pdfcraft

PdfCraft

Overview

PdfCraft is an open-source, pure-Rust, clean-room reimplementation of Adobe Acrobat, with Acrobat Pro as the stated parity target (README.md; docs/target-app-parity.md). It is at alpha (ROADMAP.md:3, docs/roadmap.md §Alpha gate) and runs natively on macOS, Windows, Linux and FreeBSD plus a WebAssembly shell (apps/pdfcraft-web, docs/architecture.md §Shape). Source: GitHub storytold/pdfcraft; this skill was verified against tag v0.9.0.

The PDF object graph is the document model: there is no separate project file, so the .pdf is the project (docs/architecture.md §Data model and editing). Pages are currently drawn by the vendored hayro family while PdfCraft's own renderer is built (docs/gaps.md gap 2; vendor/README.md), so treat rendering fidelity as good-but-unmeasured rather than Acrobat-equal. The installed /Applications/PdfCraft.app reports 0.9.0 and build commit 645016addcfb9078c557f0189559ab47cdcee057, identical to the inspected checkout (Contents/Info.plist).

Capabilities (verified)

Unless a bullet is marked partial, the code path is wired into the UI/CLI and was verified at this tag; the limitations section explains every partial. If your installed version differs, run /Applications/PdfCraft.app/Contents/MacOS/PdfCraft --version and pdfcraft-cli tools before trusting specific flags or tool names.

Reading, navigation and text

• Tiled CPU rendering of PDF pages with continuous, single-page, two-up and two-page layouts,

rotation, full screen, Read mode, light/dark/system themes, and per-tab history (crates/ui-egui/src/lib.rs set_option; crates/ui-egui/src/canvas.rs; docs/architecture.md §Rendering and text).

• Reading-order text extraction (columns, RTL runs, vertical CJK), find-as-you-type, next/previous

match, text selection and permission-aware copy (crates/render; crates/ui-egui/src/canvas.rs:2198; docs/architecture.md).

• Bookmarks, page thumbnails, the document's own page labels, page transitions/display times, and

document word/character counts with optional tagged table/code/image exclusions (bookmark_*, doc_info, text_word_count in crates/automation/src/tools.rs; docs/word-count.md).

• PDF 1.0–1.7, plus PDF 2.0 read/write where 2.0-only features are preserved but not used; damaged

files are repaired and the repairs reported (crates/cos; docs/file-format-parity.md §PDF).

Page organization, combine, split, create

• Rotate, delete, move, duplicate, replace, extract, insert blank/file pages, crop/boxes, page

labels, page transitions (page_rotate, page_delete, page_move, page_duplicate, page_replace, page_extract, page_insert_blank, page_insert_file, page_set_box, page_number, page_transition_set — crates/automation/src/tools.rs).

• Combine files with a bookmark per file, carrying links, form fields, layer defaults, attachments

and nested bookmarks; extract and split by page count, before pages, bookmarks or maximum size (doc_combine, page_extract, doc_split; crates/organize/src/import.rs:904-1040).

• Create PDFs from blank pages, images (PNG/JPEG/TIFF incl. multi-page and BigTIFF, GIF, BMP,

JPEG 2000) and .txt/.text; several files can be combined or written separately. Partial for text: doc_create accepts WinAnsi (Western European) characters only (doc_create, doc_create_multiple; crates/create/src/lib.rs:489; docs/file-format-parity.md).

• Compare two documents: text diff plus optional visual-region diff, side-by-side view when both

are open, PDF report, or differences added as comments. Partial: no change-type filters, page ranges or scanned-document handling (doc_compare, doc_compare_report, doc_compare_mark; crates/ui-egui/src/compare_ui.rs).

• Action Wizard: list built-in actions and run them, or run a custom step list, over many files

(action_list, action_run; crates/engine/src/actions.rs).

