Babel — Group-native translator for iMessage

Add to any iMessage group. Everyone texts in their own language. Everyone understands everything. Zero downloads.

Built for Photon's Best iMessage Agent contest ($3k) — Best Use Case + Most Creative + Viral kicker. Stack: Photon Spectrum (spectrum-ts) + LLM (Claude/OpenAI) + Whisper (stretch).

Status

MVP scaffold. Deadline: Sept 10 (post on X + Typeform). Judging thru Sept 12 — keep agent alive.

Quickstart

1. npm install
2. Copy .env.example → .env, fill SPECTRUM_PROJECT_ID, SPECTRUM_PROJECT_SECRET, LLM_API_KEY
3. Terminal test (no iMessage credits): npm run dev:terminal
4. Full (iMessage + terminal): npm run dev
5. Add the Photon iMessage line to a group → send non-English → watch thread reply.

See ARCHITECTURE.md, DEMO_SCRIPT.md, CONTEST_CHECKLIST.md, copy-deck.md.

Commands (locked)

• Auto-translate: automatic, thread-only, no command.
• DM I speak X: save pref.
• @babel explain: slang/joke explainer.
• @babel recap: cross-lingual decisions recap.
• @babel in X?: one-off translation to X.
• @babel help: 3 things only.