Sources

A source is a saved location that pipelines read documents from or deliver them to. Some sources are inputs, some are destinations, and some can be both. Manage them at Processor → Sources.

Connect a source#

Select Connect source, choose a type, enter its name and settings, then select Create source. Click an existing row to edit it. The built-in Editor source is always present and cannot be edited or deleted.

Editor#

The Editor source runs a pipeline on the files people work on in the Stirling PDF editor. It runs automatically for everyone in the pipeline's team, at one of two moments:

While a pipeline runs, the file shows a progress badge. An export pipeline does not run again on a later download unless the file has been edited since, so repeated downloads do not stack watermarks.

A pipeline only runs on files its first step can accept. For most tools that means PDFs; other files pass through unchanged. An editor pipeline can also send its results to a destination, such as a folder or S3 bucket, and leave the editor file as it is.

If an ordinary pipeline fails, people see a warning and the file carries on unprocessed. To stop a file that fails instead, enforce the pipeline as a policy.

People can see which pipelines run on their files in the PDF Processor panel on the right of the editor.

Decide what happens to originals#

Folder, S3, and network inputs have an After processing setting under Advanced.

Folder#

Enter a path on your server, such as /data/processor/inbox. An administrator must allow the folder first. Folder depth selects the top level or subfolders. Change detection controls how changed versions are recognized.

Hidden files, symlinked folders, and files still being written are skipped. Keep destinations outside the input folder.

S3#

Select a saved S3 connection and a Key prefix. The prefix can be empty and includes matching keys at any depth. When used as a destination, output is written beneath that prefix. An existing file is never overwritten; the new file gets a different name.

To use an S3-compatible endpoint on your internal network, such as a self-hosted MinIO, an administrator must allow it:

POLICIES_ALLOWPRIVATES3ENDPOINTS=true

services:
  stirling-pdf:
    environment:
      POLICIES_ALLOWPRIVATES3ENDPOINTS: "true"

SFTP, FTP, and SMB#

Select an integration using the matching protocol, then choose the remote folder and depth. A blank folder uses the account's home directory; SMB paths are relative to the configured share.

SFTP verifies host keys. Enter the expected host-key fingerprint where possible, and check a changed key before updating the connection.

To connect to a server on your internal network, an administrator must allow its hostname:

POLICIES_ALLOWEDPRIVATENETWORKHOSTS=sftp.internal.example.com

services:
  stirling-pdf:
    environment:
      POLICIES_ALLOWEDPRIVATENETWORKHOSTS: sftp.internal.example.com

Separate several hostnames with commas. To allow every internal host instead, set POLICIES_ALLOWPRIVATENETWORKSOURCES=true.

Webhooks#

A webhook source creates a delivery URL and signing secret. Copy the secret when it is shown; treat it like a password. Bind the source to an enabled pipeline with a Webhook trigger before sending production files.

Send the raw file as the request body to POST /api/v1/webhooks/<webhookId> with these headers:

To test a webhook from a terminal:

SECRET='your-signing-secret'
SIG=$(openssl dgst -sha256 -hmac "$SECRET" invoice.pdf | awk '{print $NF}')
curl -X POST "https://pdf.example.com/api/v1/webhooks/<webhookId>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/pdf" \
  -H "X-Stirling-Filename: invoice.pdf" \
  -H "X-Stirling-Signature: sha256=$SIG" \
  --data-binary @invoice.pdf

An accepted delivery returns 202. That confirms receipt, not that the pipeline finished. A missing length returns 411, an oversized body 413, and an invalid signature 401. Check Documents and Review for what happened next.

RAG databases#

A RAG database source sends the searchable chunks an Ingestion pipeline prepares to your own vector database. Choose a saved database integration and its collection, then select this source as the Ingestion destination.

Delete or disable a source#

A source cannot be deleted while a pipeline references it; change or remove those bindings first. Disabling a source affects the workflows that depend on it.

Administrator settings#

Restart Stirling PDF after changing these settings. Folder roots and the folder watch interval can also be set in settings.yml, as policies.allowedFolderRoots and policies.watchReconcileSeconds.