",
+  "settings:about.releaseNotes": "发布说明",
+  "settings:about.status.applying": "正在安装更新。",
+  "settings:about.status.behind_one": "新更新就绪(包含 {{count}} 项变更)。",
+  "settings:about.status.behind_other": "新更新就绪(包含 {{count}} 项变更)。",
+  "settings:about.status.current": "你正在使用最新版本。",
+  "settings:about.status.error": "无法连接到更新服务器。",
+  "settings:about.status.prompt": "点击\"立即检查\"以查找更新。",
+  "settings:about.status.unsupported": "此版本无法在应用内自动更新。",
+  "settings:about.updates": "更新",
+  "settings:about.version": "版本 {{version}}",
+  "settings:about.versionUnavailable": "版本不可用",
+  "settings:about.whatsNew": "查看更新内容",
+  "settings:appearance.colorMode": "颜色模式",
+  "settings:appearance.colorModeDescription": "选择固定模式,或让 Hermes 跟随你的系统设置。",
+  "settings:appearance.description": "这些是仅适用于桌面的显示偏好。模式控制亮度,主题控制强调色和聊天界面样式。",
+  "settings:appearance.language.description": "选择桌面应用使用的语言。更多语言由社区贡献,详见贡献指南。",
+  "settings:appearance.language.title": "语言",
+  "settings:appearance.mode.dark": "深色",
+  "settings:appearance.mode.darkDescription": "护眼工作区",
+  "settings:appearance.mode.light": "浅色",
+  "settings:appearance.mode.lightDescription": "明亮的桌面界面",
+  "settings:appearance.mode.system": "跟随系统",
+  "settings:appearance.mode.systemDescription": "跟随操作系统外观",
+  "settings:appearance.theme": "主题",
+  "settings:appearance.themeDescription": "仅适用于桌面端调色板。所选模式叠加生效。",
+  "settings:appearance.title": "外观",
+  "settings:appearance.toolCallDisplay": "工具调用显示",
+  "settings:appearance.toolCallDisplayDescription": "\"Product\" 隐藏原始工具载荷;\"Technical\" 显示完整的输入/输出。",
+  "settings:appearance.toolView.product": "Product",
+  "settings:appearance.toolView.productDescription": "以简洁摘要展示工具活动。",
+  "settings:appearance.toolView.technical": "Technical",
+  "settings:appearance.toolView.technicalDescription": "显示原始工具参数/结果和底层细节。",
+  "settings:close": "关闭设置",
+  "settings:config.autosaveFailed": "自动保存失败",
+  "settings:config.commaSeparated": "逗号分隔的值",
+  "settings:config.empty.description": "你在此页面调整的设置将显示在这里。",
+  "settings:config.empty.title": "暂无设置",
+  "settings:config.importFailed": "导入失败",
+  "settings:config.imported": "配置已导入",
+  "settings:config.importing": "保存中…",
+  "settings:config.invalidJson": "无效的配置 JSON",
+  "settings:config.loadFailed": "加载设置失败",
+  "settings:config.noMatches": "没有匹配的设置。",
+  "settings:config.noMatches.description": "请尝试其他搜索词或选择其他分区。",
+  "settings:config.noMatches.title": "没有匹配的设置",
+  "settings:config.off": "关",
+  "settings:config.on": "开",
+  "settings:config.results_one": "{{count}} 条结果",
+  "settings:config.results_other": "{{count}} 条结果",
+  "settings:config.saveFailed": "无法保存设置",
+  "settings:config.search.placeholder": "搜索设置...",
+  "settings:exportConfig": "导出配置",
+  "settings:exportFailed": "导出失败",
+  "settings:field.agent.api_max_retries": "API 重试次数",
+  "settings:field.agent.image_input_mode": "图片附件",
+  "settings:field.agent.max_turns": "最大 Agent 步数",
+  "settings:field.agent.service_tier": "服务等级",
+  "settings:field.agent.tool_use_enforcement": "强制工具使用",
+  "settings:field.approvals.mcp_reload_confirm": "确认 MCP 重新加载",
+  "settings:field.approvals.mode": "审批模式",
+  "settings:field.approvals.timeout": "审批超时",
+  "settings:field.auxiliary.compression.model": "压缩模型",
