--- title: The tiny free PDF editor that changed how I edit files... description: Stirling PDF is a free, open-source PDF editor available on Windows, macOS, and Linux, with a self-hosting option via Docker. Its version 2.0 brought a major... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/the-tiny-free-pdf-editor-that-changed-how-i-edit-files-on-windows-mac-and-linux-djclaj2dz twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: The tiny free PDF editor that changed how I edit files on Windows, Mac, and Linux | daily.dev og:description: Stirling PDF is a free, open-source PDF editor available on Windows, macOS, and Linux, with a self-hosting option via Docker. Its version 2.0 brought a major... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/the-tiny-free-pdf-editor-that-changed-how-i-edit-files-on-windows-mac-and-linux-djclaj2dz og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/dJcLAJ2dz.png og:image:alt: The tiny free PDF editor that changed how I edit files on Windows, Mac, and Linux og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # The tiny free PDF editor that changed how I edit files on Windows, Mac, and Linux **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 4 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Stirling PDF is a free, open-source PDF editor available on Windows, macOS, and Linux, with a self-hosting option via Docker. Its version 2.0 brought a major UI overhaul, making it feel more polished and comparable to premium tools like Adobe Acrobat. Beyond basics like merging, splitting, and compressing, it supports OCR, redaction, watermarking, metadata editing, document comparison, and signatures, appealing to users who want to avoid uploading sensitive documents to random online converters. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What new features or improvements came with Stirling PDF version 2.0? Stirling PDF version 2.0 introduced a major UI redesign with a cleaner, more modern look, better spacing, clearer icons, and polished menus. Navigation between tools, opening PDFs, making edits, and switching actions feels less clunky than in earlier versions, making the app feel comparable to premium editors like Adobe Acrobat. _Anyone weighing free versus paid PDF tools can browse hands-on comparisons like this on daily.dev._ ### Can Stirling PDF be self-hosted instead of using an online PDF converter? Yes, Stirling PDF supports self-hosting via Docker, letting it run on a home server, NAS, or mini PC and be accessed through a browser. This avoids uploading sensitive documents like invoices, bank statements, or IDs to unknown third-party websites, giving users full control over their document processing. _Developers building privacy-first home lab setups can find more self-hosting guides on daily.dev._ ### What PDF tasks can Stirling PDF handle besides merging and splitting files? Stirling PDF also supports converting files, extracting images, adding watermarks, editing metadata, comparing documents, adding signatures, redacting sensitive information, running OCR on scanned pages, and reorganizing pages, all within one free open-source application available for Windows, Mac, and Linux. _People consolidating their document workflow into fewer tools can track options like this on daily.dev._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [I started editing all my PDF files with this free, self-hosted tool, and I’m not going back](https://daily.dev/posts/i-started-editing-all-my-pdf-files-with-this-free-self-hosted-tool-and-i-m-not-going-back-9zmqckpxu) · XDA Developers · 6 upvotes · 2 comments - [I don’t pay for Adobe Acrobat, Foxit PDF, or Nitro PDF, I use this free self-hosting tool to edit my PDFs](https://daily.dev/posts/i-don-t-pay-for-adobe-acrobat-foxit-pdf-or-nitro-pdf-i-use-this-free-self-hosting-tool-to-edit-my-lx1voazvr) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [I stopped uploading PDFs to random websites after finding this free desktop app](https://daily.dev/posts/i-stopped-uploading-pdfs-to-random-websites-after-finding-this-free-desktop-app-nlg8h7pmt) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [I tried 2 Docker-based PDF editors to replace Adobe Acrobat, and only one stood out](https://daily.dev/posts/i-tried-2-docker-based-pdf-editors-to-replace-adobe-acrobat-and-only-one-stood-out-dmf2z2ihd) · XDA Developers · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [The Private Alternative to iLovePDF & Smallpdf](https://daily.dev/posts/the-private-alternative-to-ilovepdf-smallpdf-68kn6smic) · Hacker News · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#open-source](https://daily.dev/tags/open-source), [#devtools](https://daily.dev/tags/devtools), [#docker](https://daily.dev/tags/docker), [#self-hosting](https://daily.dev/tags/self-hosting) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/the-tiny-free-pdf-editor-that-changed-how-i-edit-files-on-windows-mac-and-linux-djclaj2dz) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"The tiny free PDF editor that changed how I edit files on Windows, Mac, and Linux","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-tiny-free-pdf-editor-that-changed-how-i-edit-files-on-windows-mac-and-linux-djclaj2dz","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/the-tiny-free-pdf-editor-that-changed-how-i-edit-files-on-windows-mac-and-linux-djclaj2dz"},"datePublished":"2026-08-22T21:31:10.009Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T07:07:41.761Z","description":"Stirling PDF is a free, open-source PDF editor available on Windows, macOS, and Linux, with a self-hosting option via Docker. 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