Frequently asked questions

LocalDocu is an open-source, local-first document workspace for working with PDFs and Word documents. Supported document operations run locally in your browser rather than requiring document upload to a LocalDocu server.

Document processing in the current release is local. Your selected document bytes are processed on your device and are not uploaded to LocalDocu for document processing.

Yes, for supported local workflows once the application has been loaded and cached by the browser. Availability of individual browser capabilities can vary by browser and device.

LocalDocu supports PDF for merge, split, extract, delete pages, rotate, reorder, and compress. It also supports practical DOCX merge, text preview, and capacity-gated DOC/DOCX to PDF conversion (text-oriented PDF). Complex Word layouts may not be preserved exactly.

No account is required for the current application.

Open the Merge PDF page (or the homepage workspace), select or drop two or more PDF files, arrange the order in the list, choose Merge, then save or download the result locally. Files are not uploaded for merging.

Document bytes stay in your browser session and local file handles for the work you are doing. LocalDocu does not keep a cloud copy of your documents. Closing the tab or clearing site data ends the in-memory session; files you saved or downloaded remain where you stored them on your device.

For suitable document workflows, LocalDocu lets your own device perform processing instead of sending document data to a remote document-processing service. This can reduce unnecessary data transfer and some server-side processing for those workloads. It does not claim universal energy savings versus every cloud setup.

Yes. The project is developed in the open under the Apache-2.0 license. Source code, contribution guidance, and roadmap are available through GitHub.

You can help with code, tests, documentation, accessibility, design, and issue reports. See the Contribute page for the contributor journey and link to the GitHub repository.

Yes for core workflows: select files (multi-select), merge, compress, convert, and download results in mobile Chrome or Safari. Folder pick, native Save As, and create-folder work best on desktop Chrome or Edge. On some phones the in-page PDF preview may be blank — open preview in a new tab. Very large files may hit browser memory limits. See the Browser & device support page for the full matrix.

Some advanced or resource-intensive capabilities may exceed what a given browser or device can handle comfortably. Those workloads may be better suited to a future desktop application with stronger local resources. The web app remains focused on suitable browser workloads.

LocalDocu AI is in active development for the LocalDocu desktop app. It uses an open-weight, local-device-friendly model to understand your intent and LocalDocu’s document-management capabilities, then runs complex tasks through those local engines. It is designed to work from document metadata and your request — not by sending document contents to the cloud. LocalDocu AI is Off in the current web release. We aim to release soon and welcome contributions from the open community.