A few weeks ago, I built a small web tool because I needed something simple: a way to manipulate PDF and image files without installing heavy software or creating accounts.
Most existing tools felt either:
- overly complicated
- behind paywalls
- or full of ads and tracking
So I decided to build my own lightweight alternative.
What I built
It's a free online toolkit that runs entirely in the browser/backend, allowing users to process common file tasks:
- Convert images to PDF or other image formats
- Merge multiple PDF files into one
- Add password protection to PDF files (using encryption)
Everything is designed to be fast, minimal, and accessible from any device.
Why this project exists
The main goal was simplicity.
I wanted:
- no account creation
- no email collection
- no hidden paywalls
- a tool that just works
- GDPR compliant tool
It’s mainly built for quick everyday tasks like:
- sending documents
- organizing PDFs
- converting images for administrative use
Tech stack
The project is built with:
- FastAPI (backend)
- Nginx (reverse proxy)
- Cloudflare (DNS + security layer)
- Vanilla HTML/CSS/JS frontend
The focus was more on performance and simplicity than on heavy frontend frameworks.
What I learned
Building a “simple tool” is surprisingly complex when you consider:
- file handling safely
- performance for large files (asynchronous jobs and event queue)
- keeping the UI minimal but usable
- making everything work across devices
Live demo
You can try it here:
https://universal-converter.fr.eu.org?language=en
Or in french language here:
https://universal-converter.fr.eu.org/?language=fr
Future improvements
I plan to add:
- more image formats support
- PDF compression
- OCR features
- OMR features using Audiveris
- mobile UX
Feedback welcome
If you have suggestions or ideas for useful features, feel free to share them.
I’m mainly improving this project based on real usage.
Top comments (1)
no signup no tracking is the bar more tool sites should clear - the tracking pixels on most free converters are doing quiet work. swapfile.live ships the same way, no analytics on the conversion pages at all. how did you handle the analytics temptation?