PDF-ChatGPT
PDF-ChatGPT is a free, open-source, self-hosted application for asking questions about PDF documents and receiving answers with source-page citations.
What PDF-ChatGPT is
PDF-ChatGPT is a free, open-source, self-hosted application for asking questions about PDF documents and receiving answers with source-page citations. It can index multiple PDFs and display each document’s status, page count, and chunk count. Semantic search uses a persistent FAISS index, with a relevance threshold and optional document-specific scope. The application uses OpenAI embeddings and the OpenAI Responses API to generate answers, which can stream token by token; an OpenAI API key with billing enabled is required, and token usage is metered. Conversation history is stored in SQLite and used for follow-up questions. The browser interface renders Markdown, has dark and light themes, and adjusts to mobile and tablet layouts. PDFs, the index, and conversation history are stored locally, while text is sent to OpenAI for embeddings and answer generation. Uploads accept PDFs up to 25 MB; scanned PDFs without extractable text need OCR added. The default setup is single-tenant and has no login, so the maker advises against public exposure without authentication or network restrictions.
Good
- Answers cite the source document and page.
- Indexes multiple PDFs in a persistent FAISS index.
- Conversation history supports follow-up questions.
- Browser interface has dark and light themes.
- MIT-licensed and open source.
Watch out
- Requires an OpenAI API key with billing enabled.
- Token usage for embeddings and chat is metered.
- Scanned PDFs need OCR added.
- Default setup has no login system.
Who it suits
It suits users who can self-host an application and want cited answers across a library of PDFs. It is a poor fit for scanned documents unless they add OCR, or for public deployment without adding access controls.
Verdict
PDF-ChatGPT offers cited PDF question-answering with local storage for files, the index, and conversation history. Its OpenAI dependency, metered API usage, and default lack of login are important deployment considerations.
The facts
Each one read from PDF-ChatGPT's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Access control
- The default setup is single-tenant with no login system, and the maker advises against exposing it publicly without authentication or network restrictions.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Answer generation
- The app uses OpenAI's Responses API and can stream answers token by token.checked 7 Oct 2026
- API and setup help
- FastAPI provides autogenerated Swagger, ReDoc, and OpenAPI documentation, and the repository includes a beginner's walkthrough.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Chat features
- Conversation history is stored in SQLite, prior turns are used for follow-up questions, and answers can stream token by token over Server-Sent Events.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Citations
- Answers include citations to the source document and page.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Conversation features
- Conversation history is stored in SQLite and prior turns are used for follow-up questions.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Data handling
- The maker says PDFs, the FAISS index, and conversation history are stored locally, while text is sent to OpenAI for embeddings and chat generation.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Deployment
- The README describes local operation and deployment with platforms such as Render, Railway, Fly.io, or Azure App Service, with persistent storage needed to retain data across redeploys.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Document library
- It supports uploading and indexing multiple PDFs and shows document status, page counts, and chunk counts.checked 7 Oct 2026
- File limits
- Uploads are restricted to PDF files under a configurable size limit, and scanned PDFs without extractable text are not supported without adding OCR.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Integration
- The app requires an OpenAI API key and uses OpenAI embeddings; the README says API usage is metered per token and requires billing to be enabled.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- Out of the box, the project uses OpenAI embeddings and the OpenAI Responses API; the maker says adapting it to another LLM provider would require code changes.checked 7 Oct 2026
- Interface
- The web interface includes Markdown rendering, code syntax highlighting, dark and light themes, and a responsive layout for mobile and tablet.checked 8 Oct 2026
- License
- The repository states that the project is released under the MIT License.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Notable limits
- Scanned image PDFs without an extractable text layer are unsupported without adding OCR, and the README lists OCR as a future improvement.checked 8 Oct 2026
- PDF library
- It supports uploading and indexing multiple PDFs and shows document status, page counts, and chunk counts in a sidebar library.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- PDF-ChatGPT lets users ask natural-language questions about PDFs and receive answers grounded in document content with page citations.checked 8 Oct 2026
- RAG stack
- The application is built with FastAPI, LangChain, FAISS, and the OpenAI Responses API.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Search
- Semantic search supports top-k retrieval, a relevance threshold, and optional per-document scoping.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Security setup
- The README advises configuring the OpenAI key and other settings through environment variables or deployment secrets, and recommends TLS termination through Nginx or Caddy.checked 8 Oct 2026
- Storage
- Uploaded PDFs and the FAISS index are stored locally, while conversation and message history is persisted in SQLite.checked 8 Oct 2026
Money
- Usage costs
- Users need an OpenAI API key with billing enabled, and embedding and chat usage is metered per token.checked 7 Oct 2026
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