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Login, System and Security

Stirling PDF allows customization of system and security settings. For security features to be enabled, you must use the security jar. For Docker users, this means setting DISABLE_ADDITIONAL_FEATURES to false via an environment variable.

Basic Security Settings​

  • enableLogin: Enables or disables the login functionality (only available in Stirling-PDF-with-login.jar or when DISABLE_ADDITIONAL_FEATURES=false)
  • defaultLocale: Set the default language (e.g. 'de-DE', 'fr-FR', etc)
  • googlevisibility: 'true' to allow Google visibility (via robots.txt), 'false' to disallow
  • xFrameOptions: Controls whether your instance can be embedded in an iframe. Set to DENY to prevent clickjacking. Use SAMEORIGIN only if you embed the UI in your own application.
  • loginAttemptCount: Number of failed login attempts before an account is locked (e.g. 5)
  • loginResetTimeMinutes: Minutes before a locked account is automatically unlocked (e.g. 10)

Authentication Setup​

Important: Authentication and additional features are included by default in:

Not included in:

  • Docker ultra-lite: Minimal build without authentication (set DISABLE_ADDITIONAL_FEATURES=false to enable)
  • Plain JAR: Stirling-PDF.jar - Basic build without authentication or additional features

Prerequisites​

  1. Ensure the /configs directory is mounted as a volume in Docker for persistence across updates
  2. Use the appropriate build:
    • JAR: Download Stirling-PDF-with-login.jar
    • Docker: Set DISABLE_ADDITIONAL_FEATURES=false in environment variables

Initial Login Credentials​

  • Default Username: admin
  • Default Password: stirling
  • Note: Users will be forced to change their password on first login
  • Custom initial credentials can be set using:
    • SECURITY_INITIALLOGIN_USERNAME
    • SECURITY_INITIALLOGIN_PASSWORD

Database Location​

Upon successful setup, a new stirling-pdf-DB-<version>.mv.db file (the version number is part of the filename, e.g. stirling-pdf-DB-2.3.232.mv.db) will be created in your configured storage location. This file contains user data and should be backed up regularly.

Account Management​

  1. Access Account Settings:

    • Click the settings cog menu in the top right navbar
    • Select "Account Settings"
    • Here you can manage your profile and find your API key

  2. Adding New Users:

    • Navigate to Account Settings
    • Scroll to bottom and click 'Admin Settings'
    • Use the user management interface to add new users

Role-Based Access Control​

Currently, roles are primarily used for rate limiting purposes. The role system is under active development and will be expanded with additional features in future updates.

API Authentication​

When using the API:

  • Each user has a unique API key found in their Account Settings
  • Include the API key in requests using the X-API-KEY header
  • Example: 
    X-API-KEY: your-api-key-here

Running Without Authentication​

If you need to run without authentication (note: this also disables additional features), you have two options:

Disable authentication while keeping additional features:

security:
  enableLogin: false

Option 2: Use Open Source JAR​

Use Stirling-PDF.jar which has no authentication (note: also excludes additional features):

java -jar Stirling-PDF.jar

Recommendation​

We recommend Stirling-PDF-with-login.jar for all deployments because it includes additional features beyond just authentication. You can always disable authentication if needed while keeping the extra functionality.

Login Agreement / Disclaimer​

Show a disclaimer that users must accept before they can use the app. It appears as a blocking dialog after a successful login (or on launch when login is disabled), and works on every edition.

legal:
  loginAgreement:
    enabled: false              # Master on/off switch
    showInAnonymousMode: true   # When login is disabled, set false to hide the dialog
    fallbackText: ""            # Markdown shown when no per-language file is found

Environment Variables:

LEGAL_LOGINAGREEMENT_ENABLED=true
LEGAL_LOGINAGREEMENT_SHOWINANONYMOUSMODE=true
LEGAL_LOGINAGREEMENT_FALLBACKTEXT="By signing in you agree to the terms..."

The disclaimer is written in Markdown. Provide per-language versions as files at customFiles/disclaimer/<locale>.md (for example en-US.md or de-DE.md); the text shown follows each user's interface language and falls back to fallbackText when no matching file exists. If no text resolves at all (no files and no fallbackText), the dialog is not shown even when enabled is true. For a single-language or headless install, set fallbackText (env LEGAL_LOGINAGREEMENT_FALLBACKTEXT) and skip the per-language files. Editing the text takes effect on the next login with no restart; turning enabled on or off requires a restart.

Admins can also edit the text in-app from Admin Settings → Legal, which writes the same per-language files.

In the desktop app, the dialog can be enabled per machine through MDM - see Managed Desktop Deployment.

Server Certificates​

Stirling PDF can auto-generate certificates for the "Sign with Stirling PDF" feature.

Configuration​

system:
  serverCertificate:
    enabled: true                    # Enable auto-generation
    organizationName: Stirling-PDF   # Certificate organization name
    validity: 365                    # Days until expiration
    regenerateOnStartup: false       # Keep same cert across restarts

Environment Variables:

SYSTEM_SERVERCERTIFICATE_ENABLED=true
SYSTEM_SERVERCERTIFICATE_ORGANIZATIONNAME="My Company"
SYSTEM_SERVERCERTIFICATE_VALIDITY=365
SYSTEM_SERVERCERTIFICATE_REGENERATEONSTARTUP=false

How It Works​

  1. First Startup: Server generates a self-signed certificate, stored as /configs/server-certificate.p12
  2. Subsequent Startups: Reuses existing certificate (unless regenerateOnStartup: true)
  3. User Signs: PDFs signed using this certificate via "Sign with Stirling-PDF" option

Signature Validation​

Configure how PDF certificate signatures are validated.

