Quick Links
If you’re frustrated with the high cost of PDF editors and hesitant about uploading private files to unknown servers, you’re not alone. I’ve been there, and honestly, it’s frustrating as hell. That’s exactly why I took control and started self-hosting Stirling PDF—an all-in-one PDF editor I run locally.
What Is Stirling-PDF?
Stirling-PDFis a self-hosted, all-in-one PDF tool. It works like a Swiss Army knife for PDFs—giving you full control over editing, converting, and managing your PDF files directly from your browser.
Because it’s self-hosted, you get complete control such as no ads, no usage limits, and no surprise subscription prompts. Just you and your PDFs, on your terms. All processing happens on your machine, keeping your files private and secure.
The Stirling PDF interface is clean, modern, and incredibly easy to use. Whether you’re rotating pages, extracting text, or converting PDFs to images (or vice versa), everything is just a click away.
Stirling PDF even supports OCR (optical character recognition), which means it can scan image-based PDFs and turn them into searchable, editable text—super useful if you’re working with scanned documents.
Easy Setup With Docker Compose
Stirling PDF is most commonly self-hosted using Docker, and the developer provides official support for both Docker and Docker Compose. While you can deploy it manually or on other container orchestration platforms like Kubernetes, I’ll stick with Docker Compose here since it’s the most straightforward, and what I personally use.
Simply head over to the officialStirling PDF installation GitHub page. You’ll find a section labeled Docker, which includes both Compose and CLI examples. The Docker Compose method is recommended for its ease of setup and repeatability. You only need to manage the port and volume settings.
By default, it runs on port 8080, which means you’ll be able to access it in your browser at something like “http://192.168.1.x:8080,” depending on your server’s IP address. If something else is already using that port, feel free to change it to any open port in your Docker Compose file.
You’ll also need to specify some volume mounts to retain your settings, preferences, and any customizations. This way, even if you update the container later, all your data remains intact.
There’s a security option you can enable with an environment variable. By default, login security is turned on (i.e., DOCKER_ENABLE_SECURITY=true), which is ideal if you plan to access the app from outside your local network. If you’re just using it at home on a trusted network, you can turn it off by setting it to false.
Accessible on All Your Devices
With Stirling PDF running on your home server, you can access your PDF tools from any device on your network—whether it’s your desktop, laptop, or phone. I’ve set mine upbehind a reverse proxyto use it outside my local network with a custom domain name, but that’s completely optional. If you’re only planning to use it at home, you can leave it as-is and access it over your local IP.
Just open a browser on your phone or laptop and enter your local IP address. That’s really all there is to it. Once it’s up and running, you’ll have access to 50+ powerful PDF tools.
It’s Packed With Useful PDF Tools
I’ve been using Stirling PDF for a while now. What started as a quick test has turned into my go-to PDF tool—quietly replacing everything else I used before. I used to juggle different apps for merging, converting, or securing PDFs. Stirling just does it all, and without any friction.
For example, if you are student, you can easily compile a bunch of research papers by simply dropping into Stirling and merging them into one clean file. You’re also able to extract any section if required using its extract tool.
OCR (Optical Character Recognition) is probably the feature I use most. I’ve got a collection of scanned historical documents, and Stirling’s OCR turns them into searchable, selectable text almost instantly.
It doesn’t stop there, PDF compression, page splitting, annotation removal, file comparison, certificate-based signing—it’s all built-in. If you work with PDFs regularly, Stirling’s a solid all-in-one.
You Can Customize It, Too
Beyond its core features, Stirling PDF is also highly customizable. For instance, you can tweak settings like font size, opacity, rotation, spacing, and color when adding a label or a light company logo.
The same flexibility applies to stamps and OCR. When running OCR, you can even specify the original language to improve accuracy. It’s this kind of thoughtful control that sets Stirling PDF apart from other PDF tools.
I can’t recommend Stirling PDF enough. Set it up once and take full control over your files.
If you’re into self-hosting, check out these10 must-have Docker containers for every homelabber. From automation to media and productivity, there’s something to enhance every part of your digital life.
