Drop on window or Dock
Drag in a batch of PDFs, use File, Open PDFs (Command-O), or click the drop area. Non-PDF files are skipped and duplicates are ignored.
Open source · macOS 14+ · Universal binary · Files & Conversion
Drop big PDFs.
Get smaller copies.
Drag one or many PDFs onto the window or the Dock icon, pick Small, Medium or High, and press Command-Return. Every file shows its before and after size.
Free & MIT licensed · Apple Silicon & Intel · Latest release
Features
Smaller PDFs, no detours.
Everything runs on your Mac with Apple frameworks, with no accounts, servers or uploads.
Presets and custom sliders
Small, Medium and High set the image size and JPEG quality for you. Custom lets you choose 512 to 4096 px and 10 to 100 percent quality.
Before and after sizes
Each row shows a page-one thumbnail, a progress bar, the original and new size, the percentage saved and a Reveal in Finder button.
Safe output handling
Copies are saved next to the original with a -shrunk suffix, or into a folder you choose. Replace original is off by default and moves the old file to the Trash first.
Keeps the original if it's better
If a result would not be smaller, the original is kept and the row says already optimal. Corrupted files get an error row and locked PDFs offer an Unlock prompt, without stopping the batch.
Merge PDFs into one
Merge joins the files in your list, in list order, into a single PDF through a save panel. Cancel stops a job and discards partial output.
Screenshots
See it in action.
Install
Up and running in a minute.
PdfShrinkDrop is open source and not notarized with a paid Apple Developer ID, so macOS needs one extra step the first time.
- Download PdfShrinkDrop-macOS.zip and unzip it.
- Move PdfShrinkDrop.app to your Applications folder.
- Clear the quarantine flag once, then right-click the app and choose Open:
xattr -cr /Applications/PdfShrinkDrop.app
- No special permissions are required macOS may show its usual prompt the first time the app reads a protected folder such as Desktop or Documents.
Download
Get PdfShrinkDrop for macOS
Free, forever. Built for macOS 14 Sonoma or newer, Apple Silicon and Intel.
Not notarized: on first launch right-click PdfShrinkDrop.app → Open.
- macOS 14 Sonoma+
- Universal (Apple Silicon + Intel)
- MIT licensed · open source
- No ads, no accounts, no telemetry
- Built with Claude Code · how and why
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Is PdfShrinkDrop really free and open source?
Yes. It is released under the MIT license and the full source is on GitHub. There are no accounts, subscriptions or in-app purchases, and an optional Support button opens a Ko-fi page in your browser.
What permissions does it need?
None beyond normal file access. It does not use Accessibility, Screen Recording, the camera, the microphone or the network. It only reads the PDFs you drop or choose and writes to the output location you pick.
Where is my data stored?
Your PDFs stay on your Mac. Compressed copies are written next to the originals or into the folder you choose, and your preset and output choices are remembered in the app's local settings. Nothing is uploaded and there is no analytics.
Why isn't the app notarized?
Notarization requires a paid Apple Developer account, and this is a free project. Right-click the app and choose Open once to get past Gatekeeper, or build it yourself from source with Xcode and XcodeGen.
Was this written by AI?
Yes. PdfShrinkDrop was generated by Claude Code from a written spec as a clean-room reimplementation, with no code or assets from any commercial app. The full source is on GitHub under MIT, so you can read every line before you run it. It has had less human review than a hand-written app, so bug reports are welcome.
Support ❤️
Built by one person, given away for free.
PdfShrinkDrop is a free, open-source alternative to paid utilities. If it earns a spot on your Mac, a coffee keeps the updates coming.
☕ Support Or on Ko-fi