Comments, forms, layers, attachments

• The standard Acrobat markup types: note, highlight, underline, strikeout, squiggly, replace,

rectangle, oval, line, arrow, ink, text box, stamp (static/dynamic/custom), polygon, cloud, polyline, callout, caret and file attachment; replies, review status, locking, summarize, flatten (comment_* tools in crates/automation/src/tools.rs; crates/annot).

• AcroForm listing, filling with regenerated appearances, field creation (text/date/checkbox/

radio/combo/list/button/image/signature), properties, tab order, calculations and field JavaScript, automatic field detection, data import/export; XFA layout and FormCalc are partial (crates/forms, crates/xfa, crates/js; form_* tools).

• Fill & Sign without prepared fields: typed text, checks/crosses/dots/lines, dates, typed or image

signatures/initials, photo-of-signature scanning (fill_sign_add; crates/ui-egui/src/fill_sign.rs).

• Layers can be switched in the UI or with ui.set layer=Name=on|off; attachments can be opened

or saved from the Attachments panel (crates/ui-egui/src/lib.rs set_option; crates/ui-egui/src/panels.rs:715-745).

Protect, redact, sanitize, audit

• Standard security handler R2–R6: RC4-40/128, AES-128/256, user/owner passwords with SASLprep,

permissions, and re-encryption on save (crates/crypt; doc_protect, doc_unprotect).

• Redaction by rectangle, text find, word list, pattern (phone/email/credit-card/SSN/date) or whole

pages, with FOIA/Privacy Act overlay codes; applying removes text, images, vectors, comments and form fields under the marks and runs a verification pass (crates/redact/src/lib.rs:493; redact_mark, redact_apply).

• Faux-redaction audit that finds text still extractable under painted boxes and unapplied marks;

the CLI exits non-zero on findings (doc_audit_redactions; pdfcraft-cli audit; crates/audit).

• Remove hidden information / Sanitize, with categories listed first (doc_hidden_info,

doc_remove_hidden).

Signatures

• Sign with .p12/.pfx digital IDs, macOS Keychain identities, or the Windows certificate store;

PAdES B-B, SHA-256 (SHA-384 for P-384 keys); certification signatures with no-changes/form-fill/comments levels; visible signatures with image, typed text or drawn strokes; self-signed ID creation; trust list; validation including changes made after signing. Partial for hardware tokens, timestamp servers and online revocation (crates/sign; sign_document, sign_id_create, sign_keychain_ids, sign_windows_ids, sign_list, sign_trust).

OCR, camera, print, export, optimize, standards, accessibility, measuring

• OCR produces an invisible searchable text layer over the page image; batch recognition and

camera-photo straightening/clean-up are separate tools. Partial: English/unaccented Latin only (crates/ocr; ocr_recognize, ocr_recognize_files, page_enhance_camera).

• Print with Acrobat-style options (ranges, subset, reverse, fit/actual/shrink/custom, multiple,

booklet, poster, comments/forms, paper sizes, copies, duplex, grayscale, CUPS driver options) or write a print-ready PDF (crates/print, craft-print; doc_print, printers, printer_options, print_readiness).

• Export pages as PNG/JPEG/TIFF, all embedded images, reading-order text, Word .docx,

PowerPoint .pptx, HTML or RTF. Partial for Office formats (basic/lossy) (crates/export; doc_export_images, doc_export_all_images, doc_export_text, doc_export_office; formats chosen by extension in crates/engine/src/compare.rs:126-148 and crates/engine/src/export.rs:162).

• Reduce File Size and the full PDF Optimizer (downsample/compress, discard options), plus a space

audit (crates/optimize; doc_reduce, doc_optimize, doc_audit_space).

• PDF/A-2b and PDF/A-3b verification and conversion. Partial: structural rules only, and CMYK

documents get no output intent (crates/preflight/src/lib.rs:31; pdfa_verify, pdfa_convert).

• Accessibility Checker with 32 rules in 7 categories, HTML report, review records, alt text, tag

property/sibling-order edits, and bounded text-only auto-tagging. Partial: no reading-order or table editor (crates/a11y; accessibility_* tools).

