Proposal: Add Chinese (zh-CN) documentation / README translation

Author: zhengsuanfaCreated Jan 7, 2026Updated Sep 1, 2026
  • I have searched the issues of this repo and believe that this is not a duplicate.
  • I have searched the documentation and believe that my question is not covered.

Issue

Hi, thank you for the great project!

I would like to contribute a Simplified Chinese (zh-CN) translation to help more users in China understand and use ActivityWatch.

My initial plan is:

  • Add a README.zh-CN.md that is a Chinese translation of the main README.md.
  • Add a short language switch section to the top of README.md, e.g.:
    • Read this in other languages: [简体中文](./README.zh-CN.md)
  • Optionally, if you think it makes sense, I can also help translate some key pages of the documentation site (such as Getting started / FAQ) and follow whatever structure you prefer for multilingual docs.

Before I start working on this, I would like to confirm:

  1. Are you open to having a Chinese translation in this repository?
  2. Do you have any preference on:
    • The file name (e.g. README.zh-CN.md vs README_zh-CN.md)?
    • Where translations should live (root vs a docs/ or i18n/ subdirectory)?
  3. Are there any existing terminology/style guidelines that I should follow when translating?

If you agree with this direction, I will:

  • Fork the repository.
  • Create a new branch for the zh-CN translation.
  • Submit a pull request referencing this issue.

Thanks again for your time, and looking forward to your feedback!

Source: ActivityWatch/activitywatch