PageFlow
Ultra-minimalistic PDF viewer
Lightweight. Open-source. Simple.
PageFlow for macOS
PageFlow is a lightweight, minimalistic native macOS PDF viewer built with Swift and PDFKit. PageFlow launches instantly, and ships only the essentials: highlight, underline, bookmark, and comment. All tools stay invisible until you need them. Everything stays on your Mac locally, no telemetry, no network calls.
PageFlow isn’t just a PDF viewer
It’s the fastest way through everything you read
Features
Instant
Launch
Native
macOS
Smart
Highlights
Clean
Underlines
LaTeX
Comments
One-tap
Bookmarks
Multiple
Tabs
Page
Editing
PDF to
Markdown
Full-text
Search
Privacy
First
Open
Source
Annotations
Everything you need, nothing you don’t
Highlight, underline, bookmark, and comment — with LaTeX math support when you need it. Every tool stays invisible until you hover, so the page is always just the page.
Select any passage and highlight it with a keystroke, underline what matters, drop a bookmark, or attach a comment — even with LaTeX like $e^{i\pi} + 1 = 0$.
Performance
Launches before you finish clicking
PageFlow is native Swift on Apple’s PDFKit — no Electron, no web runtime. It opens instantly, stays tiny, and never phones home.
<1s
cold launch
~22 MB
download
0
network calls
Page editing
Rearrange PDFs right from the sidebar
Flip the thumbnail sidebar into edit mode to cut, copy, paste, delete, and rotate pages — or copy any page out as clean Markdown.
Page 2 selected
Privacy & openness
Private by design, open by default
Zero telemetry, zero network calls, everything on-device. And because PageFlow is open-source, you never have to take our word for it.
- TelemetryNone
- Network callsNone
- Your documents100% local
- Source codePublic on GitHub
FAQ
PageFlow is a free, lightweight, open-source PDF viewer designed exclusively for macOS. Built natively with Swift and PDFKit, it launches instantly and ships only the essentials: highlight, underline, bookmark, and comment.
Yes. PageFlow is completely free to download and use — no subscriptions, in-app purchases, or hidden fees. The source code is available on GitHub under an open-source license.
PageFlow requires macOS 15 (Sequoia) or later. It is optimized for Apple Silicon Macs but also runs on Intel-based Macs.
Minimalism and speed. Unlike Adobe Acrobat there is no bloat, subscription, or cloud dependency. Compared to Preview, PageFlow keeps annotation tools invisible until you need them. Unlike PDF Expert, nothing is locked behind a paywall.
No. PageFlow has zero telemetry, makes no network calls while you read, and works entirely offline. Everything stays on your Mac.
Highlighting and underlining in multiple colors, bookmarks for quick navigation, and comments — including LaTeX math rendering with $...$ and $$...$$.
Yes. In the thumbnail sidebar you can cut, copy, paste, delete, and rotate pages, or copy a page out as Markdown.
Yes. PageFlow ships with Sparkle-powered updates — you can check for and control updates from Settings → General.
Yes, the full source is on GitHub at github.com/pinchen147/PageFlow. Read it, contribute, or fork it.
Email pinchen147@gmail.com with your macOS version and steps to reproduce. Every report gets read.