diff --git a/src/gui/src/appsEmbed.js b/src/gui/src/appsEmbed.js
index bd18b0d50..71fc4a28a 100644
--- a/src/gui/src/appsEmbed.js
+++ b/src/gui/src/appsEmbed.js
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import jQuery from './lib/jquery-3.6.1/jquery-3.6.1.min.js';
 import { encode } from 'html-entities';
-import './i18n/i18n.js';
+import { loadLocale } from './i18n/embedI18n.js';
 import { createAppBrowser } from './UI/Dashboard/AppBrowser.js';
 import { appTileLink } from './UI/Dashboard/appLink.js';
 import { installAppIconFallback } from './helpers/appIcon.js';
@@ -21,23 +21,22 @@ window.gui_origin = window.location.origin;
 window.puter_gui_enabled = true;
 window.puter_socket_enabled = false;
 window.locale = 'en';
+try {
+    window.locale = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem('user_preferences') || '{}')?.language || 'en';
+} catch { /* Corrupt preferences must not prevent loading apps. */ }
+const localeReady = loadLocale(window.locale);
 
 async function mount () {
     window.auth_token = localStorage.getItem('auth_token_v2');
     if ( ! window.auth_token ) throw new Error('Missing session');
-    let preferences;
-    try {
-        preferences = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem('user_preferences') || '{}');
-    } catch { /* Corrupt preferences must not prevent loading apps. */ }
-    window.locale = preferences?.language || 'en';
 
-    await new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    await Promise.all([new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
         const script = document.createElement('script');
         script.src = config.sdkUrl;
         script.onload = resolve;
         script.onerror = reject;
         document.head.appendChild(script);
-    });
+    }), localeReady]);
     puter.setAPIOrigin(config.apiOrigin);
     installAppIconFallback();
 
@@ -53,6 +52,7 @@ async function mount () {
     browser.init($root);
 }
 
-mount().catch(() => {
+mount().catch(async () => {
+    await localeReady;
     root.innerHTML = `<p class="myapps-empty" role="status">${i18n('app_browser_unavailable')}</p>`;
 });
diff --git a/src/gui/src/i18n/embedI18n.js b/src/gui/src/i18n/embedI18n.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..7c768acc0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/gui/src/i18n/embedI18n.js
@@ -0,0 +1,40 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2024-present Puter Technologies Inc.
+ *
+ * This file is part of Puter.
+ *
+ * Puter is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published
+ * by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+ * (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+
+import en from './translations/en.js';
+import { installI18n } from './i18nCore.js';
+
+installI18n({ en });
+
+/**
+ * Loads only the preferred language, so embeds don't ship every translation.
+ * Unknown or unavailable languages keep English.
+ * @param {string} locale
+ */
+export async function loadLocale (locale) {
+    if ( typeof locale !== 'string' || locale === 'en' || ! /^[a-z]+$/.test(locale) ) return;
+    try {
+        const { default: language } = await import(
+            /* webpackExclude: /translations\.js$/ */ `./translations/${locale}.js`
+        );
+        installI18n({ en, [locale]: language });
+    } catch {
+        // English is already installed.
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/gui/src/i18n/embedI18n.test.js b/src/gui/src/i18n/embedI18n.test.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..63c6d746f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/gui/src/i18n/embedI18n.test.js
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import { beforeAll, describe, expect, it } from 'vitest';
+
+beforeAll(() => {
+    globalThis.window = globalThis;
+    globalThis.html_encode = value => String(value);
+});
+
+describe('embed translations', () => {
+    it('starts in English and loads only the requested language', async () => {
+        const { loadLocale } = await import('./embedI18n.js');
+        window.locale = 'de';
+        expect(i18n('close')).toBe('Close');
+        await loadLocale('de');
+        expect(i18n('close')).toBe('Schließen');
+        expect(i18n('toolbar_apps')).toBe('Your apps');
+    });
+
+    it('keeps English for unknown or unsafe language values', async () => {
+        const { loadLocale } = await import('./embedI18n.js');
+        for ( const locale of ['xx', '../translations', 'en', null] ) {
+            window.locale = locale;
+            await loadLocale(locale);
+            expect(i18n('close')).toBe('Close');
+        }
+    });
+});
diff --git a/src/gui/src/i18n/i18n.js b/src/gui/src/i18n/i18n.js
index 015beb74f..8cea04b2c 100644
--- a/src/gui/src/i18n/i18n.js
+++ b/src/gui/src/i18n/i18n.js
@@ -18,72 +18,10 @@
  */
 
 import translations from './translations/translations.js';
+import { installI18n } from './i18nCore.js';
 
 window.listSupportedLanguages = () => Object.keys(translations).map(lang => translations[lang]);
 
