PdfDing
A self-hosted PDF manager, viewer and editor that provides a seamless experience across multiple devices.
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Self-hosted PDF tool that views, edits, and syncs across devices — lightweight and practical.
Core Features
- Seamless multi-device PDF viewing with automatic position memory
- Organize PDFs using workspaces, collections, multi-level tags, starring, and archiving
- Edit PDFs by adding text, highlights, and drawings (overlay only)
- Signatures shared across devices, manage and export highlights/comments
- Share PDFs via link or QR code with optional password protection
What It Can't Do
- •1) No OCR support; cannot auto-recognize text in images. 2) PDF editing is overlay-only (cannot modify original content). 3) Requires Docker; not for non-technical users. 4) Files stored in Docker volumes; must back up manually. 5) Self-hosted only; no cloud hosting included.
Use Cases
- Individuals or teams needing to centrally manage and read large PDF collections
- Users who want to sync reading progress and notes across multiple devices
- Setting up a self-hosted PDF sharing platform with controlled access
Detailed Introduction
PdfDing is a lightweight, self-hosted PDF management tool that combines viewing, editing, and organization. It remembers your reading position across devices, supports workspaces, collections, multi-level tagging, starring, and archiving. You can edit PDFs by adding text, highlights, and drawings; manage and export highlights and comments; add signatures shared across devices; and share PDFs via link or QR code with optional access control. It supports SSO via OIDC, two-factor authentication (TOTP + WebAuthn), Markdown notes, and progress bars. The clean UI includes dark mode, inverted colors, custom themes, and multiple layouts. Designed to be minimal, fast, and easily deployed with Docker.
Troubleshooting & FAQ (1)
TroubleshootingWhy does PdfDing crash with 'SOCIALACCOUNT_ONLY does not work with allauth.mfa' after upgrading to 1.6.x when OIDC_ONLY is enabled?
Upgrading to PdfDing 1.6.x introduces MFA via allauth.mfa, which conflicts with OIDC_ONLY because the setting internally enables SOCIALACCOUNT_ONLY. Temporary workaround: set OIDC_ONLY=false and DISABLE_USER_SIGNUP=true to hide the signup form while still allowing OIDC login. A permanent fix requires disabling MFA when OIDC_ONLY is set, but this will delete existing MFA data (e.g., TOTP keys). Track issue #274 for updates.
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Getting Started
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Install the software
Double-click the downloaded installer and follow the prompts
Step 1: Install Docker and Docker Compose on your server
Step 2: Download the official docker-compose.yml from https://docs.pdfding.com/getting_started/docker/
Step 3: Run 'docker compose up -d' and access at http://localhost:8080
- Step 1: Install Docker and Docker Compose on your server
- Step 2: Download the official docker-compose.yml from https://docs.pdfding.com/getting_started/docker/
- Step 3: Run 'docker compose up -d' and access at http://localhost:8080
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Open Source Transparency
View GitHub SourceUninstall Info
Stop containers: 'docker compose down'. Remove data volumes (if desired): 'docker volume rm pdfding_data'.
No Extra Dependencies
Ready to use after download. No additional runtime required.
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