compress[pdf]

Compress PDFs locally. No uploads, no limits, no nonsense.

What it does

compress[pdf] compresses PDF files entirely on your Mac — no account, no internet connection, no file size limits. Everything stays on your machine; nothing is uploaded anywhere.

Download

Download the latest release from the Releases page.

First launch

compress[pdf] is an unsigned open-source app — macOS will block it the first time you open it. To allow it:

1. Open the DMG and drag the app to Applications
2. Double-click the app — macOS shows "Apple cannot verify this app", click Done
3. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down, click Open Anyway
4. Click Open in the confirmation dialog — the app opens and is trusted from then on

Or if you prefer the terminal:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/compress[pdf].app"

Using the app

1. Add files via drag-and-drop or the File menu
2. Pick a compression preset
3. Optionally override the DPI per file
4. Hit Compress — size savings are shown per file when done

Presets:

Preset	Quality	Default DPI
Max	Smallest file	72
Balanced	Good quality	150
Minimal	Near-lossless	300

Output goes to the same folder with a _compressed suffix, or to a custom folder of your choosing.

For developers

Stack:

• Frontend: SvelteKit + Svelte 5 + TypeScript
• Backend: Rust via Tauri 2
• Compression engine: Ghostscript (bundled sidecar binary — no system install required)

Requirements:

• Rust
• Node.js

# Install and run dev server
npm install
npm run tauri dev

# Build for production
npm run tauri build

# Test
npm test                        # Frontend (Vitest)
cd src-tauri && cargo test      # Rust

License

Licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0.

This software bundles Ghostscript, Copyright © Artifex Software, Inc., licensed under AGPL v3. Source code is available at https://github.com/ArtifexSoftware/ghostpdl