Paperless-ngx
Paperless-ngx turns physical documents into a searchable archive stored on a user's own server.
What Paperless-ngx is
Paperless-ngx turns physical documents into a searchable archive stored on a user's own server. It uses Tesseract OCR to make scanned documents searchable in more than 100 languages, and lets users organize them with tags, correspondents, document types, custom fields, and workflows. It handles PDFs, common image formats, and plain text; optional Tika integration adds Office-format processing. Optional AI tools can suggest documents, support document chat, and retrieve similar documents, but are disabled by default. Documents stay local unless configured AI providers receive their contents when those features are used. Mail rules can filter and act on incoming email, and Gmail and Outlook OAuth support is documented. The software includes built-in Django authentication, external authentication options, and a REST API with a browsable interface. Checksums and a scheduled sanity checker help identify changes to stored documents. Paperless-ngx is free, open-source software under GPL-3.0, with community support through GitHub Discussions and Matrix. It runs on Linux; Windows is not supported. Document and thumbnail encryption is no longer supported as of version 3.
Good
- OCR supports more than 100 languages
- Documents can be organized with tags and workflows
- Free, open-source, community-supported software
- Includes a documented REST API
- Checksums and scheduled document integrity checks
Watch out
- Runs on Linux; Windows is not supported
- Document and thumbnail encryption is unsupported since version 3
- AI providers may receive document content when configured
Who it suits
Paperless-ngx suits people who want to maintain a searchable document archive on their own Linux server. It may fit users who want configurable organization, email rules, and optional AI features, while keeping in mind the AI-provider privacy tradeoff.
Verdict
Paperless-ngx offers a self-hosted route to searchable document storage with OCR and flexible organization. It is a Linux-only option, and users should review the implications before enabling configured AI providers.
Plans and prices
From Paperless-ngx's own pricing page, checked 11 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Paperless-ngx | Free | Community-supported open-source software · GPL-3.0 |
The facts
Each one read from Paperless-ngx's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- AI features
- Optional AI features include document suggestions, document chat, and similar-document retrieval, and are disabled by default.checked 11 Oct 2026
- API
- Paperless-ngx provides a documented REST API with a browsable interface.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Authentication
- It has built-in Django authentication and supports external authentication through remote-user authentication or OpenID Connect and social authentication.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Document integrity
- Paperless-ngx keeps checksums and runs a scheduled sanity checker to check that documents remain unchanged.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Email integration
- Mail rules can filter and act on incoming email, and Gmail and Outlook OAuth support is documented in the changelog.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Encryption limit
- Document and thumbnail encryption is no longer supported as of version 3.checked 11 Oct 2026
- File formats
- It processes PDFs and common image formats, supports plain text, and can handle Office formats with optional Tika integration.checked 11 Oct 2026
- OCR
- It uses Tesseract OCR to make scanned documents searchable and supports more than 100 languages.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Organization
- Users can organize documents with tags, correspondents, document types, custom fields, and workflows.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Privacy
- Documents are stored locally on the user's server; using configured AI providers can send document content to those providers.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- Paperless-ngx turns physical documents into a searchable online archive.checked 11 Oct 2026
- Support
- Community support is available through GitHub Discussions and Matrix.checked 11 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Platform
- The setup guide states that Paperless runs on Linux and that Windows is not supported.checked 11 Oct 2026
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