Show HN: Free, in-browser PDF editor

47 pointsposted 3 hours ago
by philjohnson
(breezepdf.com)

37 Comments

maxloh

2 hours ago

Several open-source alternatives already exist. All are powered by pdf-lib, with the first two also utilizing PyMuPDF.

- BentoPDF (12.3k stars): https://github.com/alam00000/bentopdf

- PDFCraft (3.6k stars): https://github.com/PDFCraftTool/pdfcraft

- PDFLince (31 stars): https://github.com/GSiesto/pdflince

Since this project likely uses the same stack, I’m not sure what the selling point of a more limiting product is.

philjohnson

2 hours ago

Well, if you aren't a developer you're not going install a PDF editor by going to GitHub, especially if having a desktop app means downloading the code yourself. Also, all of these you listed were created within the last 6 months, which is after when BreezePDF was initially created anyways. Lots of options out there, everyone can choose however they see fit!

npilk

39 minutes ago

Just for competitive reference, note that e.g. BentoPDF has a website as well, not just a GitHub repo: https://www.bentopdf.com/

philjohnson

27 minutes ago

Yes, but not a desktop app that doesn't require downloading the code from GitHub

ramon156

2 hours ago

These aren't real arguments for/against your project. The body is also AI generated. I do not see a reason why I would want to try out your version, seeing as you don't care about writing a welcoming body.

philjohnson

2 hours ago

I'm not sure what you mean by "body"

user

an hour ago

[deleted]

thangalin

2 hours ago

Related: My FOSS tool allows uploading PDF files to a private server for annotating within a browser. Annotations are saved server-side in JSON format, which can be viewed and modified by anyone with the URL.

https://repo.autonoma.ca/repo/notanexus/blob/HEAD/README.md

The software uses PHP and PDF.js for displaying and annotating. Screenshot:

https://i.ibb.co/gL39qGdc/notanexus.png

hackernewds

an hour ago

This is not related. This is self-promotion and contributes little to OP's show. Poor form..

hackernewds

an hour ago

I take that back it does contribute since I realize OP's is paid and yours is FOSS

raphman

an hour ago

Looks nice.

Redacting text seems to actually work. However, editing existing text results in both the original text and the edited version being shown in the PDF after download.

(The page downloads mupdf (WASM) for rendering the PDF. When "downloading" (= saving) the PDF, the page first checks whether the allowed three downloads have been reached via a POST request (no PDF data uploaded), then it downloads PyIodide and some Python wheels (pdfrw, defusedxml) before creating the PDF file.

philjohnson

an hour ago

Thanks! Looking into text removal issue, fixing now.

Yes, PDF data is never uploaded to the servers. It's the entire reason I created the project, after seeing the all the main results you see when you search on Google upload your data to their servers.

colesantiago

44 minutes ago

Isn't MuPDF AGPL assuming that BreezePDF is open source in compliance of this license?

I believe AGPL'd software cannot be sold without a license unless there is full disclosure of the source code.

If that is the case, the OP is likely in violation of MuPDF's AGPL license if he is selling and distributing binaries without contacting sales.

philjohnson

41 minutes ago

The MuPDF part is separated from the rest of the code as a completely separate file communicated to over web workers, so the separation means the rest of the code does not need to be open source.

zemlyansky

an hour ago

"You've used all 3 free downloads this month" much free very no signup

philjohnson

an hour ago

There is no sign up required to use it for the 3 free downloads (unlike many other PDF products).

zemlyansky

36 minutes ago

this doesn't make it a free editor. in the EU, you could probably be sued for using that wording: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELE...

philjohnson

26 minutes ago

I'd get sued for wording on Hacker News?

The website has it's own copy anyways which goes into more detail than an HN post

zemlyansky

a minute ago

you're likely a founder or employee posting about your commercial product. and what you post can be classified as misleading commercial practice. so in theory, yes. in practice - who knows. your website copy also claims: "no signup required" which is false, don't you think?

souvlakee

an hour ago

>This will use 1 of your free monthly downloads. You have 3 remaining.

If this is in [my] browser, why should I pay?

philjohnson

an hour ago

If I go to the grocery store and I grab bananas off the shelf, they're already in my hand, so why should I pay?

hackernewds

an hour ago

you should pay because you did not build it. same as how you pay for a burger that digests in your intestines

colesantiago

an hour ago

souvlakee should vibe code his own clone of BreezePDF and perhaps open source it for the community for free.

Problem solved.

jaccola

an hour ago

People regularly pay for software that runs on their machine.

hackernewds

an hour ago

Bit bummed to see many posts pitching their own products (often paid) rather than give OP feedback which is the spirit of a ShowHN. There should be a blanket policy of disallowing that.

beh

2 hours ago

Is this any different from your other submission of the same tool[0] or simply a duplicate?

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43880962

philjohnson

2 hours ago

Last year there were a couple features, but it was pretty limited. In the year since, I've added a ton more features, created desktop app and CLI. So it was a major overhaul since last time, which is why I posted it again

tomhow

an hour ago

The HN rule is that a repost of a past submission is a dupe if it last had significant attention and discussion in the preceding 12 months.

The exception is that if it is a major upgrade, such that it is effectively a new/different product.

If this is the case, you need make it clear in your introduction post, how that is the case. You should reference the previous post ("Hey HN, we posted this project here a few months ago and at that time the state of the app was ___". Since then we've added ____, changed ____ and removed ____").

If you can write an intro like that and if the community agrees it's sufficiently changed, it can have some more front page time (because the discussion can be substantially different from what it was last time).

philjohnson

an hour ago

Understood. Yes, it was a major upgrade since last time, where then it only had maybe 6/7 features. Now it has nearly 40, plus desktop and a CLI.

I updated the intro, is if sufficient to be unmarked as dup? Thanks

kykat

2 hours ago

Tried to convert to docx, got failed to import js module error.

madhacker

2 hours ago

my goto -> pdf24

philjohnson

an hour ago

If you try BreezePDF, feel free to give feedback!