> For clean Markdown of any page, append `.md` to the page URL.
> For a complete documentation index, see https://docs.sarvam.ai/llms.txt.
> For full documentation content in one file, see https://docs.sarvam.ai/llms-full.txt.
> For AI client integration (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.), connect to the MCP server at https://docs.sarvam.ai/_mcp/server.

# How to set style guidelines

> Use style_guidelines and language_specific_guidelines to control tone, terminology, and formatting in Sarvam Document Translation output.

`style_guidelines` lets you steer tone, terminology, and formatting for the whole job in free text. `language_specific_guidelines` layers per-language overrides on top of it.

| Parameter                      | Type   | Notes                                                                                                    |
| ------------------------------ | ------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `style_guidelines`             | string | Up to \~4000 characters. Applies to every target language in the job.                                    |
| `language_specific_guidelines` | object | Keys must match entries in `target_language_codes`. Overrides `style_guidelines` for that language only. |

> **Tip**
>
> Use `style_guidelines` for instructions that should hold across every language, for example "keep product names untranslated." Use `language_specific_guidelines` only when one language needs different handling, such as a regional terminology preference.

## Example

#### Python

```python
from sarvamai import SarvamAI

client = SarvamAI(api_subscription_key="YOUR_SARVAM_API_KEY")

job = client.document_translation.create(
    job_name="employee-handbook-hi-ta",
    source_language_code="en-IN",
    target_language_codes=["hi-IN", "ta-IN"],
    original_filename="employee-handbook.docx",
    style_guidelines=(
        "Keep all product names and legal entity names untranslated. "
        "Use formal register throughout."
    ),
    language_specific_guidelines={
        "ta-IN": "Prefer commonly used loanwords over invented Tamil equivalents for technical terms.",
    },
)
```

#### JavaScript

```javascript
import { SarvamAIClient } from "sarvamai";

const client = new SarvamAIClient({
    apiSubscriptionKey: "YOUR_SARVAM_API_KEY",
});

const job = await client.documentTranslation.create({
    job_name: "employee-handbook-hi-ta",
    source_language_code: "en-IN",
    target_language_codes: ["hi-IN", "ta-IN"],
    original_filename: "employee-handbook.docx",
    style_guidelines:
        "Keep all product names and legal entity names untranslated. Use formal register throughout.",
    language_specific_guidelines: {
        "ta-IN": "Prefer commonly used loanwords over invented Tamil equivalents for technical terms.",
    },
});
```

Request body equivalent:

```json
{
  "job_name": "employee-handbook-hi-ta",
  "source_language_code": "en-IN",
  "target_language_codes": ["hi-IN", "ta-IN"],
  "original_filename": "employee-handbook.docx",
  "style_guidelines": "Keep all product names and legal entity names untranslated. Use formal register throughout.",
  "language_specific_guidelines": {
    "ta-IN": "Prefer commonly used loanwords over invented Tamil equivalents for technical terms."
  }
}
```

## Related

* [Document Translation Overview](/api/api-guides-tutorials/doc-translation/overview)
* [Use Cases](/api/api-guides-tutorials/doc-translation/use-cases)

> Use style_guidelines and language_specific_guidelines to control tone, terminology, and formatting in Sarvam Document Translation output.