PDF Forge
A free, browser-based PDF toolkit that never uploads your file to a server.
- Role
- Designer & developer
- Type
- Own product, live
- Stack
- HTML, CSS, vanilla JavaScript, client-side PDF library
- Status
- Live
The problem
Merging, splitting or watermarking a PDF usually means pasting it into a random online converter — including PDFs with contracts, IDs or financial data on them. The file leaves your machine and there is no way to know what happens to it after.
The approach
PDF Forge runs six tools entirely in the browser: viewer, merge, split, rotate, watermark and a metadata editor. Every operation — reading, rewriting, exporting — happens on the client. Nothing is uploaded, so there is nothing to leak, log or retain.
Key decisions
100% client-side processing, no exceptions
Privacy is the product, not a feature bullet. The trade-off is a firm ceiling: a 50 MB file size limit and whatever memory the visitor's own browser tab can hold. That ceiling is stated up front rather than hidden.
Six tools, one interface
Viewer, merge, split, rotate, watermark and metadata editing share one upload-and-preview flow, so switching tools mid-task doesn't mean starting over.
Screenshots
Outcome
A working, publicly usable toolkit that handles everyday PDF tasks without ever asking the visitor to trust a server with their document.