Trust Sources​

security:
  validation:
    trust:
      serverAsAnchor: true      # Trust server-generated certificates
      useSystemTrust: true       # Use OS certificate store
      useMozillaBundle: true     # Mozilla CA bundle
      useAATL: false             # Adobe Approved Trust List
      useEUTL: false             # EU Trusted List (eIDAS)

Environment Variables:

SECURITY_VALIDATION_TRUST_SERVERASANCHOR=true
SECURITY_VALIDATION_TRUST_USESYSTEMTRUST=true
SECURITY_VALIDATION_TRUST_USEMOZILLABUNDLE=true
SECURITY_VALIDATION_TRUST_USEAATL=false
SECURITY_VALIDATION_TRUST_USEEUTL=false

Trust List URLs​

Configure external trust list locations:

security:
  validation:
    aatl:
      url: https://trustlist.adobe.com/tl.pdf
    eutl:
      lotlUrl: https://ec.europa.eu/tools/lotl/eu-lotl.xml
      acceptTransitional: false

Revocation Checking​

Verify certificates haven't been revoked:

security:
  validation:
    revocation:
      mode: none          # Options: none, ocsp, crl, ocsp+crl
      hardFail: false     # Fail validation if revocation check fails

Revocation Modes:

  • none: No revocation checking (not recommended for production)
  • ocsp: Online Certificate Status Protocol (fast, requires network)
  • crl: Certificate Revocation Lists (slower, works offline)
  • ocsp+crl: Try OCSP first, fall back to CRL (recommended)

Environment Variables:

SECURITY_VALIDATION_REVOCATION_MODE=ocsp+crl
SECURITY_VALIDATION_REVOCATION_HARDFAIL=false

Authority Information Access (AIA)​

Allow automatic fetching of intermediate certificates:

security:
  validation:
    allowAIA: false  # Set true to enable (requires network access)

⚠️ Security Note: Disabled by default. Only enable in controlled environments where outbound HTTPS is secure.

Learn more: Certificate Signing - Validation

JWT Authentication​

Logins use JSON Web Tokens. The main thing to configure is how long a session lasts before a user has to sign in again.

security:
  jwt:
    tokenExpiryMinutes: 1440          # Web login lifetime (default 24 hours)
    desktopTokenExpiryMinutes: 43200  # Desktop login lifetime (default 30 days)

Environment variables: SECURITY_JWT_TOKENEXPIRYMINUTES and SECURITY_JWT_DESKTOPTOKENEXPIRYMINUTES.

Lower these for tighter security (users sign in more often) or raise them for convenience.

Email Configuration​

Configure SMTP for sending email invitations and notifications. Enable mail.enableInvites to allow invitation links.

💡 When is email configuration required?

Email configuration is OPTIONAL and only needed for:

  • Email invitations: Admins can send invite links to users via email
  • Password reset emails: Users can reset forgotten passwords (if implemented)

Email is NOT required for:

  • Basic username/password login
  • SSO authentication (OAuth 2.0 or SAML 2.0)
  • Manual user creation by admins
  • Normal application operation

You can run Stirling PDF without any email configuration if you create users manually or use SSO.

Email Invites​

Enable email-based user invitations:

mail:
  enabled: true
  enableInvites: true
  host: smtp.example.com
  port: 587
  username: [email protected]
  password: ${MAIL_PASSWORD}
  from: [email protected]
  startTlsEnable: true

Environment Variables:

MAIL_ENABLED=true
MAIL_ENABLEINVITES=true
MAIL_HOST=smtp.gmail.com
MAIL_PORT=587
MAIL_USERNAME=[email protected]
MAIL_PASSWORD=your-app-password
MAIL_FROM=[email protected]
MAIL_STARTTLSENABLE=true

Requirements:

  • mail.enabled: true
  • mail.enableInvites: true for invitation flows
  • security.enableLogin: true
  • Valid SMTP configuration
  • system.frontendUrl configured (for invite links)

UI Customization​

Logo Style​

Choose between logo styles:

ui:
  logoStyle: classic  # Options: 'classic' or 'modern'

Environment Variable:

UI_LOGOSTYLE=modern

Styles:

  • classic: Traditional "S" icon logo
  • modern: Minimalist design

You can also override the bundled logo by dropping your own files into the matching style subdirectory:

customFiles/
  └── static/
      ├── classic-logo/
      │   └── logo.svg  # Overrides the classic logo
      └── modern-logo/
          └── logo.svg  # Overrides the modern logo

Learn more: UI Customisation

Configuration Examples

security:
  enableLogin: true  # Only works with Stirling-PDF-with-login.jar or DISABLE_ADDITIONAL_FEATURES=false
  jwt:
    tokenExpiryMinutes: 1440
  validation:
    trust:
      serverAsAnchor: true
      useSystemTrust: true
      useMozillaBundle: true
    revocation:
      mode: ocsp
      hardFail: false

system:
  defaultLocale: 'en-US' # Set the default language (e.g. 'de-DE', 'fr-FR', etc)
  googlevisibility: false # 'true' to allow Google visibility (via robots.txt), 'false' to disallow
  serverCertificate:
    enabled: true
    organizationName: Stirling-PDF
    validity: 365

mail:
  enabled: false
  enableInvites: false

ui:
  logoStyle: classic
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