pdfcpu: PDF tooling for Go and the command line pdfcpu provides a Go API and command-line tools for working with PDF files. It supports PDFs across versions. PDF 2.0 (ISO-32000-2)…
pdfcpu: PDF tooling for Go and the command line






pdfcpu provides a Go API and command-line tools for working with PDF files.
It supports PDFs across versions. PDF 2.0 (ISO-32000-2) validation support is basic and continuously improving.
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Installation
CLI
👉 CLI Installation instructions
Go API
👉 API Installation instructions
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Usage
CLI
Validate a PDF:pdfcpu validate input.pdf
Merge two PDFs:
pdfcpu merge merged.pdf in1.pdf in2.pdf
Go API
See API documentation for usage examples.
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Features
- Validate, optimize, split, trim, and merge PDFs
- Extract and manipulate images, fonts, and metadata
- Encrypt and decrypt PDFs
- Resize and rotate pages
- Add and remove stamps and watermarks
- Validate signature integrity, report signature evidence, and remove signatures
- Manage attachments and more...
In Action
Common operations and examples:
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Command Set
Complete list of supported commands:
| | | |
|---|---|---|
| annotations | attachments | booklet |
| bookmarks | boxes | certificates |
| change owner password | change user password | collect |
| config | create | crop |
| cut | decrypt | encrypt |
| extract | fonts | form |
| grid | images | import |
| info | keywords | merge |
| ndown | nup | optimize |
| pagelayout | pagemode | pages |
| permissions | portfolio | poster |
| properties | resize | rotate |
| signatures | split | stamp |
| trim | validate | viewerpref |
| watermark | zoom | |
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Motivation
pdfcpu aims to provide comprehensive PDF processing capabilities implemented in Go.
It focuses on correctness, robustness and independence from external dependencies.
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Focus
- comprehensive PDF processing functionality
- minimal external dependencies
- predictable and stable behavior
Documentation
- Project documentation: https://pdfcpu.io
- Changelog: https://pdfcpu.io/changelog
CLI
- Command help:
pdfcpu [command] --help
Go API
- Package documentation: https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/pdfcpu/pdfcpu
- API documentation: https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/pdfcpu/pdfcpu/pkg/api
- Examples:
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Contributing
Contributions are welcome.
- Report bugs or propose changes via issues
- Discuss ideas on the discussion board
- For PRs, please open an issue or discussion first
Guidelines
- Base your work on the latest commit
- Include verbose output (
pdfcpu cmd -vv ...) and a sample PDF when reporting issues - Please sign your commits
Reporting crashes
Crashes may occur due to the wide variety of PDF producers and formats in use, including older or non-compliant files. In many cases this is related to validation issues or edge cases in the parser.
Even with relaxed validation, some files cannot be processed. These cases are essential for improving pdfcpu by extending validation and handling additional real-world PDFs.
If you encounter a crash, please report it.
Start by validating the file using the CLI:
bash
pdfcpu validate -vv
Include in your report:
- the command used
- verbose output (
-vv) - a sanitized sample PDF
If the file cannot be opened by both Adobe Reader and macOS Preview, we cannot support it.
Please include a sample PDF to reproduce the issue whenever possible.
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Contributors
Thanks 💚 to all contributors:
<!-- ALL-CONTRIBUTORS-LIST:START - Do not remove or modify this section -->
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