General
What is BentoPDF?
What is BentoPDF?
BentoPDF is a privacy-first, browser-based PDF toolkit. It lets you manipulate, edit, merge, convert, and process PDF files entirely in your browser. No files are uploaded to a server — all processing happens locally on your machine.
Is BentoPDF really free?
Is BentoPDF really free?
Yes. BentoPDF is licensed under AGPL-3.0 and is completely free to use. There are no usage limits, no watermarks, no hidden fees, and no premium-only features. Essential tools should be accessible to everyone.
Do my files get uploaded to a server?
Do my files get uploaded to a server?
No. Every tool in BentoPDF processes files entirely in your browser using WebAssembly. Your files never leave your device. We cannot see them, and neither can anyone else.
What browsers are supported?
What browsers are supported?
BentoPDF works in all modern browsers:
- Chrome / Edge 90+
- Firefox 90+
- Safari 15+
How many tools does BentoPDF have?
How many tools does BentoPDF have?
BentoPDF includes 130+ tools covering PDF organization, editing, conversion, OCR, digital signatures, compression, security, and more.
Features
What file formats can I convert?
What file formats can I convert?
Convert to PDF: JPG, PNG, WebP, SVG, BMP, HEIC, TIFF, PSD, DOCX, DOC, ODT, RTF, XLSX, XLS, ODS, CSV, PPTX, PPT, ODP, ODG, Markdown, plain text, JSON, XML, EPUB, MOBI, FB2, CBZ/CBR, XPS, EML, MSG, Pages, WPD, WPS, PUB, VSD/VSDX.Convert from PDF: JPG, PNG, WebP, BMP, TIFF, SVG, CBZ, Word (DOCX), Markdown, plain text, JSON, CSV, Excel (XLSX), greyscale PDF. Plus: Extract Images, Extract Tables, OCR (searchable PDF), and AI-ready JSON (LlamaIndex format).
Does OCR work offline?
Does OCR work offline?
By default, OCR uses Tesseract assets loaded from an online CDN, so an internet connection is required for the first use. For air-gapped or fully offline deployments, you can self-host the Tesseract worker, core, language data, and fonts by setting the
VITE_TESSERACT_* environment variables at build time. See Air-Gapped Deployment for details.What is the PDF Workflow Builder?
What is the PDF Workflow Builder?
The PDF Workflow Builder is a visual node editor that lets you automate multi-step PDF processing pipelines. You can chain tools together — for example, merge several PDFs, compress the result, and add a watermark — and run the entire workflow in one click.
Does the digital signature tool work with any certificate?
Does the digital signature tool work with any certificate?
The digital signature tool supports X.509 certificates in PFX and PEM formats. Your private key never leaves the browser. Some certificates require fetching issuer data from external certificate authority URLs, which may need a CORS proxy if those servers do not include CORS headers. Self-signed certificates typically work without a proxy.
Self-hosting
Can I host BentoPDF on my own server?
Can I host BentoPDF on my own server?
Yes. BentoPDF is a static site — you can host it with Docker, Nginx, Apache, or any static hosting platform (Netlify, Vercel, Cloudflare Pages, GitHub Pages, etc.). See the Self-Hosting overview to get started.
Do I need a backend server?
Do I need a backend server?
No. BentoPDF is entirely client-side. There is no backend, no API server, and no database. You only need a web server that can serve static files.
Can I use BentoPDF in an air-gapped environment?
Can I use BentoPDF in an air-gapped environment?
Yes. Use the included
prepare-airgap.sh script to download all WASM packages and build a self-contained bundle. The script produces a Docker image and all required WASM assets, which you can transfer into the isolated network via USB or an internal artifact repository. See Air-Gapped Deployment for the full walkthrough.Why do Office conversions fail on a LAN IP?
Why do Office conversions fail on a LAN IP?
Office file conversion (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) uses LibreOffice compiled to WebAssembly, which requires
SharedArrayBuffer. SharedArrayBuffer is only available in cross-origin isolated contexts. http://localhost satisfies this requirement, but LAN IPs (e.g., http://192.168.x.x) do not — even if the server sends the correct COOP/COEP headers. Serving BentoPDF over HTTPS resolves this.Licensing
Is BentoPDF open source?
Is BentoPDF open source?
When do I need a commercial license?
When do I need a commercial license?
You need a commercial license if you are building a proprietary or closed-source application, or a SaaS product where you do not disclose the full source code to users. AGPL-3.0 is free to use for open-source projects with publicly available source code, and for internal company tools that are not distributed externally.
How much does the commercial license cost?
How much does the commercial license cost?
The commercial license is a one-time payment of $49. It covers unlimited devices and users, includes all future updates, and has no recurring fees. Purchase here.
Customization
Can I add my own branding?
Can I add my own branding?
Yes. You can replace the BentoPDF logo, name, and footer text at build time using environment variables:
VITE_BRAND_NAME— brand name shown in the header and footerVITE_BRAND_LOGO— path to your logo file relative topublic/VITE_FOOTER_TEXT— custom footer or copyright text
What is Simple Mode?
What is Simple Mode?
Simple Mode hides all marketing and branding elements — the navigation, hero section, features list, testimonials, FAQ section, and footer — and displays only the PDF tools. It is designed for internal company deployments and educational institutions where a distraction-free interface is preferred. Enable it by setting
SIMPLE_MODE=true at build time. See Simple Mode for details.