• Calibrated 2D distance/perimeter/area measurements with CSV export (crates/measure;

measure_* tools).

• Edit existing text in place (paragraph or line, with rewrapping and formatting), move 1–1000

mixed objects on a page as one undo step, edit images (move/crop/rotate/flip/replace/delete), edit added text/images/links, and import an openly licensed TTF/OTF to complete a source subset. Partial for existing text: no rotated text, vector editing or arrange/align (crates/edit; text_edit, text_edit_layout, text_paragraphs, text_lines, object_list, object_move, image_edit, content_update, link_add, text_font_import).

• Headers/footers with Bates numbering, watermarks (text or image) and backgrounds

(doc_header_footer, doc_watermark, doc_background, doc_remove_marks).

Automation surfaces (three front doors, one tool table)

• CLI `pdfcraft-cli`: info, render, text, edit, combine, extract, split, check

(child-process robustness sweep), audit, batch, tools, run (single tool or JSON script), ui (drive a running app), mcp (opt-in server). Usage is apps/pdfcraft-cli/src/main.rs:57.

• Tool table: 170 JSON-Schema tools at this tag, with read-only/destructive hints and

registry command ids (crates/automation/src/tools.rs:117). The command registry has 200 commands with menus, shortcuts and enabled-state (crates/engine/src/commands.rs:163).

• MCP server: opt-in, stdio only, no port; `pdfcraft-cli mcp [--root DIR] [--compact]

[--automation-read-root DIR] [--automation-write-root DIR]; tools plus resources for open documents (crates/automation/src/mcp.rs; docs/mcp.md`).

• UI control channel: opt-in with pdfcraft --control FILE; loopback, random port, per-launch

token in an owner-only file. Methods: ui.state, ui.commands, ui.command, ui.set, ui.open, ui.inspect, ui.click, ui.focus, ui.resize, ui.quit, ui.drag, ui.move, ui.type, ui.key, ui.screenshot, ui.dock, ui.dock.reset (crates/ui-egui/src/control.rs:279-350; README.md §Driving the app itself).

Known limitations and not-implemented

• Rendering is borrowed and fidelity is unmeasured against Acrobat. Pages come from vendored

hayro 0.7 with local patches; the replacement renderer and font engine are incomplete (docs/gaps.md gaps 2 and 12; docs/architecture.md §Rendering and text). README claims about kerning, colour emoji and blend modes are not independently verified here — claimed but unverified.

• Existing-text editing is improved but not general. Latin text with an embeddable matching

face works, including full-face completion and Chinese/Japanese insertion in tested cases; text no available face can show is refused. Rotated text, vector editing, list/superscript preservation, structure-tag retention, and arrange/align remain missing or fragile (docs/gaps.md gap 3; docs/editing-existing-text.md; text_edit description in crates/automation/src/tools.rs).

• Office import is absent; Office export is lossy. There is no Create PDF from Word, Excel,

PowerPoint, HTML, web page, PostScript or EPS; Word export flows text/tables and may lose layout; there is no .xlsx, .doc, SVG, EPS, PostScript, XML-spreadsheet or JPEG 2000 export (crates/create/src/lib.rs:489; crates/engine/src/compare.rs:126-148; docs/gaps.md gap 8).

• `doc_create` text is Western European (WinAnsi) only; other characters are refused

(doc_create description). New text drawn with page_add_text/text_edit can use Japanese and other fallback faces.

• OCR reads only unaccented Latin (`en`). Models must be installed (release bundles include

them; source builds use cargo xtask models, PDFCRAFT_MODELS overrides). No accent, Cyrillic, Greek, CJK, Arabic, Hebrew or Indic recognition; no editable-text OCR output (crates/ocr/src/lib.rs:27; docs/gaps.md gap 7).

• No Preflight (catalog marks it planned M11); PDF/A only 2b/3b and partial (CMYK output

intents, veraPDF oracle not used); no PDF/X or PDF/UA verification, PDF/A-1/4, PDF/E or PDF/VT (crates/engine/src/catalog.rs:408; docs/gaps.md gap 9).

