Client-side PDF tools using JavaScript

Server-side PDF processing has been the default approach for years. Users upload a document, the server processes it, and the result is sent back. While simple to implement, this model introduces privacy, scalability, and performance concerns.

Modern browsers are now powerful enough to handle many PDF operations entirely on the client side using JavaScript.

What is client-side PDF processing?

Client-side PDF processing means that PDF files are:

Loaded locally in the browser

Parsed and modified using JavaScript

Generated and downloaded without any server interaction

The file never leaves the user’s device.

This model is increasingly popular for privacy-focused and lightweight web applications.

Why developers are moving away from server-based PDF tools

Server-based tools come with several downsides:

Handling sensitive user documents

Increased bandwidth and storage costs

File cleanup and retention logic

Legal and compliance complexity

Client-side tools remove these issues by design.

Core technologies behind client-side PDF tools
File & Blob APIs

Browsers allow users to securely select local files using an . JavaScript can then read the file as an ArrayBuffer.

JavaScript PDF libraries

Libraries like pdf-lib enable reading, modifying, and creating PDFs directly in JavaScript without external services.

WebAssembly (WASM)

Some tools use WASM to achieve near-native performance for heavy PDF operations.

Example: Splitting a PDF using JavaScript (pdf-lib)

Below is a simplified example showing how a PDF can be split client-side.

import { PDFDocument } from "pdf-lib";

async function splitPdf(file, pagesToExtract) {
const arrayBuffer = await file.arrayBuffer();
const sourcePdf = await PDFDocument.load(arrayBuffer);
const newPdf = await PDFDocument.create();

const pages = await newPdf.copyPages(
sourcePdf,
pagesToExtract.map(p => p - 1)
);

pages.forEach(page => newPdf.addPage(page));

const pdfBytes = await newPdf.save();
return new Blob([pdfBytes], { type: "application/pdf" });
}

This function:

Loads a PDF locally

Extracts selected pages

Generates a new downloadable PDF

No uploads. No backend.

Advantages of client-side PDF tools
Privacy-first architecture

User documents never leave their device, making this ideal for financial, legal, and personal files.

Lower infrastructure cost

No servers, no storage, no scaling problems.

Faster UX

Large PDFs often process faster locally than uploading and downloading them.

Offline-friendly

Once loaded, many tools continue to work without an active internet connection.

Common real-world use cases

Client-side PDF processing works well for:

Splitting PDFs by page range

Extracting specific pages

Merging multiple PDFs

Reordering or removing pages

Quick document preparation workflows

Reference implementation

A real-world example of a fully client-side PDF splitter (no uploads involved) can be seen here as a reference implementation:
https://free-pdf-tools-e7x.pages.dev/split.html

It demonstrates how modern browsers can handle PDF manipulation using only frontend technologies.

Things to keep in mind as a developer

Large PDFs can consume significant memory

Always provide loading/progress feedback

Clearly communicate privacy guarantees

Test across Chrome, Firefox, and Edge

Consider graceful fallbacks for older browsers

Conclusion

Client-side PDF tools using JavaScript are no longer experimental. With modern browser APIs, WebAssembly, and mature libraries, many PDF operations can be done securely and efficiently without a backend.

For developers, this means simpler architectures, lower costs, and better privacy guarantees — a strong combination for modern web apps.****