How to Self-Host Stirling PDF

PDF documents are commonly used for professional communication, legal documentation, and information sharing. Manipulating these files often requires expensive software licenses or online services that may compromise document privacy and security.

Stirling PDF is a self-hosted application that processes, edits, and manages PDF documents. This solution provides PDF manipulation without software subscriptions while keeping documents on your own infrastructure.

What is Stirling PDF?

Stirling PDF is an open-source web application for PDF manipulation tools. It provides an alternative to commercial software and online services.

Key Capabilities of Stirling PDF

How Stirling PDF Works

Component	Function	Benefit
Web Interface	Browser-based GUI	Access from any device
Processing Engine	Java-based PDF manipulation core	Reliable operations
API Layer	RESTful endpoints for automation	Integration with workflows
Storage System	Temporary file handling	Document processing

Stirling PDF is an open-source project. View documentation and contribute at their GitHub repository and project website.

For a comprehensive list of useful applications, check out our guide on Docker containers for home servers.

Prerequisites

Before deploying your Stirling PDF instance, ensure you have the necessary infrastructure components configured:

• Server Infrastructure: A reliable hosting platform for your Stirling PDF deployment:

  • Minimum Specifications: 2 CPU cores, 4GB RAM, 50GB storage
  • Recommended Configuration: 4+ CPU cores, 8GB+ RAM, 100GB+ SSD storage
  • Cloud Provider: Hetzner VPS offers excellent performance-to-price ratio
  • Local Alternative: Mini PC as Home Server for on-premise deployment

• Reverse Proxy Configuration (for secure HTTPS access):

  • Traefik with Docker: Follow our comprehensive guide: How to Use Traefik as A Reverse Proxy in Docker
  • Advanced Setup: Implement SSL with our tutorial: Traefik FREE Let’s Encrypt Wildcard Certificate With CloudFlare Provider

• Container Orchestration Tools:

  • Docker Engine: Latest stable release with container runtime
  • Docker Compose: Multi-container application management
  • Dockge (recommended): Streamlined container management interface - see: Dockge - Portainer Alternative for Docker Management

• Network Configuration:

  • Domain Access: Subdomain pointing to your server (e.g., pdf.yourdomain.com)
  • Firewall Rules: Appropriate port access and security configurations

Setup Option 1: Docker & Docker Compose (Standalone)

This approach provides a straightforward deployment using Docker containers, ideal for users seeking a simple, self-contained Stirling PDF installation without external dependencies.

Step 1: Create Project Structure

Establish a dedicated directory hierarchy for your Stirling PDF deployment:

mkdir -p ~/stirling-pdf && cd ~/stirling-pdf

Step 2: Configure Docker Compose

Create a docker-compose.yml file:

version: '3.8'

services:
  stirling-pdf:
    image: stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:latest
    container_name: stirling-pdf
    ports:
      - "8080:8080"
    volumes:
      - ./tessdata:/usr/share/tessdata    # OCR language data
      - ./configs:/configs                # Configuration files
      - ./logs:/logs                      # Application logs
      - ./custom-files:/customFiles       # Custom templates/files
    environment:
      - DOCKER_ENABLE_SECURITY=false     # Disable for standalone use
      - INSTALL_BOOK_AND_ADVANCED_HTML_OPS=true
      - LANGS=en_US                      # Set your preferred language
    restart: unless-stopped
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:8080/api/v1/info/status"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3
      start_period: 40s

Step 3: Initialize Directory Structure

Create the necessary directories for Stirling PDF operation:

mkdir -p tessdata configs logs custom-files

Step 4: Configure OCR Support (Optional)

Download language packs for OCR:

# Download common language data for Tesseract OCR
wget -P tessdata/ https://github.com/tesseract-ocr/tessdata/raw/main/eng.traineddata
wget -P tessdata/ https://github.com/tesseract-ocr/tessdata/raw/main/fra.traineddata
wget -P tessdata/ https://github.com/tesseract-ocr/tessdata/raw/main/deu.traineddata

Step 5: Deploy Stirling PDF

Launch your Stirling PDF instance using Docker Compose:

docker compose up -d

Step 6: Verify Installation

Access your Stirling PDF instance and verify functionality:

• Local Access: Navigate to http://localhost:8080
• Network Access: Visit http://your-server-ip:8080
• API Documentation: Check http://localhost:8080/swagger-ui/index.html

Setup Option 2: Traefik & Dockge Integration

This setup integrates Stirling PDF with Traefik reverse proxy and Dockge management interface for HTTPS encryption and SSL certificates.