• Signatures: no PKCS #11/smart cards except the Windows certificate store; no timestamp-server

preference, no online OCSP/CRL fetching (LTV only with caller-supplied evidence), no OS trust store, no EU Trusted Lists, no signing in the browser (docs/gaps.md gap 10; sign_document schema has no TSA argument).

• Accessibility is checker + limited repair: text-only auto-tagging refuses mixed content and

existing tags; no reading-order/table editor, visual Tags/Order/Content panels or Read Out Loud; the app itself is not fully keyboard-operable (docs/gaps.md gap 11; accessibility_autotag_apply).

• Forms: wider Acrobat JavaScript object model incomplete; document actions, form submission,

barcode fields and rich-text values missing; XFA flattening absent (docs/gaps.md gap 15).

• No scanners (TWAIN/WIA/ICA/SANE), no GPU page rasterization (CPU render then texture

upload), no pen pressure, no Read Out Loud (docs/gaps.md gap 20).

• Compare has side-by-side and visual regions now, but no filtering by change type, page

ranges or scanned-document support (docs/gaps.md gap 21; crates/ui-egui/src/compare_ui.rs).

• Preferences are sparse (interface language, documents/view, identity, Fill & Sign,

JavaScript, animation effects); no print-production tools (docs/gaps.md gaps 18–19).

• Performance: the whole file is held in memory; editing peaks around two copies and saving

around three; file-backed lazy input is blocked on the renderer (docs/gaps.md gap 13).

• UI precision: moving a selection across pages, rulers/grids/guides, multiple windows and

split view are missing (docs/gaps.md gap 16).

• Web build: no crash-recovery store, no UI control channel transport and no ui.open;

printing goes through the browser dialog; embeds only a subset of fonts (BIZ UDPGothic Regular plus Arab/Telu/Hebr/Thai faces) (crates/ui-egui/src/recovery.rs:10; crates/ui-egui/src/control.rs:769,777; crates/fonts/build.rs).

• No AI/cloud features; only a local/opt-in provider is planned (docs/gaps.md gap 23).
• Other PDF gaps: no certificate (public-key) encryption, no linearized/Fast-Web-View save,

no portfolio view, no .xdp opened as a document, no Acrobat .sequ action files (docs/file-format-parity.md).

• Copy-protected documents: extraction and copy honour permissions; the owner password is

required (pdfcraft-cli text; text_extract).

• The macOS `.app` contains only the GUI; pdfcraft-cli is a separate release zip

(crates/automation/README.md §From an installed release; verified: no pdfcraft-cli in the bundle or on PATH).

• The All tools catalogue shows planned entries marked with their milestone; a visible tool is

not proof it works today (crates/engine/src/catalog.rs:75; crates/ui-egui/src/panels.rs:125).

How to operate

Launch (macOS)

• App: /Applications/PdfCraft.app (bundle id ai.storyteller.pdfcraft, minimum macOS 11.0 —

Contents/Info.plist). Binary: /Applications/PdfCraft.app/Contents/MacOS/PdfCraft.

• open -a PdfCraft or open -a PdfCraft /path/file.pdf. Pass flags with

open -a PdfCraft --args --control ~/.pdfcraft-control.json.

• /Applications/PdfCraft.app/Contents/MacOS/PdfCraft --version prints pdfcraft 0.9.0 without

opening a window (verified on the installed bundle).

