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Show HN: Pdfwithlove – PDF tools that run 100% locally (no uploads, no back end)

pdfwithlove.netlify.app

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Re: Show HN: Pdfwithlove – PDF tools that run 100% locally (no uploads, no back end)

#111

Post by omnimus »

pratik227 wrote: post #68
qbane wrote: post #64

The "source" link at the footer seems to point to the author's GitHub profile, not source repository. The repo under it contains no code either.

After the incident with Tailwind CSS, I decided not to make this open source. Sponsorship has been zero since COVID, so it’s genuinely hard for open-source developers to sustain their work

Sorry don't take this personally but isn't this made with LLMs? Isn't the "incident with Tailwind" the problem that devs no longer support the project because they use it through LLMs often without knowing?

I mean if i understand you are saying you won't release open source code because LLMs would feed/stole it. I get that position. But you are already feeding from the devs that were exploited. Seems a bit hypocritical to use LLMs if you have that stance.

Re: Show HN: Pdfwithlove – PDF tools that run 100% locally (no uploads, no back end)

#113

Post by rho4 »

pratik227 wrote: post #65
rho4 wrote: post #38

I developed an aversion to "with love"-marketing. I've seen too many products come full circle from idealistic "ad-free-forever" "will-never-sell-your-data" "open-source-forever" "customer-first" student-times to selling out everything.

Just to be clear, I’ve been contributing to the open-source community since 2020, and I have no intention of misleading anyone. The use of the word ‘love’ isn’t about branding off another product-it’s simply a tool I personally needed, so I built it. If you’d like, you can also check my GitHub to see my work.

I meant it more as feedback, to be aware that some people might have this reaction. I do believe it is sincere in the beginning.

Re: Show HN: Pdfwithlove – PDF tools that run 100% locally (no uploads, no back end)

#114

Post by TZubiri »

niemandhier wrote: post #18
pratik227 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I plan to build a Chrome extension and am considering making it paid, around $2 for lifetime access. Also Desktop app is also good idea

Extensions have the downside that a malicious actor can buy out the original dev and start using them as an intrusion point.

Unlike websites?

Re: Show HN: Pdfwithlove – PDF tools that run 100% locally (no uploads, no back end)

#115

Post by TZubiri »

wickedsight wrote: post #26
TZubiri wrote: post #8

Might be better to provide a downloadable executable instead of asking the user to trust that the browser isn't doing what the browser was designed to do.

I can easily check network monitor in the browser to see exactly what a web app is doing. Running an executable is a risk by default and the way it interacts with my network is way less transparent. I honestly prefer this in the browser.

Most users don't know how to do that

Re: Show HN: Pdfwithlove – PDF tools that run 100% locally (no uploads, no back end)

#116

Post by vunderba »

pratik227 wrote: post #25
vunderba wrote: post #23

Seems like Clientside PDF editors are the new "hello world" app these days. From the last couple months on Show HN alone: Show HN: PDF Quick – Free PDF tools with 100% client-side processing https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46094734 Show HN: A privacy-first, client-side toolbox (PDF, Imgs, Dev) no server uploads https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46018221 Show HN: FileZen – Client-side PDF and Video tools using…

During my college days, I used iLovePDF a lot, so I wanted to build an alternative to it. It’s not just about PDFs - I also have work in progress around image processing and related tools and Chrome Extetion as well

Sure, but if you just wanted a 100% client-side PDF tool, there are dozens of them in existence already.

You can do as you like, but I don't think this is a particularly good use of your time, even with AI doing the majority of the heavy lifting.

I guess what I'm saying is that "Swiss army knife multitool" apps are one of the lowest hanging LLM fruits, so don't be too surprised when you find that the tree has been stripped clean.

Re: Show HN: Pdfwithlove – PDF tools that run 100% locally (no uploads, no back end)

#117

Post by ptspts »

pratik227 wrote: post #10
TZubiri wrote: post #8

Might be better to provide a downloadable executable instead of asking the user to trust that the browser isn't doing what the browser was designed to do.

I plan to build a Chrome extension and am considering making it paid, around $2 for lifetime access. Also Desktop app is also good idea

It's possible to run WebAssembly programs from the command line (without any GUI) using WASI (see e.g. https://github.com/WebAssembly/WASI). Thus if the user downloads pdfconverter.wasi , and the user already has e.g. wasmtime installed, they can run `wasmtime pdfconverter.wasi input.pdf output.pdf` from the command line (see https://github.com/bytecodealliance/wasmtime/blob/main/docs/... for details).

In addition to the web site, the Electron app and the Chrome extension, you may want to distribute a command-line version of your tools as WASI-style .wasm program files. If you do so, I would exclusively use the them this way, from the command line.

Re: Show HN: Pdfwithlove – PDF tools that run 100% locally (no uploads, no back end)

#119

Post by flexagoon »

pratik227 wrote: post #67
flexagoon wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Half of them also have a very obviously vibecoded front-end that looks exactly the same

So if a platform is vibe-coded, it suddenly has no value? When the Spotify founder vibe-codes an app, it’s praised—but when an open-source contributor like me does it, it’s seen as a bad thing? That doesn’t seem fair

> When the Spotify founder vibe-codes an app, it’s praised

Not sure which app you're talking about

Re: Show HN: Pdfwithlove – PDF tools that run 100% locally (no uploads, no back end)

#120

Post by flexagoon »

pratik227 wrote: post #101
tonyedgecombe wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My immediate thought is if it’s only $2 it can’t be very good.

what you suggest what price we can sell for ?

With the number of awesome free pdf editing tools out there, the amount most people are willing to pay for a pdf editing chrome extension is $0.
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