Step 1: Verify Network Configuration

Ensure your Traefik network is properly configured:

# Verify existing network
docker network ls | grep traefik-net

# Create if necessary
docker network create traefik-net

Step 2: Docker Compose Configuration

Create a docker-compose.yml with Traefik integration:

version: '3.8'

networks:
  traefik-net:
    external: true

services:
  stirling-pdf:
    image: stirlingtools/stirling-pdf:latest
    container_name: stirling-pdf
    volumes:
      - ./tessdata:/usr/share/tessdata
      - ./configs:/configs
      - ./logs:/logs
      - ./custom-files:/customFiles
    environment:
      - DOCKER_ENABLE_SECURITY=true      # Enhanced security for public access
      - INSTALL_BOOK_AND_ADVANCED_HTML_OPS=true
      - LANGS=en_US,fr_FR,de_DE          # Multiple language support
      - SYSTEM_ROOTURIPATH=/              # Root path configuration
      - UI_APPNAME=Stirling PDF           # Custom application name
      - UI_HOMEDESCRIPTION=Your Private PDF Manipulation Suite
      - SECURITY_ENABLELOGIN=false       # Disable if using external auth
      - SYSTEM_MAXFILESIZE=2000          # Max file size in MB
    networks:
      - traefik-net
    restart: unless-stopped
    labels:
      - "traefik.enable=true"
      - "traefik.http.routers.stirling-pdf.rule=Host(`pdf.yourdomain.com`)"
      - "traefik.http.routers.stirling-pdf.entrypoints=https"
      - "traefik.http.routers.stirling-pdf.tls=true"
      - "traefik.http.routers.stirling-pdf.tls.certresolver=letsencrypt"
      - "traefik.http.services.stirling-pdf.loadbalancer.server.port=8080"
      # Security headers
      - "traefik.http.routers.stirling-pdf.middlewares=stirling-pdf-headers"
      - "traefik.http.middlewares.stirling-pdf-headers.headers.accesscontrolallowmethods=GET,OPTIONS,PUT,POST,DELETE,PATCH"
      - "traefik.http.middlewares.stirling-pdf-headers.headers.accesscontrolmaxage=100"
      - "traefik.http.middlewares.stirling-pdf-headers.headers.addvaryheader=true"
    healthcheck:
      test: ["CMD", "curl", "-f", "http://localhost:8080/api/v1/info/status"]
      interval: 30s
      timeout: 10s
      retries: 3
      start_period: 60s

Step 3: Deploy via Dockge

1. Access Dockge Interface: Navigate to your Dockge dashboard (typically https://dockge.yourdomain.com)
2. Create New Stack: Click “New Stack” and name it “stirling-pdf”
3. Configure Composition: Paste the Docker Compose configuration
4. Customize Settings: Update the domain name in Traefik labels to match your setup
5. Deploy Stack: Click deploy and monitor the deployment logs

Step 4: DNS Configuration

Configure your domain’s DNS records to point to your server:

Record Type	Name	Value	TTL
A	pdf	your-server-ip	300
CNAME	pdf	yourdomain.com	300

Step 5: Verify HTTPS Access

After DNS propagation (typically 5-15 minutes), verify secure access:

• HTTPS Access: https://pdf.yourdomain.com
• SSL Certificate: Verify the Let’s Encrypt certificate is properly installed
• API Documentation: https://pdf.yourdomain.com/swagger-ui/index.html

Setup Option 3: Dokploy Deployment

Dokploy provides a graphical interface with pre-configured templates and automated SSL certificate management. This option works well for users who prefer graphical interfaces over command-line operations.

Step 1: Dokploy Platform Setup

If not already installed, set up Dokploy on your server using our comprehensive guide: Dokploy Installation and Configuration Tutorial.

