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Download Contextra

Contextra is a desktop CAT tool for Word, Excel and PowerPoint files (.docx, .xlsx and .pptx). One download installs everything, with no server to set up.

Document text leaves your computer to reach the AI, when you share work with a team, and in the backup copies you choose to save to another folder. On your own API key it goes straight to your provider. On AI Credits it passes through Contextra's gateway, a Contextra server that forwards it to the provider. Otherwise your Contextra account receives metadata only, such as each exported document's file name, languages and page count. Where your data goes

Version 1.7.1 · released September 29, 2026 · What's new

The Contextra app signs in with an email and password only, so it can't sign in to an account created with Google or Microsoft. New here? Start your free 14-day trial: no credit card needed, and the 14 days start when you create the account. AI isn't included: use your own API key or buy AI Credits.

For Mac and Windows computers. There's no web, phone or tablet version.

Choose your download

Mac with Apple Silicon

M1 or later · macOS 13 or later

Download for Apple Silicon

Contextra_1.7.1_aarch64.dmg · 47 MB

Signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple. macOS asks you to confirm once, the first time you open it.

Windows

Windows 10 or 11 · 64-bit (x64), Intel or AMD

Download for Windows

Contextra_1.7.1_x64-setup.exe · 34 MB

The installer isn't code-signed, so Windows warns you before it runs. How to install · How to update

Mac with an Intel processor

macOS 13 or later

Not sure which Mac you have? Choose Apple menu ▸ About This Mac: a “Chip” line means Apple Silicon, and a “Processor” line means Intel.

Download for Intel Mac

Contextra_1.7.1_x64.dmg · 51 MB

The Apple Silicon build won't open on an Intel Mac. On an Apple Silicon Mac, use the build above.

Other downloads (IT deployment)
Windows installer package (.msi) · Contextra_1.7.1_x64_en-US.msi · 44 MBDownload .msi

Like the standard installer, it isn't code-signed. Copies installed from it get the same update notice.

System requirements

macOSWindows
SystemmacOSmacOS 13 or laterWindowsWindows 10 or 11
ProcessormacOSApple Silicon (M1 or later) or Intel, each with its own downloadWindows64-bit (x64), Intel or AMD; there's no build for ARM-based PCs
Installed with itmacOSNothing elseWindowsMicrosoft Edge WebView2, downloaded by the installer if the PC doesn't have it
AccountA Contextra account with an email and password: the app can't sign in with a Google or Microsoft account.
InternetNeeded to sign in the first time, for every AI step and for team syncing. After that, Contextra opens without a connection, and its license stays valid for up to 14 days after its last online check (7 on a Team seat). Past that, the AI pauses and exports carry an “UNLICENSED TRIAL” notice until Contextra can check again; your work is never locked away.
AIYour own API key from Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI (GPT) or Google (Gemini), used with a plan or the trial, or AI Credits bought on contextra.pro. No plan pays for AI use, and neither does the trial.
Files it opensWord (.docx), Excel (.xlsx) and PowerPoint (.pptx), plus Contextra working files (.contextra). Not legacy .doc, .xls or .ppt files, macro-enabled files or templates, PDF, RTF, ODT, IDML, XLIFF or SDLXLIFF files, agency packages, or password-protected files. What isn't translated
InterfaceEnglish, Português (Brasil) or Español, or follow your computer's language (any other language shows English).
Not availableLinux; a native build for Windows on ARM; a single universal Mac build; web, phone or tablet versions. Windows 11 on ARM may run the x64 build under emulation, which is untested; Windows 10 on ARM can't run it.
LanguagesYou can translate between 27 language variants in 19 languages. Arabic and Hebrew translations aren't switched to right-to-left layout for you, and spell-check uses your computer's own dictionaries (on Windows, only in the Windows display language). Once the source language is set, the Quality check compares numbers and dates in 7 of these languages: English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Dutch. Word count & quote counts a whole sentence as one word in Chinese, Japanese and Thai.

Install Contextra

On a Mac

  1. Open the .dmg you downloaded and drag Contextra into Applications.
  2. Open Contextra. The first time, macOS asks you to confirm that you want to open an app downloaded from the internet: click Open.

On Windows

Contextra's Windows installers aren't code-signed, so Windows warns you before running one.

  1. If your browser warns that the file isn't commonly downloaded, choose to keep it.
  2. Open the installer you downloaded (its name ends in ‑setup, or ‑setup.exe if Windows shows file extensions).
  3. Windows shows “Windows protected your PC”. Click More info, then Run anyway.
  4. If your PC doesn't have Microsoft Edge WebView2, the installer downloads it, so stay online while it runs.
  5. When it finishes, open Contextra.

Check your download (optional)

Compare the file's SHA-256 checksum with the one on its card above. A match shows the file arrived intact; it doesn't identify who published it.

On a Mac (Terminal)

shasum -a 256 ~/Downloads/Contextra_1.7.1_aarch64.dmg

On Windows (PowerShell)

Get-FileHash "$HOME\Downloads\Contextra_1.7.1_x64-setup.exe" -Algorithm SHA256

Upper or lower case doesn't matter when you compare. If you saved the file somewhere else, or downloaded the Intel build or the .msi, change the path or the file name.

