Zaya
Zaya is a free, open-source PDF reader delivered as a self-hosted or web progressive web app.
What Zaya is
Zaya is a free, open-source PDF reader delivered as a self-hosted or web progressive web app. It displays documents with realistic 3D page turns, while also offering single- or double-page views and a CSS fallback for WebGL displays. PDFs can come from a URL, a local file, or a deployment’s configured default. Full-text search highlights matches, and browser-based Arabic or English OCR can recognize scanned pages without uploading the recognized text. Readers get selectable text, thumbnails, outlines, bookmarks, local notes, quotes, page-range printing, and more than 50 themes. The interface supports English, Arabic, and right-to-left reading. Its media player handles YouTube videos, playlists, and local audio. Zaya can work offline after one visit and open stored PDFs without a connection. Quotes and preferences can be exported to JSON, imported elsewhere, or shared through setting-aware links. Remote PDFs require CORS enabled on their server.
Good
- Open-source and free
- Arabic and English on-device OCR
- Offline PWA reading
- More than 50 themes
- Notes, bookmarks, and printing
Watch out
- Remote PDFs require CORS
- No custom branding
- No reader analytics
- Self-hosted deployment may require setup
Who it suits
Zaya suits readers and site owners wanting an open-source PDF reader with browser OCR, offline use, and configurable deployment. It is also useful for English- or Arabic-language documents and right-to-left reading.
Verdict
Zaya combines flipbook presentation with practical search, OCR, annotation, media, and offline features. Its CORS requirement for remote files and lack of branding or analytics matter when embedding it on a site.
The facts
Each one read from Zaya's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Deployment
- The project README describes Zaya as a static site with no build step at deploy time and no runtime CDN, and documents setting a default PDF through config.js.checked 9 Oct 2001
- Integrations
- The README identifies YouTube videos and playlists as supported media and documents shareable URL parameters for reader settings.checked 9 Oct 2001
- Languages
- The interface is available in English and Arabic, with right-to-left reading support.checked 9 Oct 2001
- License
- The repository README states that Zaya’s code is MIT-licensed and its vendored third-party code is permissively licensed.checked 9 Oct 2001
- Media
- Its built-in media player supports YouTube videos and playlists, as well as local audio.checked 9 Oct 2001
- Notes and bookmarks
- Users can save notes locally with the document, and the reader includes thumbnails and outline or bookmark panels.checked 9 Oct 2001
- Offline
- Zaya is a static-site PWA that the README says works offline after a visit and can open locally stored PDFs without a connection.checked 9 Oct 2001
- Offline use
- The repository says the reader works offline as a progressive web app after one visit and can open a book from disk without a connection.checked 9 Oct 2001
- Page display
- The reader supports single- and double-page modes, right-to-left reading, and a CSS fallback for its WebGL page-turning display.checked 9 Oct 2001
- PDF input
- It accepts PDFs from a URL, a local file, or a default configured for the site.checked 9 Oct 2001
- PDF sources
- It can open a PDF from a URL, a local file, or a default configured for a deployment.checked 9 Oct 2001
- Printing
- Users can print the current page, the whole document, or a selected range of pages.checked 9 Oct 2001
- Product
- Zaya is a PDF reader that presents documents as realistic 3D page-turning flipbooks.checked 9 Oct 2001
- Reading features
- It supports thumbnails, outlines and bookmarks, notes, quotes, selectable page text, page-range printing, and more than 50 themes.checked 9 Oct 2001
- Remote PDF constraint
- A remote PDF server must enable CORS for cross-origin loading to work.checked 9 Oct 2001
- Scanned PDFs
- On-device OCR recognizes scanned pages in Arabic and English, and the repository says the recognized text is not uploaded.checked 9 Oct 2001
- Search and OCR
- It searches PDF text and can recognize text on scanned pages in the reader’s browser using Arabic and English OCR packs; the README says this processing is not uploaded.checked 9 Oct 2001
- Search and text
- It supports full-text PDF search with highlighted results and selectable page text.checked 9 Oct 2001
- Security
- The README lists a strict Content Security Policy, URL validation, and escaped output, and says scanned-page text recognition runs on-device.checked 9 Oct 2001
- Sharing and backup
- Users can export quotes and preferences to JSON, import them on another device, and share links with reader settings such as theme, search, and language.checked 9 Oct 2001
- Themes
- The reader includes more than 50 color themes.checked 9 Oct 2001
The company
- Founded
- 2024checked 28 Sep 2001
- Maker
- The maker’s GitHub profile identifies Farouq as a computer scientist and web application engineer and lists Asia as the location.checked 9 Oct 2001
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