+  "settings:field.auxiliary.compression.provider": "压缩提供商",
+  "settings:field.auxiliary.title_generation.model": "标题生成模型",
+  "settings:field.auxiliary.title_generation.provider": "标题生成提供商",
+  "settings:field.auxiliary.vision.model": "视觉模型",
+  "settings:field.auxiliary.vision.provider": "视觉提供商",
+  "settings:field.browser.allow_private_urls": "浏览器私有 URL",
+  "settings:field.browser.auto_local_for_private_urls": "私有 URL 使用本地浏览器",
+  "settings:field.checkpoints.enabled": "文件检查点",
+  "settings:field.checkpoints.max_snapshots": "检查点上限",
+  "settings:field.code_execution.mode": "代码执行模式",
+  "settings:field.command_allowlist": "命令白名单",
+  "settings:field.compression.enabled": "自动压缩",
+  "settings:field.compression.protect_last_n": "保留最近消息数",
+  "settings:field.compression.target_ratio": "压缩目标比例",
+  "settings:field.compression.threshold": "压缩阈值",
+  "settings:field.context.engine": "上下文引擎",
+  "settings:field.delegation.child_timeout_seconds": "子 Agent 超时",
+  "settings:field.delegation.max_concurrent_children": "并行子 Agent 数",
+  "settings:field.delegation.max_iterations": "子 Agent 轮数上限",
+  "settings:field.delegation.model": "子 Agent 模型",
+  "settings:field.delegation.provider": "子 Agent 提供商",
+  "settings:field.delegation.reasoning_effort": "子 Agent 推理强度",
+  "settings:field.display.personality": "人设",
+  "settings:field.display.show_reasoning": "推理块",
+  "settings:field.fallback_providers": "备用模型",
+  "settings:field.file_read_max_chars": "文件读取上限",
+  "settings:field.memory.memory_char_limit": "记忆预算",
+  "settings:field.memory.memory_enabled": "持久记忆",
+  "settings:field.memory.provider": "记忆提供商",
+  "settings:field.memory.user_char_limit": "画像预算",
+  "settings:field.memory.user_profile_enabled": "用户画像",
+  "settings:field.model": "默认模型",
+  "settings:field.model_context_length": "上下文窗口",
+  "settings:field.security.allow_private_urls": "允许私有 URL",
+  "settings:field.security.redact_secrets": "脱敏密钥",
+  "settings:field.stt.elevenlabs.diarize": "说话人分离",
+  "settings:field.stt.elevenlabs.language_code": "ElevenLabs 语言",
+  "settings:field.stt.elevenlabs.model_id": "ElevenLabs STT 模型",
+  "settings:field.stt.elevenlabs.tag_audio_events": "标记音频事件",
+  "settings:field.stt.enabled": "语音转文字",
+  "settings:field.stt.local.language": "转录语言",
+  "settings:field.stt.local.model": "本地转录模型",
+  "settings:field.stt.provider": "语音转文字提供商",
+  "settings:field.terminal.backend": "执行后端",
+  "settings:field.terminal.cwd": "工作目录",
+  "settings:field.terminal.env_passthrough": "环境变量透传",
+  "settings:field.terminal.persistent_shell": "持久化 Shell",
+  "settings:field.terminal.timeout": "命令超时",
+  "settings:field.timezone": "时区",
+  "settings:field.tool_output.max_bytes": "终端输出上限",
+  "settings:field.tool_output.max_line_length": "行长度限制",
+  "settings:field.tool_output.max_lines": "文件页行数",
+  "settings:field.toolsets": "已启用的工具集",
+  "settings:field.tts.edge.voice": "Edge 语音",
+  "settings:field.tts.elevenlabs.model_id": "ElevenLabs 模型",
+  "settings:field.tts.elevenlabs.voice_id": "ElevenLabs 语音",
+  "settings:field.tts.openai.model": "OpenAI TTS 模型",
+  "settings:field.tts.openai.voice": "OpenAI 语音",
