PdfCraft

1. What is PdfCraft?

PdfCraft is a free app for reading and editing PDF files on a computer (Windows, macOS, Linux). The project describes itself as an open-source rebuild, written from scratch, of the kind of software Adobe Acrobat is. You use it to open PDFs, search for words, rearrange pages (rotate, delete, insert, move), merge several PDFs into one, split one file into several, add comments, fill in forms, set or remove a PDF password, and print. According to its documentation your files never leave your computer: no account, no telemetry, no cloud processing, and it works offline. The license is MIT or Apache-2.0 (your choice).

A good fit if:

• You need to merge, split, rotate or delete PDF pages without paying for Acrobat or uploading your document to an unknown website.
• You want a light, fast PDF reader with search and bookmarks.
• You often fill in PDF forms, add comments, or black out sensitive information before sending a file.

Not a good fit if:

• You need to edit the existing text inside a PDF for important work. The project itself says editing existing text (especially Chinese, Japanese and right-to-left scripts) is still thin.
• You need to turn a PDF into Word with the layout kept, or turn Office files into PDF. The project admits conversion and sharing is its weak spot and that Office-to-PDF does not exist yet.
• You need text recognition (OCR) for scanned Vietnamese pages. The documentation says OCR beyond Latin script is lacking and says nothing specific about Vietnamese, so do not count on it.
• You need fully finished software. The project calls its current state (October 2026) alpha: everyday jobs such as viewing, commenting, filling forms and organizing pages work, but bugs remain and are being fixed quickly.
• You want a Vietnamese interface. The available languages are English, Japanese, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Russian, Bulgarian, Czech, Brazilian Portuguese, German, Spanish, French, Telugu, Hungarian, Ukrainian, Italian, Arabic, Turkish and Slovenian. There is no Vietnamese yet; if your system language is not on the list the app shows English.

2. What you need

• A Windows, macOS or Linux computer. This guide focuses on Windows with short notes for macOS and Linux. Windows has three builds: x64 (most Intel and AMD PCs; choose this if unsure), arm64 (Snapdragon and other ARM laptops) and x86 (old 32-bit Windows).
• Disk space: the Windows x64 .msi installer is about 65 MB and the portable (no-install) zip about 77 MB (measured on 12 Oct 2026, version 0.6.0). The documentation gives no minimum specs, so a very old PC may feel slow.
• Administrator rights on Windows if you use the .msi file: per the documentation the .msi installs for all users and needs administrator privileges. Without them, use the portable build.
• Internet only to download the installer.
• No account, no API key, no cost.
• No need to install Rust, Git or any developer tool when you use the ready-made installer (steps below).

3. Step-by-step install

There are two official places to download:

• The project page: https://getartcraft.com/apps/pdfcraft (the README calls this the easiest route for newcomers)
• The GitHub releases page: https://github.com/storytold/pdfcraft/releases/latest

The latest version at the time of writing is 0.6.0 (published 11 Oct 2026). File names include the version number, for example pdfcraft-0.6.0-windows-x64.msi.

Note: Download only from the two pages above. Many unknown sites impersonate well-known software to spread malware. The GitHub page also has a SHA256SUMS.txt file if you want to compare checksums.

On Windows

Step 1: Download the installer

Open the releases page and scroll to Assets of the newest version. On a typical Windows PC pick pdfcraft-<version>-windows-x64.msi. Choose windows-arm64.msi for ARM laptops and windows-x86.msi for old 32-bit Windows. If unsure, use x64.

If you do not want to install anything, or you have no administrator rights, download the portable build (windows-x64-portable.zip): unzip it into a folder (a USB stick works too) and run pdfcraft.exe inside. Per the documentation it keeps its settings and recovery data in a PdfCraftData folder next to the program.

Step 2: Run the installer

Double-click the .msi file and follow the screens. According to the documentation the installer and the program are code-signed. If Windows asks for administrator permission, click Yes. If a blue "Windows protected your PC" box still appears, click More info then Run anyway only when the file came from one of the two official pages above.

The .msi adds an Edit with PdfCraft item to the right-click menu of PDF files (on Windows 11 it is under Show more options) but does not change which app opens PDFs by default.

Step 3: Open PdfCraft

Find PdfCraft in the Start menu and open it. You know it worked when you see the Welcome to PdfCraft screen with recommended tools and the All tools catalogue.

On macOS

Download pdfcraft-<version>-macos-universal.dmg (one build for both Apple-silicon and Intel Macs). Double-click the .dmg and drag PdfCraft into Applications. Per the documentation this build is signed and notarized by Apple.

