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Create glossary with API

This guide walks you through the process of using Glossaries via the Palabra API. Glossaries let you define how the Speech-to-Speech Translation API recognizes and translates specific words or phrases. This is especially useful for ensuring consistent and accurate translations of professional, technical, or brand-specific terminology when integrating Palabra into your own applications or workflows.

Step 1: Get API Credentials​

Visit Palabra API keys section to obtain your Client ID and Client Secret.

Step 2: Prepare your file​

Requirements for a glossary file:

Accepted formats: CSV Maximum file size: 1 MB

The required file format depends on the Glossary Type:

  • Translation: Two words or phrases per row, separated by a comma — first the term in the Source Language, followed by the term in the Target Language.
  • Validation: Two words or phrases per row, separated by a comma — both terms in the Source Language.

Step 3: Send Glossary Creation Request​

Glossary creation through the API is performed in two steps:

Step 1: Submit glossary metadata​

First, send a POST request to create glossary.
At this stage, you do not upload the csv file itself — only its metadata is submitted.

Sample payload​

{
  "name": "Glossary#2",
  "is_enabled": "true",
  "glossary_type": "translation",
  "source_lang": "en",
  "target_lang": "fr"
}

Field descriptions​

name (required)​

A user-defined name for the glossary.
This name will appear in your Palabra dashboard and help you identify the glossary later.

is_enabled (required)​

Indicates whether the glossary should be active immediately after creation.

  • true: The glossary is enabled and can be used by the API.
  • false: The glossary is saved but not yet active.

glossary_type (required)​

Specifies the type of glossary to create. Each type determines how terms are formatted and interpreted:

  • translation: Source-target word/phrase mapping for translation.
  • asr: Used to validate or correct speech recognition results.

source_lang (required)​

The language code for the source language of the glossary (e.g., en, fr, bg).
Used to interpret input terms.

target_lang (conditionally required)​

The language code for the target language, required only if glossary_type is translation.
Ignored for asr and asr_hot.

Create glossary request​

fetch('https://api.palabra.ai/saas/glossary', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
        'ClientId': '<YOUR_CLIENT_ID>',
        'ClientSecret': '<YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET>'
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
        data: {
            name: 'Glossary#2',
            is_enabled: true,
            glossary_type: 'translation',
            source_lang: 'en',
            target_lang: 'fr'
        }
    })
})
    .then(response => response.json())
    .catch(error => {
        console.error('Error creating glossary:', error);
    });

Response example​

{
    "glossary_id": "62edf6b3-458a-4bed-ab6e-e0b257bb4471",
    "user_id": "02117a4f-a847-4264-9807-704d279bbf3a",
    "name": "Glossary#2",
    "is_enabled": true,
    "glossary_type": "translation",
    "source_lang": "en",
    "target_lang": "fr",
    "utc_created_at": "2025-06-23T11:30:44.445612"
}

Step 2: Upload your file​

Upload your file using POST request to the following endpoint:

https://api.palabra.ai/saas/glossary/${id}/upload
const formData = new FormData();
formData.append('file', file);

fetch('https://api.palabra.ai/saas/glossary/62edf6b3-458a-4bed-ab6e-e0b257bb4471/upload', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'ClientId': '<YOUR_CLIENT_ID>',
    'ClientSecret': '<YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET>'
  },
  body: formData
})
.then(response => response.json())
.catch(error => {
  console.error('Upload error:', error);
});

After you upload the file, the glossary is ready to use. All active glossaries are automatically applied to every translation pipeline in your Palabra account - no extra setup needed.