-const variables = {
-    docs: 'https://docs.puter.com/',
-    terms: 'https://puter.com/terms',
-    privacy: 'https://puter.com/privacy',
-};
+installI18n(translations);
 
-function ReplacePlaceholders (str, arg_variables = {}) {
-    const all_variables = { ...variables, ...arg_variables };
-    str = str.replace(/{{link=(.*?)}}(.*?){{\/link}}/g, (_, key, text) => `<a href="${all_variables[key]}" target="_blank">${text}</a>`);
-    str = str.replace(/{{(.*?)}}/g, (_, key) => all_variables[key]);
-    return str;
-}
-
-window.i18n = function (key, replacements = [], encode_html = true) {
-    let arg_variables = {};
-    if ( Array.isArray(replacements) === false ) {
-        if ( typeof replacements === 'object' ) {
-            arg_variables = replacements;
-            replacements = [];
-        } else {
-            replacements = [replacements];
-        }
-    }
-
-    let language = translations[window.locale] ?? translations['en'];
-    let str = language.dictionary[key] ?? translations['en'].dictionary[key];
-
-    if ( ! str ) {
-        str = key;
-    }
-    str = ReplacePlaceholders(str, arg_variables);
-    if ( encode_html ) {
-        str = html_encode(str);
-        // html_encode doesn't render line breaks
-        str = str.replace(/\n/g, '<br />');
-    }
-    // replace %% occurrences with the values in replacements
-    // %% is for simple text replacements
-    // %strong% is for <strong> tags
-    // e.g. "Hello, %strong%" => "Hello, <strong>World</strong>"
-    // e.g. "Hello, %%" => "Hello, World"
-    // e.g. "Hello, %strong%, %%!" => "Hello, <strong>World</strong>, Universe!"
-    for ( let i = 0; i < replacements.length; i++ ) {
-        // sanitize the replacement
-        replacements[i] = encode_html ? html_encode(replacements[i]) : replacements[i];
-        // find first occurrence of %strong%
-        let index = str.indexOf('%strong%');
-        // find first occurrence of %%
-        let index2 = str.indexOf('%%');
-        // decide which one to replace
-        if ( index === -1 && index2 === -1 ) {
-            break;
-        } else if ( index === -1 ) {
-            str = str.replace('%%', replacements[i]);
-        } else if ( index2 === -1 ) {
-            str = str.replace('%strong%', `<strong>${ replacements[i] }</strong>`);
-        } else if ( index < index2 ) {
-            str = str.replace('%strong%', `<strong>${ replacements[i] }</strong>`);
-        } else {
-            str = str.replace('%%', replacements[i]);
-        }
-    }
-    return str;
-};
-
-export default {};
\ No newline at end of file
+export default {};
diff --git a/src/gui/src/i18n/i18nCore.js b/src/gui/src/i18n/i18nCore.js
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..905dea7f2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/gui/src/i18n/i18nCore.js
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2024-present Puter Technologies Inc.
+ *
+ * This file is part of Puter.
+ *
+ * Puter is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published
+ * by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+ * (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+
+const variables = {
+    docs: 'https://docs.puter.com/',
+    terms: 'https://puter.com/terms',
+    privacy: 'https://puter.com/privacy',
+};
+
+function ReplacePlaceholders (str, arg_variables = {}) {
+    const all_variables = { ...variables, ...arg_variables };
+    str = str.replace(/{{link=(.*?)}}(.*?){{\/link}}/g, (_, key, text) => `<a href="${all_variables[key]}" target="_blank">${text}</a>`);
+    str = str.replace(/{{(.*?)}}/g, (_, key) => all_variables[key]);
+    return str;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Installs `window.i18n` over the given language table, which must include `en`.
+ * @param {Record<string, { dictionary: Record<string, string> }>} translations
+ */
+export function installI18n (translations) {
+    window.i18n = function (key, replacements = [], encode_html = true) {
+        let arg_variables = {};
+        if ( Array.isArray(replacements) === false ) {
+            if ( typeof replacements === 'object' ) {
+                arg_variables = replacements;
+                replacements = [];
+            } else {
+                replacements = [replacements];
+            }
+        }
+
+        let language = translations[window.locale] ?? translations['en'];
+        let str = language.dictionary[key] ?? translations['en'].dictionary[key];
+
+        if ( ! str ) {
+            str = key;
+        }
+        str = ReplacePlaceholders(str, arg_variables);
+        if ( encode_html ) {
+            str = html_encode(str);
+            // html_encode doesn't render line breaks
+            str = str.replace(/\n/g, '<br />');
+        }
+        // replace %% occurrences with the values in replacements
+        // %% is for simple text replacements
+        // %strong% is for <strong> tags
+        // e.g. "Hello, %strong%" => "Hello, <strong>World</strong>"
+        // e.g. "Hello, %%" => "Hello, World"
+        // e.g. "Hello, %strong%, %%!" => "Hello, <strong>World</strong>, Universe!"
+        for ( let i = 0; i < replacements.length; i++ ) {
+            // sanitize the replacement
+            replacements[i] = encode_html ? html_encode(replacements[i]) : replacements[i];
+            // find first occurrence of %strong%
+            let index = str.indexOf('%strong%');
+            // find first occurrence of %%
+            let index2 = str.indexOf('%%');
+            // decide which one to replace
+            if ( index === -1 && index2 === -1 ) {
+                break;
+            } else if ( index === -1 ) {
+                str = str.replace('%%', replacements[i]);
+            } else if ( index2 === -1 ) {
+                str = str.replace('%strong%', `<strong>${ replacements[i] }</strong>`);
+            } else if ( index < index2 ) {
+                str = str.replace('%strong%', `<strong>${ replacements[i] }</strong>`);
+            } else {
+                str = str.replace('%%', replacements[i]);
+            }
+        }
+        return str;
+    };
+}
diff --git a/src/gui/src/toolbarEmbed.js b/src/gui/src/toolbarEmbed.js
index 2a5ec6e2a..8d80c7459 100644
--- a/src/gui/src/toolbarEmbed.js
+++ b/src/gui/src/toolbarEmbed.js
@@ -1,11 +1,12 @@
 import jQuery from './lib/jquery-3.6.1/jquery-3.6.1.min.js';
 import { encode } from 'html-entities';
-import './i18n/i18n.js';
+import { loadLocale } from './i18n/embedI18n.js';
 import { isToolbarParent, readSavedAccounts, shouldShowUpgrade, toolbarChannel } from './helpers/toolbarEmbed.js';
 