On Linux

The releases page offers .AppImage, .flatpak, .deb, .rpm and .tar.gz files. The simplest route on Ubuntu/Debian is to download the .deb for your architecture (x86_64 for ordinary PCs) and install it with the command below, adjusting the file name to what you downloaded:

sudo apt install ./pdfcraft-0.6.0-linux-x86_64.deb

The documentation says the Linux builds need a reasonably recent system (glibc 2.35 or newer, for example Ubuntu 22.04 or Debian 12 and up).

Change the interface language (optional)

Because Vietnamese is not available, keep English or choose another language from the list. Go to Menu → Edit → Preferences… (or press Ctrl + ,; on a Mac ⌘ + ,) and choose Interface language. The change applies immediately.

4. First use

The quickest test is with any PDF of yours (do not experiment on your only copy; make a duplicate first).

1. Open a file. Right-click the PDF and choose Edit with PdfCraft (on Windows 11 click Show more options first). Or start PdfCraft and use the open-file command in its menu. The pages appear, and each open file gets a tab at the top.
2. Search for text. Use the app's find bar to type a word; matches are highlighted and you step through them with the shortcut shown in the menu.
3. Rearrange pages. Open Organize pages to see every page as a small tile. Select pages by clicking, hold Ctrl and click to add more, or hold Shift to select a range. Then rotate, delete, insert blank pages, insert pages from another file, or move pages earlier or later. Press Ctrl + Z to undo a mistake.
4. Merge files. Use Combine files to join several PDFs into one; each original file gets its own bookmark in the result.
5. Split a file. Use Extract to copy the selected pages into a new file, or Split to cut a file every n pages (or before the pages you choose).
6. Save. Per the documentation each save only appends your changes and leaves the original bytes untouched, writing through a temporary copy before swapping it in, which makes a corrupted file unlikely. The app also autosaves every minute and offers recovery if it quits unexpectedly.

Forgot a tool's name? Press Ctrl + K (Mac: ⌘ + K) to open the command palette and type what you want to do, or open the All tools catalogue.

You did it right when the new file has the pages you expected and also opens in another PDF reader.

5. Common problems and fixes

Symptom	Cause	Fix
A blue "Windows protected your PC" box appears	Windows warns about unfamiliar software on first run	Click More info → Run anyway only if you downloaded from getartcraft.com or the official GitHub page. If it came from anywhere else, delete it and download again
The .msi says it needs administrator rights or fails to install	The .msi installs for all users	Run it from an administrator account, or use the portable.zip build that needs no install
Opening a file is very slow or the window is blank	Weak PC, wrong build (for example x86 on a 64-bit PC) or an old graphics driver	Reinstall the right build (x64, or arm64 on ARM PCs) and update your graphics driver. Report it at https://github.com/storytold/pdfcraft/issues if it persists
The PDF asks for a password or shows restrictions	The author set a password or limited permissions	Enter the correct password. PdfCraft honours a file's permissions; entering the owner password lifts the restrictions. The app does not crack passwords
Editing existing text fails or shows wrong fonts	Editing existing text is still a weak area	Try simple Latin text first, keep the original, or use another tool for this job
The app closes suddenly	Alpha software still has bugs	Reopen it: it offers to recover unsaved work. If it keeps happening with one file, report it on the project's Issues page

6. Uninstall and update

• Uninstall (.msi): open Settings → Apps → Installed apps (Windows 11) or Control Panel → Programs and Features, find PdfCraft and uninstall it.
• Uninstall (portable): close the program and delete the folder you unzipped, including PdfCraftData if you do not need the settings.
• Update: open the releases page, download the newer version and install it over the old one. The documentation mentions update checks through GitHub but does not describe an automatic update flow on Windows, so downloading the new version is the reliable way.

7. FAQ

Does it cost anything? No. It is free, licensed MIT or Apache-2.0, and needs no account.

Does it need the internet? Only to download the installer and check for new versions. Per the documentation it runs offline.

Does my PDF get sent anywhere? According to the project your documents never leave your computer: no account, no telemetry, no cloud processing. That is the project's own statement; the source code is public so anyone can check it.

Can it convert PDF to Word? Not well yet. The documentation says exporting Word with the layout kept and converting Office files to PDF are upcoming work and currently weak.

Will it run on an old PC? The documentation gives no minimum specs. There is a 32-bit Windows build and a portable build, so you can try the portable one before installing.

Can it replace Acrobat? For viewing, merging, splitting and organizing pages the project says the everyday workflows can be completed, but it is still alpha. For important documents, keep the original before you edit.