DocSend
Secure document sharing with analytics and access control
Paperless-ngx
Turn paper piles into searchable digital archives with ease
Paperless-ngx converts scanned documents into a searchable, OCR‑indexed archive, deployable via Docker Compose, and offers community‑driven support for secure home‑server document management.
Overview
Overview
Paperless-ngx is aimed at individuals, freelancers, and small teams that want to keep their physical paperwork organized without relying on third‑party SaaS solutions. By running the system on a personal or home server, users retain full control over their data while gaining powerful search capabilities.
Core Capabilities
The application ingests scanned PDFs and images, runs OCR to extract full‑text, and lets you tag, categorize, and retrieve documents instantly. Migration from the older Paperless‑ng project is straightforward—simply replace the Docker image. The web interface provides a clean view of your archive, and the community contributes translations and plugins to extend functionality.
Deployment & Security
Installation is a single command using the provided Docker‑Compose script, pulling the official image from the GitHub container registry. While the system stores files in clear text, the recommended practice is to host it on a trusted, locally managed server with regular backups. This approach balances ease of setup with the privacy of self‑hosting.
Highlights
OCR‑powered full‑text search for scanned PDFs and images
One‑click Docker‑Compose deployment
Seamless migration from Paperless‑ng
Active community roadmap and multilingual support
Pros
- Self‑hosted gives full control over document privacy
- Robust OCR and tagging improve retrieval speed
- Docker setup simplifies installation and updates
- Active community contributes plugins and translations
Considerations
- No built‑in encryption; data stored in clear text
- Requires a server or VM to run
- Initial configuration may be technical for non‑dev users
- OCR performance depends on underlying hardware
Managed products teams compare with
When teams consider Paperless-ngx, these hosted platforms usually appear on the same shortlist.
Looking for a hosted option? These are the services engineering teams benchmark against before choosing open source.
Fit guide
Great for
- Home users who want a private digital filing cabinet
- Small businesses needing searchable invoice archives
- Tech‑savvy individuals comfortable with Docker
- Organizations migrating from Paperless‑ng
Not ideal when
- Environments requiring end‑to‑end encrypted storage
- Users seeking a hosted SaaS solution
- Teams without any Linux/Docker expertise
- High‑volume enterprise document processing without scaling infrastructure
How teams use it
Personal tax document archive
Locate past returns instantly via keyword search, reducing time spent digging through paper files.
Freelance invoice management
Automatically extract dates and amounts, generate financial reports, and keep client invoices searchable.
Medical record digitization
Scan and index health records for quick retrieval while maintaining a secure, private repository.
Legal contract repository
Store, tag, and search contracts across cases, ensuring fast access during negotiations or audits.
Tech snapshot
Python54%
TypeScript35%
HTML9%
SCSS1%
Dockerfile1%
Shell1%
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to run Paperless-ngx on a trusted host?
Yes. The application stores documents in clear text without built‑in encryption, so it should be hosted on a trusted, secure server.
Can I migrate from Paperless‑ng?
Migration is simple—replace the existing Docker image with the Paperless‑ngx image and follow the migration guide in the documentation.
Is data encrypted at rest?
Paperless-ngx does not provide built‑in encryption; you must rely on external disk encryption or host‑level security measures.
What platforms does Paperless-ngx support?
It runs wherever Docker is available, including Linux, macOS, and Windows environments.
Project at a glance
Active- Stars
- 35,820
- Watchers
- 35,820
- Forks
- 2,269
LicenseGPL-3.0
Repo age3 years old
Last commit5 hours ago
Primary languagePython
Last synced 3 hours ago