qpdf
The facts below are what the maker publishes about qpdf, checked and dated. Our editors have not written about it yet.
The facts
Each one read from qpdf's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Annotation tools
- Nochecked 21 Sep 2026
- Capabilities
- It supports linearization, encryption, splitting and merging, PDF creation when you supply the content, and PDF inspection.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Distribution security
- Official releases are signed using cosign and include a SHA-256 checksum file that users can verify.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Encryption caveat
- qpdf warns about weak cryptographic algorithms but retains the ability to read and write files using weak encryption for compatibility with older PDFs and readers.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Encryption safeguard
- Since version 11.0, qpdf refuses by default to write files using RC4 encryption unless the user allows weak cryptography.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- The project provides a C++ library for reading and rewriting PDF files, with helper classes for operations such as enumerating and adding or removing pages.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Intended users
- The project describes qpdf as a low-level tool for people who want programmatic or command-line-based PDF manipulation.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Language interfaces
- The documentation includes guidance for using the qpdf library from C++ and other languages.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Library use
- The qpdf library can be linked using pkg-config with package name libqpdf or CMake with package name qpdf.checked 12 Oct 2026
- License
- qpdf is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Limits
- qpdf does not render PDFs, extract text, or provide higher-level interfaces for working with page contents.checked 12 Oct 2026
- PDF operations
- It supports linearization, encryption, splitting and merging files, creating PDFs when you supply the content, and inspecting PDFs.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- qpdf is a command-line tool and C++ library for content-preserving transformations of PDF files.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Scope
- qpdf does not render PDFs, extract text, or provide higher-level interfaces for working with page contents.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Support
- The project links to online documentation, release documentation, a wiki, and an announcements mailing list.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Text editing
- Nochecked 21 Sep 2026
- Validation limitation
- The project says qpdf is not a strict PDF checker and may not notice or report some PDF specification violations.checked 12 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Linux availability
- The project says qpdf is included in virtually all Linux distributions and also offers AppImage downloads and standalone binaries for Linux.checked 12 Oct 2026
- macOS availability
- The project offers standalone binaries for Apple silicon and Intel macOS, and says qpdf is also available through Homebrew and MacPorts.checked 12 Oct 2026
- macOS distribution note
- The project says its macOS binaries are not signed with an Apple Developer ID or notarized, and downloaded files require removal of the quarantine attribute.checked 12 Oct 2026
- macOS security limitation
- The project says its macOS binaries are not signed with an Apple Developer ID or notarized and require removing the quarantine attribute before use.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Platforms
- The project documents Windows builds, provides macOS binaries, and says qpdf is included in most Linux distributions.checked 12 Oct 2026
- Supported platforms
- Linux,Windows,macOSchecked 21 Sep 2026
- Windows availability
- The project offers Windows binaries and installers, including 64-bit, ARM64, and 32-bit builds.checked 12 Oct 2026
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