• Desktop flags (parsed in apps/pdfcraft/src/main.rs:190-215, applied by

crates/ui-egui/src/lib.rs:2453): files…, --version, --control FILE, --create-images [images…], --new-window, --page N, --zoom 150, --layout single|continuous|two-up|two-page, --continuous on|off, --panel comments|bookmarks|pages|fields|layers|attachments|signatures|accessibility|tags|search|compare|none, --theme light|dark|system, --language auto|<code>, --mode all|read|edit|convert|sign, --tool <catalogue id>, --left open|closed, --organize on, --fields on, --dialog properties|security|fonts|advanced|shortcuts|split|protect|page-boxes|header-footer| watermark|background|export-image|word-count|export-text|export-all-images|accessibility-options| recognize-text|js-console|document-js|preferences|compare-files|action-wizard|pdfa|signature| optimize|sign|certify|number-pages|none, --palette <query>, --home on, --cover on|off, --default-layout …, --default-continuous on|off, --default-zoom fit-width|fit-page|<percent>, --combine-view grid|list, --combine-zoom 60..200, --grid-zoom 50..300, --rotate 0|90|180|270, --layer "Name=on|off", --find <text>, --quick <tool>, --author <name>. Unknown options fail with unknown option; --page/--zoom/--layout need an open document.

• By default the All tools/mode rail is on the left and a panel docks on the right; tools can be

moved to the right (--tools-side), and ui.dock can open, close, activate, float or move panels (crates/ui-egui/src/docking.rs; README.md §Driving the app itself).

Headless CLI (not installed with the app)

pdfcraft-cli is a separate signed/notarized release asset on macOS: pdfcraft-cli-0.9.0-macos-universal.zip. Put it on PATH, or build from a checkout with cargo run --release -p pdfcraft-cli --. Use the same release as the app where possible; the control protocol is internal and may change between versions.

pdfcraft-cli info report.pdf
pdfcraft-cli text paper.pdf --page 3
pdfcraft-cli render paper.pdf --page 1 --dpi 144 --out p1.png    # .png/.jpg/.tif/.pam
pdfcraft-cli edit in.pdf --rotate 1,2:90 --delete 5 --title "Q3" --out out.pdf
pdfcraft-cli combine a.pdf b.pdf --out combined.pdf
pdfcraft-cli extract report.pdf --pages 1,3,5-8 --out highlights.pdf
pdfcraft-cli split report.pdf --every 10 --out-dir parts/
pdfcraft-cli batch scans --recursive --steps ocr,optimize --out-dir out --root .
pdfcraft-cli tools | jq '.[].name'
pdfcraft-cli run text_find doc=1 query=invoice
pdfcraft-cli run --script steps.json --root ./work --report
pdfcraft-cli audit maybe-redacted.pdf      # exits non-zero on findings

A script is a JSON array of {"tool": "...", "args": {...}} steps; one session keeps document ids stable (doc_open → 1). With --root DIR, every read/write path, including a step's "out", must resolve inside DIR. --report prints one JSON document with per-step status/result.

MCP (opt-in, stdio, no port): add {"command":"pdfcraft-cli","args":["mcp","--root","/path/to/pdfs"]} to the agent's MCP config. --compact exposes a small core set plus tool_search and tool_call. For least privilege use --automation-read-root and --automation-write-root instead of one broad --root; a missing root grants none of its access (docs/mcp.md).

UI control channel (opt-in): start the app with --control ~/.pdfcraft-control.json, then:

pdfcraft-cli ui --control ~/.pdfcraft-control.json inspect query=rotate
pdfcraft-cli ui --control ~/.pdfcraft-control.json click label="Organize pages"
pdfcraft-cli ui --control ~/.pdfcraft-control.json key key=K modifiers='["command"]'
pdfcraft-cli ui --control ~/.pdfcraft-control.json command id=comment.square
pdfcraft-cli ui --control ~/.pdfcraft-control.json drag from='[400,300]' to='[600,420]'
pdfcraft-cli ui --control ~/.pdfcraft-control.json screenshot --out window.png
pdfcraft-cli ui --control ~/.pdfcraft-control.json quit

quit asks the normal Save/Don't save/Cancel prompt for unsaved work and never discards silently. Keep the control file in a user-only folder, never /tmp.

Document model and workflow

• One window, several documents as tabs; --new-window gives a launch its own window. A dot marks

unsaved changes. Closing/quitting prompts before loss (README.md §Organize; crates/ui-egui/src/lib.rs).