The first time you open Contextra

Sign in, make three quick choices (about two minutes, and you can skip any of them), then try the whole workflow on a short sample.

  1. Sign in

    Use your Contextra account's email and password. No account yet? Create one on contextra.pro. Your free 14-day trial starts when you create it, and no credit card is needed. The first start can take a few seconds.

  2. Pick your interface language

    English, Português (Brasil) or Español, or follow your computer's language. You can switch later without restarting.

  3. Choose how the AI is paid

    Choose one of the two ways below. You can switch in Settings whenever you like.

    My own API key

    Paste your Claude, GPT or Gemini key and Contextra checks it right away. On your own key, every AI request goes straight from your computer to the provider, and Contextra adds nothing to your provider's bill. The key is stored on your computer in a plain file, not in your keychain, and never goes into backups. Needs a plan or the free trial.

    The check confirms that the provider accepts the key, not that your provider account has credit.

    AI Credits

    No API key needed: buy a prepaid credit pack on contextra.pro and translate with the models Contextra offers on AI Credits (not every model available on your own key). You pay only for what you use.

    Needs a positive credit balance. With no plan, it keeps working after your trial, and exports stay free of a watermark while the balance is above zero.

    See the credit packs and prices

    Not ready to decide? Click Next and choose later. Everything except the AI works without it.

  4. Set your usual language pair

    New documents start in it, unless their project or team assignment has its own pair. Give it a source language rather than Auto-Detect, so your memory can be used from the start.

  5. Try it on the sample

    Open the built-in sample, a short fictional contract in Spanish, and run the whole workflow before you touch a client file. Translating it is a normal AI run, paid with your own API key or AI Credits. A Getting started checklist ticks itself off as you go.

Coming from another CAT tool? Import your TMX and TBX files in Memory. Imports bring plain text, without inline formatting or sentence context, so imported entries never give 101% or 102% matches, and each memory holds one language pair. Your memory works on your computer, with no AI key needed.

With your own API key

How should the AI be paid?Step 2 of 3
Contextra drafts with an AI model. Choose who pays for it — you can switch in Settings at any time.My own API keyClaude, GPT or Gemini. You pay the provider directly, and documents go straight to them.AI CreditsNo key needed. Contextra runs the AI and deducts prepaid credits by actual use.AnthropicOpenAIGooglePaste your keyCheck and saveKey works — saved.Where do I get one?
Skip setupBackNext

With AI Credits, after buying a pack

How should the AI be paid?Step 2 of 3
Contextra drafts with an AI model. Choose who pays for it — you can switch in Settings at any time.My own API keyClaude, GPT or Gemini. You pay the provider directly, and documents go straight to them.AI CreditsNo key needed. Contextra runs the AI and deducts prepaid credits by actual use.Credit balance: 500Buy credits
Skip setupBackNext
  1. Paste a key from Anthropic, OpenAI or Google.
  2. Check and save asks the provider right away.
  3. The key is saved on this computer, for your account.
The welcome setup's AI step with your own API key (left) and with AI Credits after buying a pack (right). Invented accounts; no real key is shown.

Updates

Contextra tells you when a new version is ready, and installing it keeps your documents, memories and settings where they were.

On a Mac

  • Click Update and restart in the notice.
  • First leave any cell you're typing in, and let any running translation finish: this restart skips the save that quitting normally does.
  • If macOS won't let Contextra replace itself (on a standard account, for example), the notice sends you here instead. Download the build for your Mac and drag it into Applications, replacing the old copy.

On Windows

The notice tells you a new version is available, and Get the update opens this page. Download the Windows installer, then:

  1. Quit Contextra (File ▸ Exit), so it saves your open documents first.
  2. Run the installer. Windows shows its warning again: click More info, then Run anyway.
  3. If an uninstall window opens, leave any box that offers to delete Contextra's data unticked.

A new version can take up to about an hour to be offered, and a dismissed notice stays hidden until the next version.

Once you've installed 1.7, don't go back to 1.6.1 or earlier: those versions can't open your Library documents or restore backups made by 1.7.

Moving to a new computer

Contextra doesn't sync your Library, Translation Memories and Term Bases between computers: they're stored on your computer, and a backup carries them across. On Windows they sit in your roaming profile folder, so if your organization syncs roaming profiles, Windows may copy them to its servers.

  1. On the old computer, open Settings ▸ Backups. Under Also copy to a folder, choose a USB drive or a synced folder (Dropbox, iCloud Drive or OneDrive), then click Back up now.
  2. Install Contextra on the new computer, sign in with the same account, and go through the welcome setup again or skip it.
  3. Close any open documents, then open Settings ▸ Backups ▸ Restore from file… and choose the backup .zip (in the Contextra backups folder inside the folder you chose). It replaces that computer's Translation Memories, Term Bases and Library, after saving them as a “Before restore” snapshot.
  4. If you skipped the welcome's AI step, set it in Settings ▸ AI. Backups never include API keys, so add them again; an AI Credits balance belongs to your account.
  5. Your theme, your number and date formats and your quote rates are set on each computer, and backups don't carry them.
  6. Done with the old computer? Sign out of Contextra there (or sign that computer out in your dashboard), then remove Contextra's data from it: see Removing Contextra from a computer, below.