+  "settings:field.tts.provider": "文字转语音提供商",
+  "settings:field.voice.auto_tts": "自动朗读回复",
+  "settings:field.voice.max_recording_seconds": "最大录音时长",
+  "settings:field.voice.record_key": "语音快捷键",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.agent.image_input_mode": "控制图片附件如何发送给模型。",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.agent.max_turns": "Hermes 停止运行前工具调用轮数的上限。",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.approvals.mode": "Hermes 如何处理需要明确审批的命令。",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.approvals.timeout": "审批提示等待多久后超时。",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.checkpoints.enabled": "在文件编辑前创建可回滚的快照。",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.code_execution.mode": "代码执行限定到当前项目的严格程度。",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.compression.enabled": "对话变长时对较早的上下文进行摘要。",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.context.engine": "在接近上下文上限时管理长对话的策略。",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.display.personality": "新会话的默认助手风格。",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.display.show_reasoning": "当后端提供推理内容时显示推理区段。",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.fallback_providers": "默认模型失败时尝试的备用 provider:model 条目。",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.file_read_max_chars": "Hermes 单次文件请求能读取的最大字符数。",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.memory.memory_enabled": "保存可在未来会话中复用的持久记忆。",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.memory.user_profile_enabled": "维护一份紧凑的用户偏好画像。",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.model": "用于新建聊天,除非在编辑器中选择其他模型。",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.model_context_length": "留 0 则使用所选模型自动检测的上下文窗口。",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.security.redact_secrets": "在可能的情况下,在模型可见内容中隐藏检测到的密钥。",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.stt.elevenlabs.language_code": "可选的 ISO-639-3 语言代码。留空则让 ElevenLabs 自动检测。",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.stt.enabled": "启用本地或由提供商支持的语音转录。",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.terminal.cwd": "工具和终端工作的默认项目目录。",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.terminal.env_passthrough": "传递给工具执行的环境变量。",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.terminal.persistent_shell": "在后端支持时,在命令之间保留 Shell 状态。",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.timezone": "Hermes 需要本地时间上下文时使用。留空则使用系统时区。",
+  "settings:fieldDesc.voice.auto_tts": "自动朗读助手回复。",
+  "settings:gateway.applyFailed": "无法应用网关设置",
+  "settings:gateway.description": "Hermes Desktop 默认启动本地网关。当你希望此应用控制另一台机器或可信代理后面已运行的 Hermes 后端时,使用远程网关。",
+  "settings:gateway.diagnostics": "诊断",
+  "settings:gateway.envOverride": "环境变量覆盖",
+  "settings:gateway.envOverrideWarning.description": "取消设置 HERMES_DESKTOP_REMOTE_URL 和 HERMES_DESKTOP_REMOTE_TOKEN 以使用下方保存的设置。",
+  "settings:gateway.envOverrideWarning.title": "环境变量正在控制此桌面会话。",
+  "settings:gateway.incomplete.connect": "切换到远程前请输入远程 URL 和会话令牌。",
+  "settings:gateway.incomplete.test": "测试前请输入远程 URL 和会话令牌。",
+  "settings:gateway.incomplete.title": "远程网关信息不完整",
+  "settings:gateway.loadFailed": "加载网关设置失败",
+  "settings:gateway.loading": "正在加载网关设置...",