• The Open dialog filters PDFs; dropping or passing an image/text file converts it into a new,

unsaved PDF instead (crates/ui-egui/src/files.rs:70-73; crates/ui-egui/src/lib.rs:1133-1141; crates/ui-egui/src/create_ui.rs:91-98). Only a PDF is edited in place; a converted image/text file must be saved as a new PDF.

• Edits stay in memory as undo steps; autosave writes recovery snapshots every 60 seconds and

offers recovery after a crash (crates/ui-egui/src/recovery.rs:25; encrypted documents stay encrypted on disk).

• Save (⌘S) writes an incremental update appended to the same file, preserving the original

bytes and prior signatures; Save As (or any new path) is a full rewrite. Writes are atomic via a staging file (crates/automation/src/lib.rs:906-935; crates/cos/src/writer.rs:180; crates/platform/src/staging.rs:73). doc_save full: true forces the rewrite.

• A full rewrite happens where it must: redaction, PDF/A conversion, password change, sanitize,

or Save As with garbage collection; signed documents are protected from optimizer rewrites (docs/architecture.md §Data model; doc_optimize description).

• Export formats are chosen by extension: images .png/.jpg/.tif; Office `.docx/.pptx/.html/.htm/

.rtf; form/comment data .xfdf/.fdf/.xml/.xdp/.csv/.txt/.tab/.tsv; text .txt; print output either a printer name or a PDF path (crates/engine/src/compare.rs:143-148; crates/xfdf/src/lib.rs:49-59; doc_print`).

Panels and keyboard (verified in the command registry)

Panels: comments, bookmarks, pages, fields, layers, attachments, signatures, accessibility, tags, search, compare (crates/ui-egui/src/lib.rs:2478-2493).

⌘K command palette · ⌘F find / ⇧⌘F advanced search · ⌘G / ⇧⌘G next/previous match (crates/ui-egui/src/canvas.rs:2198) · ⌘Z / ⇧⌘Z undo/redo · ⌘S / ⇧⌘S save / save as · ⌘O open · ⌘W close / ⇧⌘W close all · ⌘P print · ⌘D document properties · ⌘J JavaScript console · ⌘B add bookmark · ⌘, preferences · ⌘L full screen · ⌃⌘H Read mode · ⌘3 fit visible · ⌃Tab / ⌃⇧Tab next/previous tab · ⌘[ / ⌘] previous/next view · ⇧⌘N go to page (crates/engine/src/commands.rs). On Windows/Linux the command modifier is Ctrl; labels follow the interface language, machine ids never change.

Working with an AI agent

Legitimate work.

• Prefer the headless tool table over GUI automation. pdfcraft-cli tools (or MCP tools/list)

is the capability contract for the installed version; command_list maps UI commands to tools.

• Prepare inputs: images (PNG/JPEG/TIFF/GIF/BMP/JP2/J2K/JPX) and .txt for doc_create;

XFDF/FDF/XML/XDP/CSV/TXT for doc_import_data/form_merge_data; .p12/.pfx or a Keychain/ Windows-store identity for signing; openly licensed TTF/OTF for text_font_import.

• Inspect and repair: doc_info exposes warnings and repairs; doc_inspect summarizes open

documents; doc_revisions + doc_open_revision show what each incremental save appended.

• Verify with independent observations: page_render/render_preview for pixels, text_extract

for text, doc_audit_redactions after redaction, pdfa_verify after PDF/A conversion, and external qpdf, pdftotext, pdftoppm or a real viewer where installed. The repo itself uses hayro, qpdf and poppler as oracles (README.md §How it's built).

• For UI work, launch with --control, use ui.inspect to get the accessibility tree, click by

unique label or widget id, then ui.screenshot to confirm. Never guess coordinates from an old launch.

• Use doc_batch/pdfcraft-cli batch for folders; it never overwrites existing outputs and

continues after per-file errors unless --stop-on-error.

Must not.

