Privacy-first PDF tools that run entirely on your device.
No account. No uploads. No tracking. No ads.
A community project by intabtools, made by students, for everyone.
InTab PDF is a very new project. The desktop and Android app shells are ready, and our first release will be a simple PDF viewer. The PDF tools (merge, split and more) come after that. The design is still taking shape, so this is a great time to join and help decide how everything looks and works.
Whether you write code, design screens, test on your phone, fix a spelling mistake in the docs, or just have an idea, you are welcome here.
Most online PDF tools ask you to upload your files to a server. We do not think that is right, so InTab PDF works differently.
- Everything runs on your device.
- No backend, no account, no tracking, no ads.
- Open source and community driven.
We are a group of students, so the code must be easy for everyone to read and change. We follow four simple goals.
- Simple. The plain way is the best way. No clever tricks.
- Modular. One tool, one folder. Tools do not depend on each other.
- Explainable. You should be able to say what a file does in one or two sentences.
- Maintainable. Small PRs, tests for PDF logic, and docs that match the code.
| Platform | Technology | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Web | Vite + React + TypeScript | Just starting |
| Desktop | Electron | Shell and icons ready, packages build. |
| Android | Capacitor | Shell and icons ready, packages build. |
We want something useful in people's hands early. So the first release is a simple PDF viewer for the desktop and Android apps: open a PDF, read it, zoom, move between pages. No editing yet. The tools follow in later releases. The reasons are in decision 013.
You need Node.js (current LTS).
git clone https://github.com/intabtools/intabpdf.git
cd intabpdf
npm install
npm run devThe app may not show much yet, and that is okay. We are building it step by step.
- Read contributing.md. It is short.
- Look for issues labelled
good first issue. - Ask questions anytime. Nobody expects you to know everything.
You do not need to read everything. Start with the first two files and come back to the others when you need them.
| File | What it covers |
|---|---|
| contributing.md | How to help, step by step |
| architecture.md | How we plan to arrange the code |
| folder-guide.md | What each folder is for |
| adding-a-tool.md | Build a new tool step by step |
| privacy.md | Our privacy promise and rules |
| commit-conventions.md | How to write commit messages |
| code-quality.md | Friendly tips for clean code |
| dependencies.md | Adding libraries safely |
| platforms.md | Web, desktop and Android plans |
| maintainer-guide.md | For people who review PRs and make releases |
| decisions.md | Why we made some key choices |
Found a security or privacy problem? Please tell us privately. See SECURITY.md.
See LICENSE.