Before you start
You need Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit), a Google or Discord account, and an internet connection to download the subtitles. The translation itself happens on your PC while you play.
Switch the game to Borderless or Windowed mode. Kaption draws subtitles through the Windows desktop compositor, and exclusive fullscreen turns that off, so the overlay flickers or disappears. In Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail, press Alt+Enter or change Display Mode in the graphics settings.
When auto-detect misses the dialogue
Kaption remembers the dialogue area for each game. If subtitles don't show up, cut off the end of a line, or show text from another part of the screen, open Game and subtitles. The Dialogue area card has three buttons: Detect automatically, Adjust the frame and Show the frame.
The frame should cover the speaker's name and the whole line of dialogue. Keep the Polish overlay outside it, or Kaption starts reading its own subtitles.
Home: what Kaption is doing right now
After setup, Kaption opens Home. The menu on the left has six pages: Home, Game and subtitles, Subtitle style, Shortcuts, Characters and Help. The big card on Home says what is going on: Waiting for the game, Translating, Downloading subtitles or Building the index. Until the game is running, the card says: Start Genshin Impact and Kaption starts by itself. The first time, the index takes about 20 seconds.
When something needs you, the card says so plainly and gives you one button. Text reader didn't start? You get Try again and Run on the processor. Device limit reached? Open my account. If something blocks auto-start, such as a missing dialogue area or an expired sign-in, the card shows Auto-start on hold with the reason and a button that fixes it, such as Pick the dialogue area or Sign in. When a newer subtitle pack comes out, the Subtitle packs card shows a Download link with its version number.
Dark, light or match Windows
Kaption has a dark and a light theme. By default it follows Windows and switches with your Windows app mode, even while it's open. You change it on the Subtitle style page, in the Kaption's look card.
Help and Advanced mode
The Help page has the guides, problem reports and the log. Run the setup again opens the same setup window if you want to go through it once more.
Settings for the curious, like the text recognition model or the exact frame position in pixels, sit in the Advanced sections on each page. The Advanced mode switch at the bottom of Help opens all of them at once and shows technical details in the status bar and on Home.
Step by step
-
Download and install
Get the installer from the home page. It brings everything Kaption needs, so you don't install .NET separately. Start your game before you go on.
-
Welcome
Pick the app language, Polski or English, and accept the licence terms and the privacy policy. Anonymous crash reports are off by default.
-
Game
Kaption finds the running game, sets the dialogue area and shows a preview of the frame. The frame should cover the speaker's name and the whole line. If it's off, click Adjust by hand and draw it yourself.
-
Sign-in
Click Sign in with your browser. kaption.one opens and you sign in with Google or Discord. The setup window moves on by itself.
-
Preparing
Kaption downloads the Polish subtitles for your game and shows the progress, for example 42% of 96 MB. It only takes a moment.
-
Done
You get a summary and the four everyday shortcuts. Click Let's go and switch to the game: Kaption starts translating by itself once the game is on screen. Try it on a conversation with a few lines of text.
Questions
Do I need to set the dialogue area every time?
No. Kaption remembers it for each game. You usually come back to it only after you change the resolution, UI scale, monitor or window mode. Then click Detect automatically on the Game and subtitles page.
What should I check when Kaption reads the wrong text?
On Game and subtitles, click Show the frame and check that the Polish overlay isn't inside it. Then click Detect automatically or Adjust the frame, so the frame covers the speaker's name and the whole line.
Subtitles flicker in fullscreen. What now?
Switch the game to Borderless or Windowed mode (Alt+Enter, or the in-game Display Mode setting). Exclusive fullscreen disables the Windows desktop compositor that every overlay relies on, including Discord, Steam, and Kaption.
Does Kaption start translating by itself?
Yes. When the game window is in front, translation starts by itself, and it stops when you close the game. Until the game is running, Home shows Waiting for the game. If you stop it yourself, Kaption waits until you start it again. Rather start it by hand every time? On the Game and subtitles page, turn off Translate by itself when the game is on screen.
How do I go through the setup again?
Open Help and click Run the setup again. The same setup window opens: game, dialogue area and sign-in. A dialogue area you drew by hand stays; only Detect automatically replaces it.
I've used Kaption for a while. Do I set everything up again after an update?
No. If Kaption was already set up on your PC, the setup window doesn't appear and your settings stay. Home shows a New in 2.5 card once, with the auto-start switch right on it. You accept the licence again only if its terms change.
I closed the window and Kaption is still running. Why?
Closing the window hides Kaption in the tray next to the clock, so translation keeps going. To quit, right-click the Kaption icon in the tray and choose Quit Kaption.
