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Windows Installation Guide for Stirling PDF

Stirling PDF for Windows comes in two versions: a Desktop Application for personal use and a Server Version for hosting and sharing with others.

V2.0 brings a native Windows desktop experience with all PDF tools available offline!

What You Get​

  • ✅ Native Windows application - Feels like a built-in Windows program
  • ✅ Open PDFs directly - Double-click any PDF to open in Stirling PDF
  • ✅ No login required - Install and start using PDF tools right away
  • ✅ Processes files locally - All your PDF processing stays on your device
  • ✅ Optional server connection - Connect to Stirling Cloud or your own self-hosted server for advanced tools like OCR and document conversions
  • ✅ All local tools included - Merge, split, rotate, sign, and more work without any server
  • ✅ Automatic updates - Stay current with latest features
  • ✅ Better performance - Optimized for Windows
  • ✅ No browser needed - Standalone application

Installation​

Pick whichever method you prefer. All three install the same desktop app.

  1. Download: Stirling PDF Desktop Installer
  2. Run the installer and follow the prompts (installs to C:\Program Files\Stirling-PDF)
  3. Launch from the Start Menu - search for "Stirling PDF"

For unattended deployments with a pre-configured server URL, see Automated Installation below.

Connecting to a server​

The desktop app works fully offline for local PDF tools like merging, splitting, rotating, and signing. If you need advanced server-side features like OCR or document format conversions, you can pick one of three connection modes. See Modes for how each mode is licensed.

Built-in local processing (default)

  • The desktop app runs its own Stirling PDF server on your machine, no setup or login
  • All processing stays on your device and works without internet

Stirling Cloud

  • Sign in with your Stirling Cloud account
  • Gives access to advanced tools powered by server-side processing
  • See Modes for what this mode includes

Self-hosted Server

  • Enter the URL of your own Stirling PDF server instance (e.g., http://192.168.1.53:8080)
  • Full control over your data and processing
  • Useful for team deployments or when you want all features on your own infrastructure

Using the Desktop App​

Opening PDFs:

  • Double-click any PDF file - Opens in Stirling PDF
  • Right-click → Open with → Stirling PDF
  • Drag and drop files into the application
  • File → Open from the menu

Making Stirling PDF your default PDF viewer:

  1. Right-click any PDF file
  2. Select "Open with" → "Choose another app"
  3. Select "Stirling PDF"
  4. Check "Always use this app to open .pdf files"
  5. Click OK

Benefits of desktop app:

  • Files stay on your computer (not in browser storage)
  • Work without internet connection
  • Faster performance
  • Unlimited file storage (not limited by browser)

Multiple windows:

  • Press Ctrl+N to open an empty new window
  • Use Open in new window from the My Files page to open files in a separate window

Software Updates​

The desktop app keeps itself current. Open Settings → Software Updates to check for updates and choose how they are applied. The update behaviour is controlled by the update_mode setting, which has three values:

ModeBehaviour
promptDefault. Shows the update popup and lets you decide when to install
autoSilently downloads, installs, and restarts on startup
disabledNever checks for updates or shows update UI

When the mode is set by an administrator through a provisioning file (see Managed Desktop Deployment), the Software Updates control is locked and shows "Managed by administrator" so users cannot change it.

Automated Installation​

For silent or headless installs and pre-configuring the app for managed fleets - server URL, connection lock, and update mode via MSI or winget parameters, or a provisioning file - see Managed Desktop Deployment.

Desktop app troubleshooting​

  • App shows in Task Manager but no window appears - The desktop app renders its UI using the Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime. If the process is running but nothing is displayed, install the Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime and launch the app again.
  • Connecting to a self-hosted server - Use your backend server URL (for example http://192.168.1.53:8080). To verify the server is reachable, open http://<server>:<port>/api/v1/info/status in a browser - it should return JSON with a status of UP.

Server Version (For Hosting and Sharing)​

Want to host Stirling PDF on a Windows server for multiple users? Use the server version.

Server Downloads​

Stirling PDF comes in three different JAR files:

Stirling-PDF-with-login.jar (Recommended - Full Features):

  • Download: Stirling-PDF-with-login.jar
  • Bundles frontend UI + backend server in one file
  • Includes authentication and additional features - requires user login (default credentials: admin / stirling)
  • Recommended for all users - personal, shared, or enterprise deployments

Stirling-PDF.jar (Plain JAR - Basic Features):

  • Download: Stirling-PDF.jar
  • Bundles frontend UI + backend server in one file
  • Basic version - no authentication, core features only
  • Only use if you require no login at all and don't mind missing certain features

Stirling-PDF-server.jar (Backend Only - Advanced):

  • Download: Stirling-PDF-server.jar
  • Backend server only (no bundled UI)
  • No authentication - API access only
  • For desktop app backend, custom frontend, or API integrations

Required: Java JDK 25 (Temurin 25) - Server versions need Java installed

Server Installation Steps​

  1. Install Java JDK 25 from the link above
  2. Download your preferred JAR file
  3. Run the JAR file: 
    java -jar Stirling-PDF.jar
  4. Access via browser at http://localhost:8080
  5. Share the URL with users on your network (e.g., http://your-server-ip:8080)

