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- PDFpal
On the recordRead 9 Oct 202620 facts
PDFpal
On the record
- AI providers
- It works with installed and authenticated Claude, Codex, or OpenCode command-line tools.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Annotations
- Users can save highlights and write Markdown notes at project or source level.github.com · read 4 Oct 2026
- Automation
- The CLI supports JSON output, and the repository provides a Claude Code and Codex skill for agent-driven workflows.github.com · read 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.github.com · read 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.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Integrations
- PDFpal supports the Claude, Codex, and OpenCode agent CLIs and uses OpenAlex and Semantic Scholar for discovery.github.com · read 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.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Local data
- PDFpal stores its database, managed PDF copies, and backups locally under ~/.pdfpal by default.github.com · read 4 Oct 2026
- Local storage
- PDFpal stores its database, managed PDF copies, and extracted text locally under ~/.pdfpal by default.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Organization
- Users can organize sources into projects and nested collections, and keep project or source notes and highlights.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Paper discovery
- Paper search uses OpenAlex, while related-paper results use Semantic Scholar with an OpenAlex fallback.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- PDF sources
- The PDF resolver accepts links from arXiv, OpenReview, ACL Anthology, PMLR, DOI links, and direct PDF URLs.github.com · read 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.github.com · read 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.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Product
- PDFpal is a local PDF reader with AI chat, notes, highlights, and a scriptable CLI.github.com · read 4 Oct 2026
- Purpose
- PDFpal is a local PDF reader with AI chat, notes, highlights, and a scriptable CLI.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
- Reading
- The split-pane reader places the PDF beside chat, notes, and related papers, and remembers each source’s last page.github.com · read 4 Oct 2026
- Reading and chat
- The split-pane reader supports questions about selected passages, per-paper chat, and questions across project sources.github.com · read 9 Oct 2026