Step 2: Create Stirling PDF Project

1. Access Dokploy Dashboard: Navigate to your Dokploy interface
2. Create New Project: Click “New Project” and name it “stirling-pdf”
3. Select Template: Choose “StarlingPDF” from the available templates or create a custom compose application

Step 3: Environment Variables Configuration

Configure the environment variables in Dokploy:

Variable	Value	Description
DOCKER_ENABLE_SECURITY	true	Enable security features
INSTALL_BOOK_AND_ADVANCED_HTML_OPS	true	Install additional PDF operations
LANGS	en_US,fr_FR,de_DE	OCR and UI language support
SYSTEM_MAXFILESIZE	2000	Maximum file size in MB
UI_APPNAME	Stirling PDF	Application name
UI_HOMEDESCRIPTION	Private PDF Suite	Homepage description
SECURITY_ENABLELOGIN	false	Disable for external authentication

Use this in Dokploy configuration:

environment:
  - DOCKER_ENABLE_SECURITY=${DOCKER_ENABLE_SECURITY}
  - INSTALL_BOOK_AND_ADVANCED_HTML_OPS=${INSTALL_BOOK_AND_ADVANCED_HTML_OPS}
  - LANGS=${LANGS}
  - SYSTEM_MAXFILESIZE=${SYSTEM_MAXFILESIZE}
  - UI_APPNAME=${UI_APPNAME}
  - UI_HOMEDESCRIPTION=${UI_HOMEDESCRIPTION}
  - SECURITY_ENABLELOGIN=${SECURITY_ENABLELOGIN}

Step 4: Domain and SSL Configuration

1. Navigate to Domains: Go to the “Domains” section in your Dokploy project
2. Add Domain: Enter your desired domain: pdf.yourdomain.com
3. Enable SSL: Toggle SSL/TLS certificate generation
4. Configure Auto-Renewal: Enable automatic certificate renewal
5. Set Redirects: Configure HTTP to HTTPS redirection

Step 5: Deploy and Monitor

1. Deploy Application: Click the “Deploy” button in Dokploy
2. Monitor Logs: Watch the deployment process
3. Verify Status: Check application health
4. Test Functionality: Access your instance and test PDF operations

Deploy with Dokploy

Advanced Configuration and Feature Optimization

Once Stirling PDF is operational, you can enhance its capabilities through configuration options.

Document Processing Configuration

Customize Stirling PDF through environment variables:

OCR and Language Support

Enhance OCR capabilities by installing language data:

Language	Code	Download Command
English	eng	wget -P tessdata/ https://github.com/tesseract-ocr/tessdata/raw/main/eng.traineddata
Spanish	spa	wget -P tessdata/ https://github.com/tesseract-ocr/tessdata/raw/main/spa.traineddata
French	fra	wget -P tessdata/ https://github.com/tesseract-ocr/tessdata/raw/main/fra.traineddata
German	deu	wget -P tessdata/ https://github.com/tesseract-ocr/tessdata/raw/main/deu.traineddata
Chinese Simplified	chi_sim	wget -P tessdata/ https://github.com/tesseract-ocr/tessdata/raw/main/chi_sim.traineddata

Security and Access Control

Configure security measures for production deployments:

environment:
  - DOCKER_ENABLE_SECURITY=true
  - SECURITY_ENABLELOGIN=true
  - SECURITY_LOGINATTEMPTSLIMIT=5
  - SECURITY_LOGINRESETTIMEDURATION=120  # minutes
  - SYSTEM_ROOTURIPATH=/
  - SECURITY_OAUTH2_AUTOCREATEUSER=true

API Integration and Automation

Stirling PDF provides a comprehensive REST API for automation and integration:

Common API Endpoints:

• Document Conversion: /api/v1/convert/pdf-to-img
• Security Operations: /api/v1/security/add-password
• Merge Operations: /api/v1/general/merge-pdfs
• Compression: /api/v1/general/compress-pdf

Example API Usage:

# Convert PDF to images
curl -X POST "https://pdf.yourdomain.com/api/v1/convert/pdf-to-img" \
  -H "Content-Type: multipart/form-data" \
  -F "fileInput=@document.pdf" \
  -F "imageFormat=PNG" \
  -F "singleOrMultiple=multiple"

Performance Optimization and Resource Management

System Resource Configuration

Optimize Stirling PDF performance based on server specifications:

Server Specs	Recommended Settings	Use Case
2 CPU / 4GB RAM	SYSTEM_MAXFILESIZE=500	Light personal use
4 CPU / 8GB RAM	SYSTEM_MAXFILESIZE=1000	Small team/office
8+ CPU / 16GB+ RAM	SYSTEM_MAXFILESIZE=2000	Heavy processing/enterprise

Docker Resource Limits

Configure container resource limits:

services:
  stirling-pdf:
    # ... other configuration
    deploy:
      resources:
        limits:
          cpus: '2.0'
          memory: 4G
        reservations:
          cpus: '1.0'
          memory: 2G