• Do not drive the GUI blind or assume a deterministic layout across launches; use the control

channel and inspect.

• Do not assume Office/HTML/PostScript import, .xlsx export, SVG/EPS/PS/JP2 export, or OCR in any

language but English.

• Do not rewrite signed documents destructively; incremental save keeps signatures valid, but any

full rewrite invalidates certification. Keep the original bytes.

• Do not use doc_create for non-WinAnsi text; it will refuse. Use page_add_text/text_edit with

an embeddable face for other scripts.

• Do not expect headless extraction of document-level attachments (the Attachments panel can open

and save them; no automation tool does), or an engine tool for layer visibility (only the UI or ui.set layer=… on the control channel).

• Do not put the control file in a shared folder or enable the MCP server/control channel by

default; both are opt-in and loopback-only (README.md §Driving the app itself).

• Do not assume pdfcraft-cli exists on a machine with only the macOS app installed.

Verification protocol

Alpha-software discipline for every session:

1. Throwaway round-trip first. In a scratch folder, open → edit → doc_save to a new path →

reopen with pdfcraft-cli info/text and in Preview/Acrobat or qpdf --check. Reopening only in PdfCraft proves little about other readers.

1. Never trust a silent export. Re-render exported images, re-read exported text, and open

.docx/.pptx in Word/PowerPoint or LibreOffice before declaring success; Office export is known lossy — compare against page images.

1. Redaction is not done until audited. Run pdfcraft-cli audit (or doc_audit_redactions) on

the saved file; redact_apply's internal verification is a gate, not a substitute.

1. Signatures: after signing, use sign_list (and pdfsig/OpenSSL if available) on the saved

file; check "changes after signing" and that the revision you expect is the one covered.

1. Backups and versions. Keep the original PDF before any full rewrite. Check

/Applications/PdfCraft.app/Contents/MacOS/PdfCraft --version and pdfcraft-cli --version before trusting this skill's flags or tools; update apps only between projects, never mid-task.

1. Hostile or huge files. Use pdfcraft-cli check (separate child process per file) when a

file misbehaves. Read ~/Library/Application Support/PdfCraft/logs/pdfcraft.log for internal errors; treat an unexpected exit as a bug to report, not a boundary.

Sources & evidence

• Repo: https://github.com/storytold/pdfcraft · installed app: /Applications/PdfCraft.app 0.9.0,

build commit 645016addcfb9078c557f0189559ab47cdcee057.

• Inspected commit: 645016addcfb9078c557f0189559ab47cdcee057 ("Release 0.9.0"), 2026-10-17;

date of inspection 2026-10-18.

• Key files read: README.md, ROADMAP.md, `docs/{gaps,roadmap,architecture,file-format-parity,

mcp,cli-batch,localization,development,word-count,editing-existing-text,editing-multiple-objects}.md, Cargo.toml, apps/pdfcraft/src/main.rs, apps/pdfcraft-cli/src/main.rs, crates/automation/{README.md,src/tools.rs,src/lib.rs,src/mcp.rs}, crates/engine/src/{commands.rs, catalog.rs,compare.rs,export.rs,lib.rs}, crates/ui-egui/src/{lib.rs,control.rs,recovery.rs,canvas.rs, compareui.rs,panels.rs,files.rs,systemfonts.rs}, crates/create/src/lib.rs, crates/crypt/src/lib.rs, crates/redact/src/lib.rs, crates/preflight/src/lib.rs, crates/ocr/src/lib.rs, crates/sign/src/lib.rs, crates/organize/src/import.rs, crates/xfdf/src/lib.rs, crates/platform/src/staging.rs, crates/fonts/build.rs, apps/pdfcraft-web/, /Applications/PdfCraft.app/Contents/Info.plist`.

• Shared libraries consulted: storytold/craft-libs

(craft-print, craft-quit, craft-ui, craft-docpath pins in Cargo.toml).

• Companion: evidence.md (claim → evidence → tier table) for spot-checking.