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At DeepL, we’re on a mission to break down communication barriers and help developers integrate our powerful translation engine into their own projects and systems. Whether you’re a DeepL API newbie or you’re worried you’re missing out on some awesome features, this guide is for you. Before trying any of the features below, you’ll need to sign up for a DeepL API account, then head to your account to find your API key. You’re then ready to get exploring the DeepL API!

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1. Send your first translation request

Most people’s first experience of the translation power of DeepL is by translating some text in the web translator, so what better way to test out the same power in the API than sending a text translation. Open up your terminal and paste the following in (making sure you replace [yourAuthKey] with your own): 
curl -X POST 'https://api-free.deepl.com/v2/translate' \
--header 'Authorization: DeepL-Auth-Key [yourAuthKey]' \
--header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
--data '{
    "text": [
        "Hello, world!"
    ],
    "target_lang": "DE"
}'
Hit return, et voila (that’s French for - well, find out for yourself) - you’ll see the translation returned back to you in the terminal, and congratulations, you’ve just sent your first API request!

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2. Set up a Postman environment

Getting up and running with the DeepL API needn’t be daunting. Before you open up a terminal or IDE to start writing your own code, the easiest way to get started is to set up an environment in Postman. Postman is a simple (but powerful) API tool that allows you to make API requests without writing a line of code. The best bit? DeepL already has an official workspace there to get you up and running even faster, with a collection that has references to all the API functionality - click the button below to get started!

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3. Translate a document

Just like translating text, the DeepL API also has the functionality to translate entire documents, meaning you don’t need to copy, paste, translate and back again. The DeepL API supports a huge range of document formats, and just like sending a text translation request, you only need a small amount of code: 
curl -X POST 'https://api-free.deepl.com/v2/document' \
--header 'Authorization: DeepL-Auth-Key [yourAuthKey]' \
--form 'target_lang=DE' \
--form 'file=@document.docx'
There are a few more steps involved to retrieve the translated document, so check out the full documentation to find out how, or take a look at our Postman flow that shows all the steps connected.

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4. Get started super fast with a client library

Ready to start building with DeepL? Rather than starting from scratch, why not take some of the strain out of building your first DeepL powered application by using a client library in your favorite programming language? With client libraries, you don’t need to worry about building your own connection and authentication code, or handling multi-step processes like document translation - client libraries handle all the heavy lifting so you can concentrate on the fun stuff. Right now, client libraries are available for .NET, PHP, Node, Python, Ruby and Java - you can find them all with great documentation in our GitHub repository

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5. Get involved with the developer community

Created a killer app powered by DeepL? Want to ask what the best what practise is for integrating using C#? The official DeepL Developer Community on DeepL Bridges is the place to go. As well as finding other community members - and maybe helping them with their own questions - you’ll also find community exclusive events to attend and even a DeepL staffer or two talking about all things API development.