workflowstacks
local-ai

Stirling-PDF: Edit PDFs Anywhere

Edit PDFs on any device with Stirling-PDF, a tool for startup founders, backed by 80k+ GitHub stars
intermediate⏱ 30 minutesπŸ’΅ Free (self-hosted)
93,944 stars+435β˜… this week10,954 forksTypeScriptGuide quality 9/10 Β· reviewed Jun 29Updated 10/10/2026100% free Β· open source
What it is

Edit PDFs online on any device using your browser

Real use case example

"A marketing manager needs to update the PDF version of their company's brochure to include a new product release. They can sign in to the Stirling-PDF application, upload the current brochure, edit the PDF to add the new product details, and then download the updated version for distribution to sales teams and partners."

Best insideClaude DesktopCursor
When to use it
  • β€’When you need to make changes to a PDF document on a device without a traditional PDF editor
  • β€’When collaborating with others and need to edit PDFs in real-time, regardless of the device or location
  • β€’When you want a free, open-source solution for editing PDFs without relying on proprietary software
Ready-to-paste prompt
To edit a sample PDF, navigate to the Stirling-PDF interface, click on 'Open PDF', and select a sample PDF file from your device, such as 'sample.pdf', to begin editing.
Heads up: Before running the application, ensure you have Node.js (version 14 or higher) and a compatible package manager (npm or yarn) installed on your system, as Stirling-PDF relies on these dependencies to function properly.
Saves to your device
Use with Claude
New

Skip the builder β€” one click puts this in Claude, Cursor, Antigravity and more.

πŸ› οΈ Technical setup

Expect 20–40 minutes in a terminal β€” or let your AI agent drive it.

Try it instantly β€” no install
Claude Code
mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/stirling-pdf && curl -fsSL https://workflowstacks.com/api/skills/stirling-pdf/claude-skill -o ~/.claude/skills/stirling-pdf/SKILL.md
Open in another AI app

Opens the app with this repo with the prompt ready to go β€” no copy-paste needed.

Connect the whole catalog (MCP)
claude mcp add --transport http workflowstacks https://workflowstacks.com/api/mcp

Adds a WorkflowStacks connector to Claude Code: search and load any skill here by chatting.

How Stirling-PDF: Edit PDFs Anywhere works
Codeflow
Free to inspect

Stirling-PDF: Edit PDFs Anywhere is a very large Java project (~551k lines across 4243 code files, plus 1013 test files). It is a full software project: use it through its install path rather than reading it end to end. Last commit this month, Other license, has a test suite.

Size
Very large codebase
~551k lines Β· 4243 code files Β· days to read β€” use, don't read
Setup
Developer setup
A real software project. Use it via its install path; don't expect to read it all.
Runs on
Java/JVM
No API keys detected
Java 49%TypeScript 42%Python 4%CSS 2%Shell 1%
What happens, step by step

Edit PDFs anywhere

You give
PDF file
1Load PDF
Open PDF file
2Edit Tools
Use 50+ PDF tools
app/proprietary/src/test/resources/db-migration-fixtures/README.md
3Save PDF
Save edited PDF
4Automation
Use no-code pipelines
Taskfile.yml
You get
Edited PDF
Where to start reading
  1. 1
    README.md
    Start here β€” what it does and how to install it
  2. 2
    AGENTS.md
    The instructions the AI actually follows
  3. 3
    app/proprietary/src/test/resources/db-migration-fixtures/README.md
    Inside app/ β€” the main logic begins here
What's in each folder
app/Core code β€” the actual logic2818 files
frontend/Frontend / UI3366 files
docs/Documentation7 files
engine/Folder146 files
scripts/Helper scripts42 files
docker/Deployment / infrastructure27 files
devGuide/Folder8 files
buildSrc/Folder4 files
READMEHas testsDocumentedCI checksOther licenseUpdated this month
Quick Actions
Details
Creator
Stirling-Tools
Language
TypeScript
Category
local-ai
Published
1/27/2023

Are you the creator of this tool? and earn 85% of every sale.

Show it off in your README:

Featured on WorkflowStacks
[![Featured on WorkflowStacks](https://workflowstacks.com/api/badge/stirling-pdf.svg)](https://workflowstacks.com/skills/stirling-pdf?utm_source=github&utm_medium=badge)
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Pages we wrote and tested that put a skill like this to work β€” importable n8n templates, outcome guides and Claude Desktop configs.

MCP config

Puppeteer (browser) MCP config

Let Claude control a headless browser β€” navigate, screenshot, scrape.

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