DEV Community

Cover image for I built a free offline PDF & image toolkit — 15 tools, works without internet
Ahmad Faraz
Ahmad Faraz

Posted on

I built a free offline PDF & image toolkit — 15 tools, works without internet

TL;DR

I built ConvertKr Desktop — a free PDF & image toolkit with 15 tools that works 100% offline. Available for macOS, Windows, and Linux. No internet, no cloud uploads, no subscriptions.

🔗 Download | Web Version


The problem

Every time I need to merge a few PDFs or compress a document before emailing, I end up on some random website that:

  • 📤 Uploads my files to their server (privacy?)
  • 💧 Adds a watermark unless I pay
  • 💰 Gives me 2 free uses per day, then asks for $12/month
  • 🐌 Takes forever to upload and download

For something as simple as merging two PDFs, this felt ridiculous.


The solution

I built ConvertKr — first as a free web app where everything processes right in your browser (your files never leave your device), and now as a desktop app that works completely offline.

No internet. No accounts. No limits. Just open the app, pick your files, and get the result.


What you can do with it

PDF Tools

  • Merge — combine multiple PDFs into one
  • Split — extract pages by range or individually
  • Compress — reduce file size before emailing
  • Rotate — fix sideways scanned pages
  • Organize — drag and drop to reorder or delete pages
  • PDF to Image — convert pages to PNG, JPG, or WebP
  • Protect — add watermark protection
  • Unlock — remove password from PDFs
  • Watermark — add text watermarks (supports Urdu too)
  • Page Numbers — add numbers in any position
  • PDF Editor — add text, images, shapes, drawings, and highlights

Image Tools

  • Image to PDF — convert photos to PDF
  • Image Convert — switch between PNG, JPG, WebP
  • Image Compress — make images smaller
  • Image Crop — visual crop tool

Why offline matters

  • 🔒 Privacy — your files never leave your computer. Period.
  • 📶 No internet needed — works on a plane, in a cafe with bad wifi, anywhere
  • Fast — no uploading, no downloading, no waiting
  • 📁 No file limits — handle large documents that crash browser-based tools
  • 💸 Free forever — no trial that expires, no premium tier, no "upgrade to unlock"

Available on all platforms

Platform Download
macOS (Apple Silicon) DMG
Windows (64-bit) EXE Installer
Linux (64-bit) AppImage
Linux (Debian/Ubuntu) .deb

macOS: If you see "app is damaged", open Terminal and run: xattr -cr /Applications/ConvertKr.app
Windows: If SmartScreen appears, click "More info" → "Run anyway"

These warnings appear because the app isn't code-signed yet. It's completely safe.


Web version too

Don't want to download anything? All tools also work at convertkr.com — directly in your browser, with 27+ tools including OCR, background remover, QR codes, and more. Same privacy — everything processes locally.


What's coming next

  • 🔍 OCR — extract text from scanned PDFs
  • 📦 Batch processing — drop a folder, process everything
  • ✍️ Digital signatures
  • 📝 PDF form filler

Try it

Completely free. No trial. No license. No limits.

👉 Download ConvertKr Desktop
👉 Use the web version

Questions or feedback? ahmadfarazjutt3@gmail.com

If you find it useful, buy me a coffee ☕ — it keeps the project going.

Top comments (0)