Contextra also backs up your Translation Memories, Term Bases and Library on your computer every day you use it, never uploaded to Contextra. Backups are ordinary zip files, not encrypted, and a synced folder puts its copy in that service's cloud. Keep the folder copy on another disk, and check the Last backup date now and then.

Removing Contextra from a computer

Signing out doesn't delete your Library, memories, API keys or backups, and neither does moving Contextra to the Trash on a Mac. The Privacy Policy lists the folders to delete.

What's new in Contextra 1.7

Everything below is in the version you download today, newest first.

Version 1.7

  • A welcome setup and a new checklist. A two-minute welcome, which you can skip, sets your language, how the AI is paid and your usual language pair. A Getting started checklist then ticks itself off as you work.
  • Excel and PowerPoint previews. Spreadsheets preview as sheets and presentations as slides with their speaker notes, beside the grid and in the Export view. They're drawn by Contextra, not by Excel or PowerPoint.
  • Links in Word translations. See where a Word link points, and add a link or change its address while you translate, with ⌘L (Ctrl+L).
  • Line breaks that stay line breaks. Shift+Enter adds a line break inside a segment, and it arrives as a real line break in Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
  • Spell-check as you edit. Your computer's own spell-checker underlines mistakes in the translation you're editing; on Windows, only when you translate into the language Windows is displayed in.
  • Archive, Recently deleted and project export. Mark a finished workspace project as done to archive it in one piece. Deleted work waits 30 days in Recently deleted, and a whole workspace project can go out as a single .zip.

Version 1.6

  • A Usage dashboard. See what your AI use on this computer costs (an estimate on your own key) by day, step, language pair, document and project, and download it as a CSV.

Version 1.5

  • Instructions to the AI. Give the AI instructions for all your documents, a workspace project or one document; it's told the most specific one wins.1 Describe your house style for dates in your own words.

Version 1.4

  • Excel and PowerPoint files. Translate Excel (.xlsx) and PowerPoint (.pptx) files in the same workflow as Word, and get the same kind of file back.2
  • The whole Word document. Headers, footers, footnotes, endnotes and text boxes are translated along with the body.3 Word documents imported before 1.4 need to be imported again to include them.
  • A Quality check. A free check on your computer flags IDs and case numbers that changed, and numbers and dates that don't match the source. It uses no AI. Treat a finding as a question, not a verdict.
  • Concordance. Select a phrase and press ⌘⇧K (Ctrl+Shift+K) to see where it appears in your Term Bases, Translation Memories and other saved documents.
  • Word count & quote. Get a CAT-style word count against your Translation Memories, for languages that separate words with spaces, and turn it into a quote with your rate and minimum fee, also shown in laudas (the Brazilian page unit).
  • Undo and row history. Undo a Translate run, a Replace all, a merge or a split in an open document with ⌘Z (Ctrl+Z), and bring back any of a segment's last 20 versions.
  • Daily backups. Every day you use Contextra, it backs up your Translation Memories, Term Bases and Library on your computer, and can copy each backup to a folder you choose.
  • Dark mode and three interface languages. Work in light or dark, or follow your system, in English, Brazilian Portuguese or Spanish, and switch without restarting.
  • Whole projects at once. Tick a project's documents and run Analyze & translate on all of them in one step,1 and check all of a project's documents for consistency in one click.

Version 1.3

  • A Library organized by client. Group your documents into workspace projects, one per client or case. Your work is saved as you go, and a document you've already translated is recognized.
  • A new layout. One sidebar for the Library, Memory, Usage and Settings, a footer that shows where each document stands, and ⌘K (Ctrl+K) to search commands, workspace projects and documents.
  • Badges that say where each translation came from. Every row shows where its translation came from (memory, AI, accepted or failed), and text you typed yourself is never labeled as AI.

1Anything the AI does needs your own API key (with a plan or the trial) or AI Credits, and an internet connection.

2Not translated: charts, SmartArt, comments, slide layouts and masters, and in Excel, sheet names, headers and footers, pivots and formula results. Text isn't re-fitted, so it can overflow its box. A translated word that an Excel formula looks for can stop that formula from matching. Hidden sheets, rows and columns are translated and sent to the AI like the rest. Team projects take Word (.docx) files only.

3Page numbers and other fields in a translated paragraph become fixed text (“Page 1 of 3” on every page), and comments aren't translated. Text inside tracked changes or inline content controls stays in the source language, with no warning, and can move to the end of its paragraph. Accept or reject changes first. Hidden text is translated and sent to the AI like the rest.

See every feature, with the conditions that apply

Try the full app free for 14 days

No credit card needed. The 14 days start when you create your account. AI isn't included: use your own API key or buy AI Credits.

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