DocManFu
Free & open source

The private document vault

Master your documents.
Keep your freedom.

DocManFu turns scans, statements, bills, and PDFs into an organized, searchable library—without handing your personal history to another subscription service.

Get DocManFuStar on GitHub
  • MIT licensed
  • Docker ready
  • No subscription
✦
AI ANALYSISNamed, tagged & filed
⌂
STORAGE100% on your server
OCREvery scan becomes searchable
AIAutomatic names, types & tags
LOCALYour files stay on your hardware
OPENMIT licensed and community built

Less filing. More finding.

Document management that works like you wish it did.

Drop in a PDF or photo. DocManFu reads it, makes it searchable, suggests a useful name, adds relevant tags, and keeps the original safely under your control.

⌕

Full-text search

Find the one sentence you remember.

Search inside scanned PDFs—not just filenames. Filter by document type, tag, date, and more.

⌕
Search documents“orthodontic lifetime maximum”
3 results
✦

Optional AI

Your tireless filing assistant.

Classify documents, suggest clear filenames, extract useful metadata, and auto-tag—with OpenAI, Anthropic, or local Ollama.

TaxMedicalInsurance2026
▤

Built-in OCR

Paper becomes data.

Turn PDF scans and images into selectable, searchable text with OCRmyPDF and Tesseract.

✓ Text recognized
＄

Bill tracking

Never lose a due date in a PDF.

Track amounts, due dates, payment status, and upcoming bills directly beside the source document.

Rocky Mountain Power$128.47Due Aug 12 · Unpaid
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Private by architecture

Your filing cabinet should not have a landlord.

Run DocManFu with Docker on your NAS, home server, or VPS. You choose where files live, who can access them, and whether AI ever leaves your network.

Why self-host your documents →
PDFJPGOCR
Your serverPrivate by default

A civilized workflow

From paper pile to useful archive.

DocManFu quietly handles the repetitive parts while keeping you in charge.

  1. 01
    ↥

    Upload or watch

    Drag in PDFs and images, import Evernote ENEX files, or use the companion CLI to watch a scanner folder.

  2. 02
    ◉

    Read and enrich

    OCR extracts text. Optional AI classifies, names, tags, and captures useful metadata.

  3. 03
    ⌕

    Find anything

    Search every word, filter the library, preview the original, and download it whenever you need it.

A practical Evernote alternative

Leave the subscription.
Keep the useful part.

DocManFu focuses on what a personal document archive needs: dependable capture, powerful retrieval, smart organization, and ownership.

See the full comparison
DocManFuTypical cloud notes app
Self-hosted file storageYesNo
Search inside scanned PDFsYesPlan dependent
Local AI with OllamaYesNo
Evernote ENEX importYes—
Monthly subscription$0Ongoing
Open-source codeYesNo
terminal
$ git clone https://github.com/DocManFu/DocManFu.git
$ cd DocManFu
$ cp .env.production.example .env
$ ./prod up -d

✓ DocManFu is ready at http://localhost:8080

Open by design

Inspect it. Improve it. Make it yours.

DocManFu is MIT licensed and built in the open with FastAPI, Svelte, PostgreSQL, Redis, Celery, and Docker. No proprietary export format. No hostage negotiation with your own data.

Explore the codeJoin the project ↗

Your documents. Your rules.

Ready to master the paper pile?

One Docker Compose command puts a private, searchable document vault on hardware you control.

Start self-hostingView on GitHub ↗