Optional Dependencies​

These dependencies enable additional features in Stirling PDF. Install only the ones you need:

Python and its related tools enable various features in Stirling PDF:

  • OpenCV: Enables image scan extraction features
  • Unoserver: Enables file to PDF conversion features
  • Python: Required base for OpenCV and other Python-based features

  1. Python Installation:

    • Download Python from Python's official site
    • Recommended version: install Python 3.11.x. Python 3.12 and newer can break the unoserver/unoconv LibreOffice conversion path, so 3.11 is the safe choice.
    • During installation, IMPORTANT: Check "Add Python to PATH"
    • Verify installation by opening Command Prompt and running: 
      python --version

  2. OpenCV Installation:

    • After Python is installed, open Command Prompt as administrator
    • Install OpenCV by running: 
      pip install opencv-python
    • Verify installation: 
      python -c "import cv2"
    • Enables the Detect & Split Scanned Photos operation

  3. Unoserver Installation:

    • First install LibreOffice (see LibreOffice section below)
    • Open Command Prompt as administrator
    • Install unoserver: 
      pip install unoserver
    • Verify installation: 
      unoserver --version
    • Enables File To PDF operation Note: Unoserver requires both Python and LibreOffice to function properly

QPDF​

LibreOffice​

Tesseract OCR​

  1. Download the installer from UB Mannheim's GitHub
  2. During installation, check additional languages you need
  3. Add to settings.yml in your Stirling PDF installation directory: 
    system:
      tessdataDir: C:\\Program Files\\Tesseract-OCR\\tessdata
  • Enables OCR functionality for PDFs

Weasyprint​

  1. Download from Weasyprint's releases
  2. Create a directory (e.g., c:\weasyprint\) and place weasyprint.exe there
  • Enables URL to PDF conversion
  • Note: Some antivirus software may flag weasyprint.exe - you may need to whitelist it

PDFtoHTML​

  1. Download from SourceForge
  2. Create a directory (e.g., c:\pdftohtml\) and place pdftohtml.exe there
  • Enables PDF to HTML conversion

Adding Directories to System PATH​

After installing dependencies, you'll need to add their directories to your system's PATH. Here's how:

  1. Open Windows Search (Windows key + S)
  2. Type "Environment Variables" and click "Edit the system environment variables"
  3. Click "Environment Variables" button at the bottom
  4. Under "System variables", find and select "Path"
  5. Click "Edit"
  6. Click "New" to add each required path:
    • For Python: Should be added automatically during installation if "Add Python to PATH" was checked
    • For LibreOffice: C:\Program Files\LibreOffice\program
    • For Tesseract: C:\Program Files\Tesseract-OCR
    • For Weasyprint: C:\weasyprint (or your chosen directory)
    • For PDFtoHTML: C:\pdftohtml (or your chosen directory)
    • For QPDF: The installation directory (usually C:\Program Files\qpdf\bin)
  7. Click "OK" on all windows to save changes

Server Installation Steps​

  1. Download the latest Stirling PDF JAR from the releases page
  2. Install any desired optional dependencies following the instructions above
  3. Launch the JAR with java -jar Stirling-PDF.jar
  4. Access the web interface through your browser. The application prints the URL in the console logs, normally http://localhost:8080

Notes​

  • The application hosts a web server that is accessible to anyone on your network
  • If you install multiple Python-based dependencies, ensure they're using the same Python installation to avoid conflicts
  • Make sure to restart Stirling PDF after installing new dependencies or modifying PATH variables
  • Some features will be unavailable until their required dependencies are installed

Troubleshooting​

  1. Verifying PATH Settings:

    • Open Command Prompt (cmd)
    • Type echo %PATH% to see all directories in your PATH
    • For each dependency, try running its command to verify it's accessible: 
      python --version
      unoserver --version
      python -c "import cv2"
      tesseract --version

  2. Common Issues:

    • If changes to PATH don't take effect, try:
      • Logging out and back in
      • Restarting your computer
      • Opening a new Command Prompt window
    • If a dependency isn't found, double-check the exact path in File Explorer
    • For Tesseract issues, verify the tessdata directory contains language files
    • For LibreOffice conversions, ensure no LibreOffice windows are open when converting
    • For Python/OpenCV issues:
      • Make sure pip is up to date: python -m pip install --upgrade pip
      • Try installing with administrator privileges
      • Check if Python is properly added to PATH
    • For unoserver issues:
      • Verify both Python and LibreOffice are properly installed
      • Make sure LibreOffice is in PATH
      • Try running LibreOffice once before using unoserver

Starting unoserver alongside Stirling PDF​

To ensure that unoserver is running alongside Stirling PDF, you need to start it with the following command:

unoserver --port 2003 --interface 0.0.0.0

You can add this command to your startup script or systemd service file to ensure it starts automatically with Stirling PDF.

Need help? Visit the Stirling PDF GitHub Issues page.

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