PdfCraft

storytold/pdfcraftReviewed by Radar

What it does

PdfCraft is a free PDF reader and editor for Windows, Mac and Linux. You can read documents, search text, rotate, delete and reorder pages, combine or split files, add comments, fill in forms and protect files with a password. It works offline and needs no account. There are ready installers and a portable version for Windows. The project calls itself alpha: editing existing text, office file conversion and some advanced features are still missing or weak. A command-line tool is also offered for scripts and AI agents.

How easy it is to install

A · download and open · Windows

Each release has a signed Windows .msi installer and a portable .zip for x64, x86 and ARM64, so you download and open it.

Numbers on GitHub

Stars: 18,945on Oct 31, 2026
Downloads: 2,674,368465,420 this week
Growth: +894stars in 5 days

Stars over time

Facts

Runs on: Windows, macOS, Linux
You need to install: Nothing extra
To build from source: Rust
Disk space: 70 MB–211 MB · from the installer
Accounts or keys: None
Cost: Free · Open source under MIT or Apache-2.0.
License: Apache-2.0 (Permissive)
Can replace: Acrobat
Last update: Oct 31, 2026

Risk signals (5)

AttentionVery new repository with many stars
18048 stars in 26 days
automatic check
Infoself described alpha
README.md: "PdfCraft is **alpha**" and "fuzzing still turns up crashes and hangs on hostile files".
AI review
Infoinstaller needs admin and adds menus
README.md: "The MSI installs for all users and requires administrator privileges. It adds \"Edit with PdfCraft\" to the right-click menu of PDF files"; the portable .zip avoids this.
AI review
Infohomepage name mismatch
Repository homepage is https://getartcraft.com/apps/printcraft, while the README points to https://getartcraft.com/apps/pdfcraft.
AI review
Infoupdate component included
Cargo.toml lists `craft-update = { git = "https://github.com/storytold/craft-libs", ... features = ["egui"] }`, which suggests the app can check for updates online even though the README says "no telemetry".
AI review

Evidence is shown in its original language.

What Radar could not check

Whether the app checks the internet for updates and what it sends when it does.
How well it handles large or complex PDFs compared with paid PDF editors.
Whether the Windows installer's code signature matches the publisher named in the README.
How reliable saving is for documents with forms, signatures or encryption in real use.