gitwtfhub

wtf is bindery?

yusakru/bindery — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

1TypeScriptAudience · generalComplexity · 2/5LicenseSetup · moderate

TL;DR

A fully offline mobile PDF toolkit with a detailed booklet maker, merging, page editing, and a built-in reader, no internet permission at all.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Bindery))
    What it does
      Makes foldable booklets
      Merges and edits PDFs
      Reads PDFs with night mode
      Runs fully offline
    Tech stack
      TypeScript
      Capacitor
      Android
    Use cases
      Print ready booklets
      Offline PDF editing
      Photo to PDF scanning
    Audience
      Mobile users
      Privacy conscious readers

Code map

Detail Auto

An interactive map of this repo's files and how they connect — its source is parsed live in your browser. Click Visualize to build it.

filefunction / class

Why would anyone build with this?

REASON 1

Turn a PDF into a print ready, foldable booklet with proper page imposition.

REASON 2

Merge, reorder, rotate, number, and watermark PDF pages without an internet connection.

REASON 3

Photograph a paper document and turn it into a perspective corrected PDF.

REASON 4

Read PDFs with night mode, text search, and resume from the last page.

What's in the stack?

TypeScriptCapacitorAndroid

How it stacks up

yusakru/bindery0xkinno/neuralvault0xmayurrr/ai-contractauditor
Stars111
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultymoderatehardeasy
Complexity2/54/52/5
Audiencegeneraldeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you spin it up?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Building for a device requires Android Studio's JDK, the Android SDK, and Capacitor tooling set up.

You can use, modify, and share this freely, but if you distribute a modified version, you must release your changes under the same GPL-3.0 license.

Wtf does this do

Bindery is a mobile app that bundles a set of PDF editing tools together, built with the specific goal of never needing an internet connection. The app's permissions do not include internet access at all, so every operation, from merging files to converting images, runs directly on the phone's own processor. Nothing is uploaded anywhere, and there is no analytics or tracking of any kind. Its most detailed feature is a booklet maker, which turns a regular PDF into a foldable booklet layout suitable for printing and binding. It supports splitting a thick document into multiple signatures of 8, 16, or 32 pages each, several standard paper sizes, both short and long edge duplex printing, right to left binding for languages that read that direction, and a separate export for a heavier cover page. It can also insert blank pages at chosen spots and print an instruction sheet that checks the reading order came out correctly, and it includes an interactive animation that folds a page in 3D to explain what a signature actually is. Beyond the booklet tool, Bindery can merge multiple PDFs into one, add, delete, and reorder pages, rotate pages, add page numbers, and add watermarks. It can also turn photos into a PDF, automatically correcting the perspective so a photographed document looks flat. A built in PDF reader offers a night mode that inverts colors intelligently rather than just darkening the screen, lets you select and copy text, search inside a document, and pick back up automatically at the last page you were reading. Files can also be organized and sorted from within the app. The project is built with TypeScript and uses Capacitor to package a web based app for Android devices, with its own test and build scripts for developers who want to compile it themselves. It is released under the GPL-3.0 license, a copyleft license that requires anyone who distributes a modified version to release their changes under the same terms.

Yoink these prompts

Prompt 1
Explain how Bindery's booklet maker splits a thick document into multiple signatures.
Prompt 2
Walk me through building and deploying Bindery to an Android device with Capacitor.
Prompt 3
Show me how to add a new PDF tool to Bindery's existing toolkit.
Prompt 4
Summarize what the GPL-3.0 license requires if I modify and redistribute Bindery.

Frequently asked questions

wtf is bindery?

A fully offline mobile PDF toolkit with a detailed booklet maker, merging, page editing, and a built-in reader, no internet permission at all.

What language is bindery written in?

Mainly TypeScript. The stack also includes TypeScript, Capacitor, Android.

What license does bindery use?

You can use, modify, and share this freely, but if you distribute a modified version, you must release your changes under the same GPL-3.0 license.

How hard is bindery to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is bindery for?

Mainly general.

View the repo → Decode another repo

This repo across BitVibe Labs

Don't trust strangers blindly. Verify against the repo.