Monitoring and Health Checks

Implement monitoring for production environments:

healthcheck:
  test: ["CMD-SHELL", "curl -f http://localhost:8080/api/v1/info/status || exit 1"]
  interval: 30s
  timeout: 10s
  retries: 3
  start_period: 60s

Integration with Workflow Automation

n8n Integration

Connect Stirling PDF with n8n for document processing workflows:

Example Workflow:

1. Trigger: Email attachment received
2. Process: Remove password protection via Stirling PDF API
3. Convert: Transform to searchable PDF with OCR
4. Store: Save to document management system

API-First Architecture Benefits

Security Best Practices and Data Protection

Access Control Implementation

Implement security for production deployments:

Security Layer	Implementation	Purpose
Authentication	Built-in login system	User access control
Authorization	Role-based permissions	Feature-specific access
Network Security	Reverse proxy + SSL	Encrypted communication
Rate Limiting	Request throttling	Prevent abuse
File Validation	Content type checking	Malicious file protection

Data Privacy Measures

Production Security Configuration

environment:
  - DOCKER_ENABLE_SECURITY=true
  - SECURITY_ENABLELOGIN=true
  - SECURITY_LOGINATTEMPTSLIMIT=5
  - SECURITY_LOGINRESETTIMEDURATION=120
  - SYSTEM_MAXFILESIZE=1000
  - SYSTEM_MAXREQUESTSIZE=1000
  - UI_HOMEDESCRIPTION=Secure PDF Processing Suite

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Performance and Memory Issues

Symptoms: Slow processing, out-of-memory errors, or container crashes

Solutions:

1. Increase Container Memory: Adjust Docker memory limits
2. Optimize File Sizes: Reduce maximum file size limits
3. Monitor Resource Usage: Use docker stats to analyze consumption
4. Process Queue Management: Implement batch processing for large files

OCR Processing Problems

Symptoms: OCR operations failing or producing poor results

Solutions:

1. Verify Language Data: Ensure proper Tesseract language files are installed
2. Check Image Quality: Higher resolution images produce better OCR results
3. Language Configuration: Verify correct language codes in environment variables
4. Memory Allocation: OCR operations require adequate RAM for processing

API Integration Difficulties

Symptoms: API calls failing or returning unexpected results

Solutions:

1. Authentication Check: Verify API authentication if enabled
2. Content-Type Headers: Ensure correct multipart/form-data headers
3. File Size Limits: Check file size restrictions in API calls
4. Error Response Analysis: Review detailed error messages from API responses

SSL Certificate Issues

Symptoms: HTTPS errors, certificate warnings, or connection failures

Solutions:

1. DNS Verification: Confirm domain points to correct server IP
2. Certificate Renewal: Check automatic certificate renewal configuration
3. Traefik Logs: Review Traefik logs for certificate generation errors
4. Network Connectivity: Verify Let’s Encrypt can reach your server

Maintenance and Updates

Regular Maintenance Tasks

Update Procedures

Keep your Stirling PDF instance current with regular updates:

# Update Docker images
cd ~/stirling-pdf
docker compose pull
docker compose up -d

# Clean up old images
docker image prune -f

Backup Strategies

Protect your Stirling PDF configuration and data:

# Backup configuration and data
tar -czf stirling-pdf-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).tar.gz \
  configs/ tessdata/ custom-files/ docker-compose.yml

# Automated backup script
#!/bin/bash
BACKUP_DIR="/backups/stirling-pdf"
mkdir -p $BACKUP_DIR
tar -czf "$BACKUP_DIR/stirling-pdf-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).tar.gz" \
  configs/ tessdata/ custom-files/ docker-compose.yml

Conclusion

Self-hosting Stirling PDF gives you control over document processing. By implementing your own PDF manipulation suite, you achieve:

Whether you choose the Docker deployment, the Traefik integration, or the Dokploy approach, Stirling PDF provides a foundation for private document processing. Self-hosting delivers benefits in privacy protection, cost savings, and processing flexibility.

As document security becomes increasingly important in professional environments, tools like Stirling PDF demonstrate that you can maintain full control without sacrificing functionality. Transform your document workflow and experience private PDF processing.

Start Your Stirling PDF Journey

Explore our guides on Docker container orchestration, Traefik reverse proxy configuration, and Dokploy platform management.