+  "settings:gateway.localMode.description": "在本地启动私有 Hermes 后端。这是默认设置,可离线工作。",
+  "settings:gateway.localMode.title": "本地网关",
+  "settings:gateway.logsDescription": "在文件管理器中显示 desktop.log — 在网关无法启动时很有用。",
+  "settings:gateway.openLogs": "打开日志",
+  "settings:gateway.remoteMode.description": "使用会话令牌将本桌面连接到远程 Hermes 后端。",
+  "settings:gateway.remoteMode.title": "远程网关",
+  "settings:gateway.remoteUrl": "远程 URL",
+  "settings:gateway.remoteUrl.description": "远程仪表板后端的基础 URL。支持路径前缀,例如 /hermes。",
+  "settings:gateway.remoteUrl.placeholder": "https://gateway.example.com/hermes",
+  "settings:gateway.restarting.message": "Hermes Desktop 将使用已保存的设置重新连接。",
+  "settings:gateway.restarting.title": "正在重启网关连接",
+  "settings:gateway.saveAndReconnect": "保存并重连",
+  "settings:gateway.saveFailed": "无法保存网关设置",
+  "settings:gateway.saveForRestart": "保存以供下次启动",
+  "settings:gateway.saved.message": "将在下次启动时生效。",
+  "settings:gateway.saved.title": "网关设置已保存",
+  "settings:gateway.sessionToken": "会话令牌",
+  "settings:gateway.sessionToken.description": "用于 REST 和 WebSocket 访问的仪表板会话令牌。留空将保留已保存的令牌。",
+  "settings:gateway.sessionToken.existing": "已存在的令牌 {{preview}}",
+  "settings:gateway.sessionToken.placeholder": "粘贴会话令牌",
+  "settings:gateway.testFailed": "远程网关测试失败",
+  "settings:gateway.testRemote": "测试远程",
+  "settings:gateway.testSuccess.connected": "已连接到 {{url}}",
+  "settings:gateway.testSuccess.title": "远程网关可达",
+  "settings:gateway.testSuccess.version": "已连接到 {{url}} · Hermes {{version}}",
+  "settings:gateway.title": "网关连接",
+  "settings:gateway.unavailable.description": "桌面 IPC 桥未暴露网关设置。",
+  "settings:gateway.unavailable.title": "网关设置不可用",
+  "settings:importConfig": "导入配置",
+  "settings:keys.cancel": "取消",
+  "settings:keys.categories.messaging": "消息",
+  "settings:keys.categories.settings": "设置",
+  "settings:keys.categories.tools": "工具",
+  "settings:keys.clearValue": "清除值",
+  "settings:keys.configured": "已配置 {{configured}}/{{total}}",
+  "settings:keys.docs": "文档",
+  "settings:keys.emptyValue": "---",
+  "settings:keys.enterValue": "输入值",
+  "settings:keys.hideAdvanced": "隐藏高级",
+  "settings:keys.hideValue": "隐藏值",
+  "settings:keys.isSet": "已设置",
+  "settings:keys.keysCount": "{{count}} 个密钥",
+  "settings:keys.llmProviders": "LLM 提供商",
+  "settings:keys.loadFailed": "加载 API 密钥失败",
+  "settings:keys.loading": "正在加载 API 密钥和凭据...",
+  "settings:keys.notSet": "未设置",
+  "settings:keys.openDocs": "打开提供商文档",
+  "settings:keys.otherProviders": "其他提供商",
+  "settings:keys.removeConfirm": "从 .env 移除 {{key}}?",
+  "settings:keys.removeFailed": "移除 {{key}} 失败",
+  "settings:keys.removed.message": "{{key}} 已移除。",
+  "settings:keys.removed.title": "凭据已移除",
+  "settings:keys.replaceValue": "替换当前值",
+  "settings:keys.revealFailed": "显示 {{key}} 失败",
+  "settings:keys.revealValue": "显示值",
+  "settings:keys.save": "保存",
+  "settings:keys.saveFailed": "保存 {{key}} 失败",
+  "settings:keys.saved.message": "{{key}} 已更新。",
+  "settings:keys.saved.title": "凭据已保存",
+  "settings:keys.saving": "保存中",
+  "settings:keys.setCount": "已设置 {{count}} 个",
+  "settings:keys.setStatus": "已设置 {{set}}/{{total}}",
+  "settings:keys.showAdvanced": "显示高级",
