Colorize Only

Use the Colorize Only workflow when you want to colorize a batch of images without detection, OCR, translation, inpainting, or rendering. In the "Translation Workflow Mode:" combo box on the translation page it sits after "Import Translation and Render", and its start button reads "Start Colorizing". The mode only runs the colorization stage and then returns immediately to save the main output image; selecting the mode does not force a colorizer, and when colorizer.colorizer is none the result is the original image.

Colorize Only, Upscale Only, and Inpaint Only are the single-stage workflows; the overall boundaries of the nine workflows are in Output Directory and Workflow, with a summary table in Workflow Matrix. The colorizer type, colorization size, and denoise strength parameters are covered by Upscale and Colorization, and the forced parameter overrides of the nine modes by Mode-Specific Workflows and Template Alignment.

When to use it

• Inputs: the main input images (the same file-discovery rules as normal translation: supported extensions are found recursively, collected in natural sort order, and directories named manga_translator_work are skipped).
• Stages executed: colorization (conditional). Whether colorization actually runs is decided by colorizer.colorizer; when it is none, the result is the original image.
• Stages skipped: upscaling, detection, OCR, textline merge, translation, mask refinement, inpainting, and rendering. The Colorize Only branch sits right after colorization and before upscaling in the source, so upscaling never runs even when upscale_ratio is set.
• Output files: the main output image; the editor base image manga_translator_work/editor_base/<original-filename> when the colorizer is active (colorizer != none); and, when cli.save_text is enabled, the batch path also writes a project JSON with empty regions (the exact JSON fields may differ by release).
• Workflow field: combo index 5 writes cli.colorize_only=true; GUI switching keeps the eight workflow booleans mutually exclusive.

Run this workflow

Select the Colorize Only workflow

1. Open the translation page and choose "Colorize Only" in the "Translation Workflow Mode:" combo box.
2. The page title becomes "Colorize Only" and the subtitle shows the hint: only colorize images, no detection, OCR, translation or rendering.
3. The start button becomes "Start Colorizing"; clicking it starts the backend task in this mode.

Selecting a mode only writes configuration and updates the UI texts; it does not start a task. Before starting, add the main input images ("Add Files...", "Add Folder...", or drag-and-drop) and enter or drop an output folder into "Output Directory:". When the colorizer is openai_colorizer / gemini_colorizer, the matching API key must be configured in API Management first; the i18n description says the UI will not start translation without the key, and whether the same blocking check applies when starting this workflow may vary by release.

Processing order

Stages and outputs

Colorize Only reuses the colorization step of _translate_until_translation() and returns early after the colorizer runs and before upscaling starts. The Mermaid diagram below shows the stage order, result assignment, and output branches; the dashed edges are the normal-flow continuation that Colorize Only never enters.

flowchart LR
    Input["Main input image"] --> CQ{"colorizer.colorizer\n!= none?"}
    CQ -- "yes" --> Run["Run the colorizer"]
    CQ -- "no" --> Skip["Skip colorization\nresult = original image"]
    Run --> Result["ctx.result = colorized result"]
    Skip --> Result
    Result --> Save["Save the main output image"]
    Result --> BaseQ{"Colorizer active\n(colorizer != none)?"}
    BaseQ -- "yes" --> Base["Editor base image\nmanga_translator_work/editor_base/"]
    BaseQ -- "no" --> NoBase["No editor base image"]
    Result -. "save_text or text_output_file" .-> Json["Project JSON (empty regions)"]
    Result -. "Colorize Only never enters" .-> Skipped["Normal continuation: upscale / detection / OCR / translation / mask / inpaint / render"]

The diagram expresses the branches: with colorize_only=true, _translate_until_translation() sets ctx.result to the colorized image after colorization, sets ctx.text_regions to an empty list, reports the progress state colorize-only-complete (a core-internal finished state with no dedicated desktop locale text), writes the editor base when needed, and returns; the batch path never calls _complete_translation_pipeline() and never runs upscaling, detection, OCR, translation, mask refinement, inpainting, or rendering. When colorizer.colorizer=none, the colorization step is skipped, ctx.img_colorized = ctx.input, and the result is the original image.

Concurrency and mutual exclusion

• batch_concurrent is incompatible: both the desktop controller and the core translate_batch() list Colorize Only among the incompatible modes and force non-concurrent processing; keeping the concurrent setting in the UI does not turn this into a concurrent pipeline.
• Manually stacking multiple workflow fields is not a supported combination. GUI switching keeps the eight fields mutually exclusive; in the core dispatch, the Colorize Only branch returns before the Upscale Only and Inpaint Only branches, so combining it with upscale_only or inpaint_only results in Colorize Only behavior only. This guide does not describe such stacking as supported.
• As with normal translation, whether colorization runs is decided by colorizer.colorizer; Colorize Only does not force a colorizer. Normal, Upscale Only, Inpaint Only, and Replace Translation also colorize first when colorizer.colorizer != none; that is the colorization stage itself, not unique to this workflow.

Inputs, outputs, and limitations

• colorizer.colorizer=none: no colorization runs, the output is the original image, and no editor base is written; this is the direct consequence of Colorize Only not forcing a colorizer.
• AI colorizers: openai_colorizer / gemini_colorizer need the matching API key (.env) and a reachable network; the i18n description says the UI will not start translation without the key, and the actual blocking prompt when starting this workflow may vary by release.
• upscale_ratio: the Colorize Only branch returns before upscaling, so upscaling settings are ignored in this mode.
• cli.overwrite=false: the GUI filters images whose main output image (from _calculate_output_path) already exists before starting; if every image is skipped, the task ends before translation begins.
• cli.save_text: default is true; the batch save path writes a project JSON with empty regions (current behavior; the actual content of an empty-regions JSON and editor behavior need confirmation in the deployed version).
• No text regions means none of the detection, OCR, translation, mask, inpainting, or rendering intermediate files are produced: no inpainted image, no original/translated TXT, and no template-export files.
• PSD export (export_editable_psd) belongs to the shared save logic _save_and_cleanup_context(); the actual PSD content for this mode with no text regions may vary by release.
• Colorization model, VRAM, network, and API costs follow colorizer.colorizer and the colorization parameters; this guide does not repeat those parameter descriptions.

Read next

• Other workflows: Normal Translation · Export Original Text · Export Translation · Translate JSON Only · Import Translation and Render · Upscale Only · Inpaint Only · Replace Translation
• Selecting a workflow, output directory, and mutually exclusive writes: Output Directory and Workflow
• Inputs, skipped stages, and outputs of all nine workflows: Workflow Matrix
• Mutually exclusive workflow fields, parameter overrides, and template alignment: Mode-Specific Workflows and Template Alignment

See the reference index: Workflow Matrix.