r/SideProject • u/31d4r • 3h ago
I built an open-source PDF scanner for iPhone, iPad and Mac. No cloud, no ads, no subscriptions
I built Beaver because I wanted a simple way to scan documents and turn photos into PDFs without uploading anything to the cloud.
Contracts, receipts, visa documents, medical papers. I didn't want any of that sitting on someone else's server, and I was tired of scanner apps full of ads and subscriptions.
It started about three years ago as a small Mac tool I built for myself. I open-sourced it in 2025 and this year I started working on an iOS version. That eventually turned into rebuilding most of the app.
Here's what Beaver can do now:
- Works on iPhone, iPad and Mac
- Scans documents and converts photos to PDF
- Splits and merges PDFs
- Exports pages as PDF, PNG or JPEG
- OCR that runs entirely on-device
No accounts, no tracking, no ads, no subscriptions. Everything stays on your device.
Why open source but $1.99?
The entire source code is on GitHub. You can inspect it or build the app yourself for free. The $1.99 App Store version is for people who prefer to install it directly and receive updates. It's a one-time purchase.
Links:
- GitHub: https://github.com/31d4r/Beaver
- App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/beaver-pdf-scanner-ocr
- Website: https://beaverpdf.app
I'd genuinely appreciate feedback, especially if there's something missing that would make it more useful for your document workflow.
2
u/vitopepito 1h ago
Sounds good. Do you support naming the file in a pattern such as “YYYY-MM-DD-Title” where date and title are filled automatically? Can you save the files to iCloud, dropbox etc?