+  "settings:mcp.configured": "已配置 {{count}} 个",
+  "settings:mcp.disabled": "已禁用",
+  "settings:mcp.editServer": "编辑服务器",
+  "settings:mcp.empty.description": "添加 stdio 或 HTTP 服务器以暴露 MCP 工具。",
+  "settings:mcp.empty.title": "暂无 MCP 服务器",
+  "settings:mcp.gatewayUnavailable.message": "重新加载 MCP 前请先重连网关。",
+  "settings:mcp.gatewayUnavailable.title": "网关不可用",
+  "settings:mcp.invalidJson": "无效的 MCP JSON",
+  "settings:mcp.loadFailed": "加载 MCP 配置失败",
+  "settings:mcp.name": "名称",
+  "settings:mcp.name.placeholder": "filesystem",
+  "settings:mcp.nameRequired.message": "请为此 MCP 服务器设置一个配置键。",
+  "settings:mcp.nameRequired.title": "需要名称",
+  "settings:mcp.newServer": "新建服务器",
+  "settings:mcp.newServerForm": "新建服务器",
+  "settings:mcp.reload": "重新加载 MCP",
+  "settings:mcp.reloadFailed": "MCP 重新加载失败",
+  "settings:mcp.reloaded.message": "新工具 schema 将在新一轮对话中生效。",
+  "settings:mcp.reloaded.title": "MCP 工具已重新加载",
+  "settings:mcp.reloading": "重新加载中...",
+  "settings:mcp.remove": "移除",
+  "settings:mcp.removeFailed": "移除失败",
+  "settings:mcp.save": "保存服务器",
+  "settings:mcp.saveFailed": "保存失败",
+  "settings:mcp.saved.message": "{{name}} 将在 MCP 重新加载后生效。",
+  "settings:mcp.saved.title": "MCP 服务器已保存",
+  "settings:mcp.saving": "保存中...",
+  "settings:mcp.serverJson": "服务器 JSON",
+  "settings:mcp.title": "MCP 服务器",
+  "settings:mcp.transport.custom": "自定义",
+  "settings:mcp.transport.http": "http",
+  "settings:mcp.transport.stdio": "stdio",
+  "settings:nav.about": "关于",
+  "settings:nav.appearance": "外观",
+  "settings:nav.gateway": "网关",
+  "settings:nav.keys": "API 密钥",
+  "settings:nav.mcp": "MCP",
+  "settings:nav.sessions": "归档聊天",
+  "settings:nav.tools": "技能与工具",
+  "settings:resetConfirm": "将所有设置恢复为 Hermes 默认值?",
+  "settings:resetFailed": "重置失败",
+  "settings:resetToDefaults": "恢复默认",
+  "settings:search.about": "关于 Hermes Desktop",
+  "settings:search.gateway": "搜索网关连接...",
+  "settings:search.keys": "搜索 API 密钥...",
+  "settings:search.mcp": "搜索 MCP 服务器...",
+  "settings:search.placeholder": "搜索设置...",
+  "settings:search.sessions": "搜索已归档会话...",
+  "settings:search.tools": "搜索技能和工具...",
+  "settings:section.advanced": "高级",
+  "settings:section.appearance": "外观",
+  "settings:section.chat": "聊天",
+  "settings:section.memory": "记忆与上下文",
+  "settings:section.model": "模型",
+  "settings:section.safety": "安全",
+  "settings:section.voice": "语音",
+  "settings:section.workspace": "工作区",
+  "settings:sessions.delete": "永久删除",
+  "settings:sessions.deleteConfirm": "永久删除\"{{title}}\"?此操作不可撤销。",
+  "settings:sessions.deleteFailed": "删除失败",
+  "settings:sessions.description": "已归档的聊天会从侧边栏隐藏,但保留所有消息。在侧边栏中按 Ctrl/⌘-点击可归档一个聊天。",
+  "settings:sessions.empty.idle": "归档一个聊天即可在此查看。",
+  "settings:sessions.empty.search": "没有匹配搜索的归档聊天。",
+  "settings:sessions.empty.title": "暂无归档",
+  "settings:sessions.loading": "正在加载已归档会话…",
+  "settings:sessions.restored": "已恢复",
+  "settings:sessions.title": "已归档会话",
+  "settings:sessions.unarchive": "取消归档",
+  "settings:sessions.unarchiveFailed": "取消归档失败",
+  "settings:tools.configureAria": "配置 {{name}}",
+  "settings:tools.configured": "已配置",
+  "settings:tools.loadFailed": "加载能力失败",
+  "settings:tools.loading": "正在加载技能和工具集...",
