PDFCraft — Privacy-First Browser-Based PDF Toolkit

Introduction

PDFCraft is a free, privacy-focused PDF toolkit that processes files entirely in the browser using WebAssembly and client-side JavaScript. No documents ever leave your machine, making it suitable for handling sensitive contracts, medical records, or financial statements without compliance concerns.

What PDFCraft Does

• Provides 90+ PDF manipulation tools including merge, split, compress, convert, and rotate
• Runs all processing client-side with zero server uploads
• Supports batch operations on multiple files simultaneously
• Converts between PDF and common formats (Word, images, HTML)
• Offers page extraction, reordering, and watermarking

Architecture Overview

PDFCraft is built as a TypeScript single-page application using WebAssembly-compiled PDF libraries for native-speed processing in the browser. File I/O uses the File System Access API where available, falling back to in-memory blob handling. The modular tool system allows each operation to load independently, keeping initial bundle size small.

Self-Hosting & Configuration

• Deploy as a static site to any web server or CDN
• Docker image available for one-command self-hosting
• No backend database or API keys required
• Configure allowed file size limits via environment variables
• Supports custom branding and tool selection via config file

Key Features

• Complete offline capability after initial page load
• GDPR-compliant by design since no data leaves the client
• Accessible UI with keyboard navigation and screen reader support
• Progressive Web App installable on desktop and mobile
• Extensible plugin architecture for custom PDF operations

Comparison with Similar Tools

• Stirling PDF — server-side processing requires Docker; PDFCraft needs no backend
• ILovePDF — cloud-based SaaS with file uploads; PDFCraft keeps files local
• PDF.js — viewer only; PDFCraft provides full editing and conversion
• LibreOffice Online — heavy server requirements; PDFCraft is purely client-side

FAQ

Q: Is there a file size limit? A: Limited only by available browser memory. Most modern browsers handle files up to several hundred megabytes.

Q: Does it work offline? A: Yes. Once loaded, all tools function without an internet connection.

Q: Which browsers are supported? A: Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Safari (latest two versions of each).

Q: Can I embed PDFCraft in my own application? A: Yes. Individual tools are importable as standalone modules.

Sources

• https://github.com/PDFCraftTool/pdfcraft