📄 Setup Stirling PDF — Self-Hosted PDF Toolkit
Deploy 50+ PDF tools locally on your server — merge, split, compress, convert, rotate, watermark, and edit PDFs entirely on your infrastructure.
📦 Resources & Setup Scripts
Grab the automated bash script from GitHub to follow along.
Quick Install:
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mhmdali94/Docker/main/tools/stirling-pdf/stirling-pdf-ubuntu.sh
chmod +x stirling-pdf-ubuntu.sh
sudo bash stirling-pdf-ubuntu.shTutorial Steps
1 Download & Run the Script
The script installs Docker, pulls the Stirling-PDF image, and starts the container. No database or credentials required.
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mhmdali94/Docker/main/tools/stirling-pdf/stirling-pdf-ubuntu.sh
chmod +x stirling-pdf-ubuntu.sh
sudo bash stirling-pdf-ubuntu.sh2 Access the Web UI
Open your browser and navigate to Stirling PDF:
http://YOUR-SERVER-IP:80873 Use the PDF Tools
Browse the full list of tools from the homepage. Tools are grouped by category: Organize, Convert, Security, Edit, and More. All processing is done locally — no files leave your server.
4 Enable Login Protection (Optional)
To add authentication, edit the docker-compose.yml and set SECURITY_ENABLE_LOGIN=true. Restart the container to apply.
Ports Used
| Port | Protocol | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 8087 | TCP | Web UI |
Files Location
/root/docker/stirling-pdf/docker-compose.ymlOverview
Stirling PDF is a powerful, self-hosted web application for PDF manipulation. It supports over 50 operations including merging, splitting, compressing, converting, watermarking, rotating, and OCR text extraction — all processed locally on your server with no files uploaded to third-party services.
Why Use It
Every time you upload a PDF to an online tool like ilovepdf.com or smallpdf.com, that file leaves your server and lands on a third-party system — a serious risk for contracts, invoices, medical records, or any document with private data. Stirling PDF does all 50+ operations locally on your own server with no file leaving your network. One deployment serves your entire team with a clean UI, saving subscription costs for tools like Adobe Acrobat.
When You Need It
Who Should Use It
Real Use Cases
Main Features
How to Use After Installation
Security Best Practices
Ports and Firewall Notes
Stirling PDF runs on port 8080 by default. Do not expose this port directly to the internet without a reverse proxy and authentication. Put it behind Nginx Proxy Manager on port 443 with SSL. In UFW, block port 8080 from external access and allow it only from the reverse proxy. For internal-only use, restrict port 8080 to your LAN IP range so only devices on your network can reach it directly.
Backup and Maintenance
Common Mistakes
Troubleshooting
Alternatives
ilovepdf and Smallpdf are popular online alternatives but send your files to their servers — not suitable for confidential documents. Adobe Acrobat is the industry standard desktop tool but costs $15–25/month per user. LibreOffice Draw can edit and export PDFs but lacks the 50+ specialized operations. PDF24 offers a similar web-based multi-tool and has a self-hostable version. For teams that need a privacy-safe, multi-feature PDF tool at zero subscription cost, Stirling PDF is the best self-hosted option.
When Not to Use It
If you only need to occasionally merge or compress a personal PDF with no confidentiality concerns, free online tools are simpler with no setup. Stirling PDF requires a server — it's overkill for a single person with occasional PDF needs. For digitally signing PDFs with legally recognized e-signatures, use a dedicated signing service (DocuSign, Adobe Sign) — Stirling PDF adds visual stamps but not cryptographic signatures. If your team primarily uses Google Workspace, the built-in Drive PDF tools may be sufficient.
PrismaTechWork Professional Help
PrismaTechWork provides end-to-end infrastructure services — from initial deployment and security hardening to ongoing monitoring, automated backups, and dedicated support. Whether you need a single-server setup or a multi-site network, our team ensures your infrastructure is built right, secured properly, and maintained reliably.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Stirling PDF upload my files to the cloud?
No. Stirling PDF processes all files entirely on your own server. Files are never sent to any external service. The processing happens locally using LibreOffice, Tesseract, and other server-side tools. Once you download the result, the temporary files are discarded. This makes Stirling PDF safe for confidential documents, contracts, medical records, and any file that cannot leave your network.
Can Stirling PDF do OCR on Arabic or other non-Latin text?
Yes. Stirling PDF uses Tesseract OCR which supports 100+ languages including Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and all major European languages. The install script installs common language packs. To add Arabic OCR support, ensure the tesseract-ocr-ara language pack is installed in the container. You can verify installed languages with: docker exec stirling-pdf tesseract --list-langs.
Can I restrict access to specific users only?
Yes. Stirling PDF has built-in authentication that you can enable by setting SECURITY_ENABLELOGIN=true in your docker-compose.yml environment variables. You can then create user accounts with different roles. Additionally, place it behind Nginx Proxy Manager with HTTPS — you can add basic authentication at the proxy level for an extra security layer before users even reach the Stirling PDF login.
How many PDF operations does Stirling PDF support?
Stirling PDF supports 50+ operations organized into categories: Organize (merge, split, rotate, reorder, remove pages), Convert (to/from PDF, Office formats, images), Security (encrypt, decrypt, add/remove passwords, set permissions), Other (compress, repair, add watermarks, add page numbers, OCR, flatten, metadata). New operations are added regularly — check the GitHub releases for the latest feature list.
Can I use Stirling PDF via API for automation?
Yes. Stirling PDF exposes a REST API that mirrors all its web UI operations. You can automate PDF processing by making HTTP POST requests with file uploads to endpoints like /api/v1/general/merge-pdfs. The API documentation is available at /swagger-ui when the container is running. This enables integration with CI/CD pipelines, scripts, or custom applications.
Does Stirling PDF replace Adobe Acrobat?
For most common PDF tasks — merging, splitting, compressing, converting, adding watermarks, OCR — yes, Stirling PDF is a capable free replacement. Where it differs: Stirling PDF does not support digital signatures with cryptographic certificates (only visual stamps), does not have advanced form creation, and has no desktop app. For a team that mainly processes PDFs as files rather than authoring interactive forms, Stirling PDF eliminates the need for Acrobat subscriptions.
How large a file can Stirling PDF handle?
Stirling PDF can handle large files — the practical limit is your server's available RAM and the reverse proxy's upload size limit. LibreOffice conversion of large Office documents can use 500MB–1GB of RAM. For files over 50MB, increase the proxy's client_max_body_size in Nginx Proxy Manager and ensure your server has sufficient RAM. Very large batch operations (100+ page OCR) may take several minutes on modest hardware.
Is Stirling PDF free and open source?
Yes. Stirling PDF is fully open-source under the MIT license, available at github.com/Stirling-Tools/Stirling-PDF. There are no paid tiers, no usage limits, and no registration required. The project is actively maintained with frequent releases. You can use it for personal or commercial purposes without any licensing fees.