PDFpal

What it does

AI providers

It works with installed and authenticated Claude, Codex, or OpenCode command-line tools.checked 9 Oct 2026

Annotations

Users can save highlights and write Markdown notes at project or source level.checked 4 Oct 2026

Automation

The CLI supports JSON output, and the repository provides a Claude Code and Codex skill for agent-driven workflows.checked 4 Oct 2026

Chat

Users can ask questions about a passage or across selected sources in a project, with answers grounded in retrieved paper text.checked 4 Oct 2026

CLI and agents

The CLI supports scripting with JSON output, and the project provides a skill for Claude Code and Codex agents to manage projects, sources, collections, and notes.checked 9 Oct 2026

Integrations

PDFpal supports the Claude, Codex, and OpenCode agent CLIs and uses OpenAlex and Semantic Scholar for discovery.checked 4 Oct 2026

Limits and fees

The maker says PDFpal has no SaaS fee, usage caps, or feature gates; AI use depends on the user's existing agent subscription.checked 9 Oct 2026

Local data

PDFpal stores its database, managed PDF copies, and backups locally under ~/.pdfpal by default.checked 4 Oct 2026

Local storage

PDFpal stores its database, managed PDF copies, and extracted text locally under ~/.pdfpal by default.checked 9 Oct 2026

Organization

Users can organize sources into projects and nested collections, and keep project or source notes and highlights.checked 9 Oct 2026

Paper discovery

Paper search uses OpenAlex, while related-paper results use Semantic Scholar with an OpenAlex fallback.checked 9 Oct 2026

PDF sources

The PDF resolver accepts links from arXiv, OpenReview, ACL Anthology, PMLR, DOI links, and direct PDF URLs.checked 9 Oct 2026

Privacy and deployment

The README says the app runs on the user's machine and does not upload PDFs to a cloud service; it is intended for local, single-user operation.checked 4 Oct 2026

Privacy and operation

The maker says PDFpal runs on the user's machine without uploading files to a cloud service and is intended for local, single-user operation.checked 9 Oct 2026

Product

PDFpal is a local PDF reader with AI chat, notes, highlights, and a scriptable CLI.checked 4 Oct 2026

Purpose

PDFpal is a local PDF reader with AI chat, notes, highlights, and a scriptable CLI.checked 9 Oct 2026

Reading

The split-pane reader places the PDF beside chat, notes, and related papers, and remembers each source’s last page.checked 4 Oct 2026

Reading and chat

The split-pane reader supports questions about selected passages, per-paper chat, and questions across project sources.checked 9 Oct 2026

Requirements

PDFpal requires Node.js 22 or newer and an installed, authenticated supported agent CLI.checked 9 Oct 2026

Usage limits

The README states there is no SaaS fee, usage cap, or feature gate; AI use goes through the user's existing agent subscription.checked 4 Oct 2026