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Self-Hosting Stirling-PDF: All-in-One PDF Tool

Stirling-PDF is a self-hosted PDF tool. Merge, split, compress, convert, rotate, and OCR PDF files without uploading them to third-party services.

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The Problem


Need to merge two PDFs? The internet offers dozens of online tools that require you to upload your documents to their servers. Tax returns, contracts, medical records — uploaded to who-knows-where.


What Is Stirling-PDF?


A self-hosted web application with every PDF tool you need:


Document Operations

  • Merge multiple PDFs into one
  • Split a PDF into separate files
  • Rotate pages
  • Reorder pages
  • Remove pages

    • Conversion

  • PDF to images (PNG, JPEG)
  • Images to PDF
  • Word/PowerPoint/Excel to PDF
  • HTML to PDF
  • PDF to text

    • Optimization

  • Compress PDF (reduce file size)
  • Optimize for web
  • Flatten forms

    • Security

  • Add password protection
  • Remove password protection
  • Add watermarks
  • Digital signatures

    • OCR

  • Add text layer to scanned PDFs
  • Makes scanned documents searchable

    • Why Self-Host?


    Privacy

    Your documents never leave your server. No third-party service sees your sensitive files.


    No Limits

    Online tools limit file size (usually 10-50 MB), number of operations, or require premium subscriptions.


    Availability

    Always available. No "service is busy, try again later."


    Cost

    Free. Online PDF tools typically charge $5-15/month for unlimited use.


    Deployment


    1. Deploy Stirling-PDF on TinyPod

    2. Access the web interface

    3. Upload PDFs and process them

    4. Download results


    Resources: 1 CPU, 512 MB RAM. OCR operations are more CPU-intensive.


    Use Cases


    Business

  • Merge invoices for accounting
  • Add watermarks to confidential documents
  • Convert presentations to PDF for sharing

    • Personal

  • Combine scanned documents
  • Compress large PDFs for email
  • Remove pages from documents

    • Legal

  • Process contracts without third-party exposure
  • OCR scanned legal documents
  • Add password protection to sensitive files

    • Bookmark your Stirling-PDF instance — you'll use it more than you think.