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PDF Unlocker Desktop

Remove PDF passwords and restrictions directly on your machine. Free, fast, and completely private — your files never leave your computer.

macOS (Apple Silicon)macOS (Intel) — Coming SoonWindows — Coming Soon

v0.1.0 · Free to use

100% Private

All processing happens locally. Your files never leave your computer.

Blazing Fast

Native Rust-powered processing. No server round-trips, instant results.

Works Offline

No internet connection required. Process PDFs anywhere, anytime.

Lightweight

Only ~12MB. Built with Tauri for a tiny footprint compared to Electron apps.

Getting Started

Follow the instructions for your operating system below.

macOS

Prerequisites

PDF Unlocker Desktop requires qpdf to be installed on your system. Install it via Homebrew:

brew install qpdf

Don't have Homebrew? Install it here first.

Installation

  1. 1

    Download the DMG file

    Download PDF Unlocker_x.x.x_aarch64.dmg (Apple Silicon) or PDF Unlocker_x.x.x_x64.dmg (Intel) from the download button above.

  2. 2

    Open the DMG

    Double-click the downloaded DMG file and drag PDF Unlocker to your Applications folder.

  3. 3

    Handle Gatekeeper warning

    Since the app isn't signed with an Apple Developer certificate yet, macOS will show a warning. To open it:

    • Right-click (or Control-click) the app and select Open
    • Click Open in the dialog that appears
    • Or go to System Settings > Privacy & Security and click “Open Anyway”
  4. 4

    Start unlocking PDFs

    Launch the app, drag & drop your PDFs, and unlock them instantly. All processing happens locally on your Mac.

Windows

Prerequisites

PDF Unlocker Desktop requires qpdf to be installed on your system. Install it using one of these methods:

Using Chocolatey:

choco install qpdf

Using Scoop:

scoop install qpdf

Or download the installer directly:

github.com/qpdf/qpdf/releases

Make sure qpdf is added to your system PATH after installation.

Installation

  1. 1

    Download the installer

    Download PDF Unlocker_x.x.x_x64-setup.exe or PDF Unlocker_x.x.x_x64_en-US.msi from the download button above.

  2. 2

    Run the installer

    Double-click the downloaded file and follow the installation wizard. Windows SmartScreen may show a warning — click More info > Run anyway to proceed.

  3. 3

    Start unlocking PDFs

    Launch PDF Unlocker from the Start menu, add your PDFs, and unlock them instantly. Everything runs locally on your PC.

System Requirements

macOS

  • macOS 10.15 (Catalina) or later
  • Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4) or Intel
  • qpdf installed via Homebrew
  • ~15MB disk space

Windows

  • Windows 10 version 1803 or later
  • 64-bit (x86_64)
  • qpdf installed and in PATH
  • ~15MB disk space

Prefer the online version?

No installation needed. Unlock PDFs directly in your browser with our web tool.

Use the online tool