PaperCircuit local pdf bench
index

All PDF tools, by task

Each tool below opens with an empty bench, processes your files locally, and can hand its result to the next one. The engine column shows which open-source library does the work.

Arrange pages

Combine, cut apart and re-sequence documents page by page.

ToolWhat it doesEngine
Merge PDFStack contracts, scans and reports into a single PDF. Drag files in, set the order with the arrow buttons, and download one combined document.pdf-lib · page copy
Split PDFBreak a long PDF into chapters, invoices or single pages. Type ranges like 1-4, 5-9, 10-end — each range becomes its own PDF.pdf-lib · page copy
Remove pagesSee every page as a thumbnail, click the ones that shouldn’t be there, and save a trimmed copy. The original file on your disk is not changed.pdf.js preview · pdf-lib
Extract pagesPull the signature page, a single chapter or a handful of slides out of a larger PDF without touching the rest.pdf.js preview · pdf-lib
Reorder pagesFix a scan that came out of the feeder in the wrong order, or move an appendix to the front. Drag thumbnails until the sequence is right.pdf.js preview · pdf-lib
Rotate PDFClick a thumbnail to turn that page 90° clockwise, or rotate the whole document at once. Rotation is stored in the file, so it sticks in every viewer.pdf.js preview · pdf-lib
Insert blank pagesNeed room for handwritten notes, a separator before each chapter, or an even page count for duplex printing? Add empty pages exactly where you need them.pdf-lib
N-up pages per sheetShrink slide decks into handouts, save paper when proofreading, or print a contact sheet of a long document. Pages are placed as vectors, so text stays crisp.pdf-lib · embedded pages
Overlay PDFPrint your text onto company letterhead without a printer trick: put the letterhead PDF underneath the letter, or lay a stamp PDF on top of every page.pdf-lib · embedded pages

Shrink & tune

Make files lighter, faster to open, print-ready or readable again.

ToolWhat it doesEngine
Compress PDFGet a PDF under an email or portal size limit. Photos inside the file are resampled and re-encoded; text, vectors and fonts are left alone.pdf-lib · canvas JPEG encoder
Optimize for webPublishing a PDF on a website? A linearized (“Fast Web View”) file lets browsers show page one immediately while the rest streams in.qpdf (WebAssembly)
Grayscale PDFSave color toner, meet a “black and white only” submission rule, or check how a design reads without color.pdf.js render · luminance filter
Flatten PDFLock in what has been filled: form entries, sticky-note stamps and drawn markup become plain page content.pdf-lib · appearance streams
Repair PDFTruncated downloads, broken e-mail attachments and files from buggy generators often still contain their pages. Repair rebuilds the file structure around them.qpdf (WebAssembly) · pdf-lib fallback

Convert

Move content between PDF, images and plain text.

ToolWhat it doesEngine
Images to PDFCombine receipts photographed on your phone, screenshots or scanned pages into one tidy PDF — in the order you set.pdf-lib · native image decoders
PDF to JPG / PNGNeed a slide as a picture for a presentation, or pages for a website or social post? Turn PDF pages into crisp image files.pdf.js renderer
PDF to textPull the words out of a PDF for search, quoting, translation or feeding into another tool — without copy-pasting page by page.pdf.js text layer
Extract imagesGet the actual pictures inside a PDF — product photos, figures, logos — at the resolution they were embedded, not a screenshot of the page.pdf.js image decoder
Text to PDFType or paste text — meeting notes, a README, a log file — and get a properly paginated PDF with sensible margins.pdf-lib · standard fonts

Mark up & edit

Add text, signatures, numbers and stamps, or cut content out for good.

ToolWhat it doesEngine
Annotate PDFFill in a non-fillable form, circle a problem on a drawing, or white-out a typo and type the correction — directly on the page.pdf.js canvas · pdf-lib
Sign PDFSign a lease, permission slip or NDA without printing and scanning. Your signature is created and placed on this device only.canvas signature pad · pdf-lib
Add page numbersNumber a merged report, a court bundle or a thesis so readers (and reviewers) can refer to pages precisely.pdf-lib · Helvetica
Watermark PDFMark drafts as drafts, label copies sent to a specific client, or discourage reuse of a proof — with a watermark drawn on every page.pdf-lib · standard fonts
Crop PDFRemove wide white margins for reading on a phone or e-reader, or cut a figure out of a page. Draw the area to keep; the rest is trimmed.pdf.js preview · pdf-lib CropBox
Redact PDFShare a document without the account numbers, home address or names in it. Draw boxes; PaperCircuit makes sure the hidden text is actually gone.pdf.js render · rasterized pages
Edit metadataThe title your PDF shows in a browser tab and the author name in its properties come from metadata. See what’s there and set it right.pdf-lib · Info dictionary

Lock & unlock

Add or remove password encryption.

ToolWhat it doesEngine
Protect PDFSend a tax return, payslip or contract by e-mail with peace of mind: without the password, the file is unreadable.qpdf (WebAssembly) · AES-256
Unlock PDFTired of typing the password for your own bank statements, or need to merge a protected PDF? Remove the encryption once and work with a normal file.qpdf (WebAssembly)

Read & inspect

Recognize text in scans and spot what changed between versions.

ToolWhat it doesEngine
OCR PDFScanned contracts and photographed pages are pictures: you can’t search them or copy a sentence. OCR reads the words and adds a hidden text layer under the image.Tesseract (WebAssembly) · English model
Compare PDFsGot a “final” contract back from the other side? See every word they added or removed between version A and version B, side by side.pdf.js text · word-level diff

Coming later

These jobs need server-grade layout engines or validators that can’t yet run privately in a browser. They are listed so you know they are planned — none of them has a button that pretends to work.