Deploying Yddict On Raspberry Pi 4B

发表于 分类于 阅读次数：

Overview

yddict is a lightweight CLI dictionary tool that queries Youdao Dictionary (有道词典) directly from the terminal. It’s perfect for developers who want quick English ↔ Chinese lookups without opening a browser or dealing with heavy GUI apps full of ads.

Features

  • English → Chinese translation
  • Chinese → English translation
  • Phonetic symbols / pronunciation hints
  • Web-sourced definitions and examples
  • Custom proxy support
  • Custom output color
  • Completely ad-free

Requirements

  • Node.js ≥ 12.0.0
  • npm ≥ 6.0.0

yddict is pure JavaScript, so it runs fine on ARM64 like Raspberry Pi 4B — no compilation needed.

Demo

yddict demo

Installation Steps

Update your system

Always a good first step on fresh Raspberry Pi OS installs.

1
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

The Node source repo gives you a clean, up-to-date version. Here we’re using v20.x (stable as of 2025–2026).

1
2
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_20.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt install -y nodejs



Verify versions

1
2
node -v    # should show v20.x.x
npm -v     # should show 10.x.x or similar

Install yddict globally

1
sudo npm install -g yddict

Quick check that it’s installed

1
npm list -g --depth=0

You should see yddict listed under global packages.

Optional: Verify Installation Paths

  • Check the package metadata
    1
    cat /usr/lib/node_modules/yddict/package.json

    Look for the bin field — it maps the yd command to index.js.

  • Peek at the main script (just for curiosity)
    1
    cat /usr/lib/node_modules/yddict/index.js

    You’ll see it uses request, chalk, cli-spinner, etc., to fetch and pretty-print results from Youdao.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
#!/usr/bin/env node

const request = require('request')
const chalk = require('chalk')
const Spinner = require('cli-spinner').Spinner
const isChinese = require('is-chinese')
const urlencode = require('urlencode')
const noCase = require('no-case')
const config = require('./lib/config')
const Parser = require('./lib/parser')

let word = process.argv.slice(2).join(' ')
if (!word) {
console.log('Usage: yd <WORD_TO_QUERY>')
process.exit()
}

const spinner = new Spinner('努力查询中... %s')

if (config.spinner) {
spinner.setSpinnerString('|/-\\')
spinner.start()
}

const isCN = isChinese(word)

word = isCN ? word : noCase(word)

const options = {
'url': config.getURL(word) + urlencode(word),
'proxy': config.proxy || null
}

const ColorOutput = chalk.keyword(config.color)
request(options, (error, response, body) => {
if (error) {
console.error(error)
}

        if (config.spinner) {
                spinner.stop(true)
        }
        console.log(ColorOutput(Parser.parse(isCN, body)))
})

Basic Usage

Run lookups directly in the terminal

1
2
yd hello
yd 世界

It handles both directions automatically (detects Chinese characters).

Convenience Tip: Shell Alias

If you prefer a shorter command:

1
nano ~/.bashrc

Add this line at the end:

1
alias y='yd'

Save, then reload:

1
source ~/.bashrc

Now you can just type:

1
y hello

Uninstall (if needed)

1
sudo npm uninstall -g yddict

Notes & Gotchas

  • Proxy setup: If you’re behind a corporate/VPN/proxy, edit ~/.config/configstore/yddict.json after first run
    1
    2
    3
    4
    {
      "proxy": "https://your-proxy:port",
      "color": "yellow"
    }
  • No releases published on GitHub, but the repo is still active (Hacktoberfest-tagged, ongoing commits). Install via npm is the official way.
  • Works great on headless Pi setups — super lightweight for quick lookups while coding or reading docs.

References

That’s it — you now have a fast, terminal-based dictionary on your Pi. Handy when you’re knee-deep in code and need to check a word without breaking flow. Enjoy!