 window.$ = window.jQuery = jQuery;
 window.locale = 'en';
 try { window.locale = JSON.parse(localStorage.getItem('user_preferences'))?.language || 'en'; } catch {}
+const localeReady = loadLocale(window.locale);
 const config = JSON.parse(document.querySelector('#app-browser-config').textContent);
 const $root = $('#puter-toolbar');
 const escape = value => encode(String(value ?? ''), { mode: 'nonAsciiPrintable' });
@@ -146,7 +147,7 @@ document.addEventListener('keydown', event => {
 
 async function mount () {
     if ( !sessionToken ) throw new Error('Missing session');
-    user = await (await request('/whoami')).json();
+    [user] = await Promise.all([request('/whoami').then(response => response.json()), localeReady]);
     if ( !user.uuid ) throw new Error('Missing account');
     $root.html(`<nav class="toolbar-row" aria-label="${i18n('toolbar_label')}">
         ${shouldShowUpgrade(user) ? `<a class="button button-primary toolbar-upgrade" href="/dashboard?upgrade=1#usage" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">${i18n('toolbar_upgrade')}</a>` : ''}
@@ -165,4 +166,7 @@ async function mount () {
         }
     } catch { /* An avatar is optional. */ }
 }
-mount().catch(() => $root.html(`<p class="toolbar-unavailable" role="status">${i18n('toolbar_unavailable')}</p>`));
+mount().catch(async () => {
+    await localeReady;
+    $root.html(`<p class="toolbar-unavailable" role="status">${i18n('toolbar_unavailable')}</p>`);
+});