+  "settings:tools.more": "还有 {{count}} 个",
+  "settings:tools.needsKeys": "需要密钥",
+  "settings:tools.refreshFailed": "刷新工具集失败",
+  "settings:tools.skillDisabled": "技能已禁用",
+  "settings:tools.skillEnabled": "技能已启用",
+  "settings:tools.skillUpdateFailed": "更新 {{name}} 失败",
+  "settings:tools.skillUpdated": "{{name}} 将在新会话中生效。",
+  "settings:tools.skills": "技能",
+  "settings:tools.skillsEnabled": "已启用 {{count}} 个",
+  "settings:tools.toggleAria": "切换 {{name}} 工具集",
+  "settings:tools.toolsetDisabled": "工具集已禁用",
+  "settings:tools.toolsetEnabled": "工具集已启用",
+  "settings:tools.toolsetUpdateFailed": "更新 {{name}} 失败",
+  "settings:tools.toolsetUpdated": "{{name}} 将在新会话中生效。",
+  "settings:tools.toolsets": "工具集",
+  "settings:toolset.active": "已激活",
+  "settings:toolset.done": "完成",
+  "settings:toolset.empty.noAvailable": "此工具集当前没有可用的 provider。",
+  "settings:toolset.empty.noProviders": "此工具集没有可选的 provider — 启用后即可在当前设置下工作。",
+  "settings:toolset.loadFailed": "加载工具配置失败",
+  "settings:toolset.loading": "正在加载配置...",
+  "settings:toolset.noKeyRequired": "无需 API 密钥。",
+  "settings:toolset.nousAuth": "包含在 Nous 订阅中 — 登录 Nous Portal 即可激活。",
+  "settings:toolset.optionalKeys": "可选的密钥",
+  "settings:toolset.postSetup": "此 provider 需要额外的设置步骤({{step}}),请暂时通过 CLI 运行 `hermes tools` 完成。",
+  "settings:toolset.providerSelected.message": "{{name}} 已激活。",
+  "settings:toolset.providerSelected.title": "已选择 provider",
+  "settings:toolset.providers": "提供商",
+  "settings:toolset.ready": "就绪",
+  "settings:toolset.requiredKeys": "必需的密钥",
+  "settings:toolset.selectFailed": "选择 {{name}} 失败"
+}
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/main.tsx b/apps/desktop/src/main.tsx
index 59341df1a1a7..5b5386ed381c 100644
--- a/apps/desktop/src/main.tsx
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/main.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import './styles.css'
+import './lib/i18n'
 
 import { QueryClient, QueryClientProvider } from '@tanstack/react-query'
 import { StrictMode } from 'react'
diff --git a/apps/desktop/src/types/i18next.d.ts b/apps/desktop/src/types/i18next.d.ts
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..59fdcfaabfa1
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/desktop/src/types/i18next.d.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+import 'i18next'
+
+// Hermes Desktop uses flat i18n keys with a `namespace:section.subsection`
+// convention for grep-friendliness (e.g. `settings:mcp.configured`).
+//
+// i18next's default `CustomTypeOptions.resources` infers nested objects from
+// the JSON shape, which would require either nesting the JSON (`settings: {
+// mcp: { configured: "..." } }`) or providing a literal-union of every
+// dotted key — both fragile and ugly for our grep-friendly flat layout.
+//
+// We deliberately do NOT augment `resources` so `t()` keeps its default
+// `TFunctionNonStrict` signature (any string key, any options object). The
+// parity test (`src/locales/locales.test.ts`) is what actually guards key
+// drift between locales.
+declare module 'i18next' {
+  interface CustomTypeOptions {
+    defaultNS: 'translation'
+    returnNull: false
+  }
+}
+
+export {}