About ChopFile

ChopFile is a free collection of PDF tools that work entirely in your browser. No files are ever uploaded to a server — all processing happens locally on your device using JavaScript.

Why ChopFile Exists

Most online PDF tools require you to upload your files to their servers. That means your sensitive documents — contracts, tax forms, medical records, immigration paperwork — pass through someone else's infrastructure, where they may be cached, logged, or scanned. ChopFile takes a different approach: your files never leave your browser. The entire toolkit was built around a single principle: a privacy-friendly PDF utility should not require you to trust anyone.

How ChopFile Works

ChopFile uses modern browser technologies to process PDFs directly in your browser:

• pdf-lib — an open-source JavaScript library that reads, modifies, and writes PDF files natively. Used for merging, splitting, rotating, page organization, metadata editing, and page numbering.
• PDF.js — Mozilla's open-source PDF rendering engine. Used by the image-conversion tool to render pages at high resolution.
• Web Workers — modern browsers can run heavy work in a background thread, so the page stays responsive while large files are processed.
• WebAssembly — used for performance-critical decoding and rendering steps.

When you merge, split, or rotate a PDF on ChopFile, the work happens on your device. The output is downloaded straight to your computer — no round-trip to a server required.

Who Built ChopFile

ChopFile is an independent project built and maintained by a small team of developers who care about privacy-first tooling. We do not sell user data, we do not require accounts, and we do not track individuals across the web. The project is funded by display advertising on the marketing pages — never on the tool pages themselves while you are processing files.

The Full Toolkit

• Merge PDF — Combine multiple PDF files into one document.
• Split PDF — Extract pages or split a PDF into separate files.
• Rotate PDF — Rotate individual pages or the entire document.
• PDF to Images — Convert PDF pages to PNG or JPEG images.
• Organize PDF — Drag and rearrange pages from multiple PDFs into one.
• Edit PDF Metadata — View and edit your PDF title, author, and keywords.
• Unlock PDF — Remove password protection from PDFs you own.
• Add Page Numbers — Stamp page numbers with custom position and format.

Editorial Standards

The how-to guides on ChopFile are written by people who use these tools daily. We do not auto-generate content from templates, we do not pad guides with filler, and we update articles when the underlying tools change. Each guide explains the task, the why, the how, common pitfalls, and links to related tools.

What ChopFile Is Not

ChopFile is intentionally focused on common, everyday PDF tasks. It is not an OCR engine, not a PDF form designer, and not a redaction tool for legally sensitive material. For specialized work, dedicated desktop software like Adobe Acrobat or open-source projects like LibreOffice and PDFsam will serve you better. ChopFile is for the 90% of PDF tasks that should not require installing software or trusting an upload server.

Contact

Questions, feedback, bug reports, or partnership inquiries? Reach us at contact@chopfile.com. We aim to respond within 2–3 business days. For privacy-related requests, see our Privacy Policy.