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SUMMARIZE PDF
Summarize PDF Online Free
Summarize a PDF in your browser and download the summary as a text file. Best for English documents. The summary model downloads about 343 MB on first use.
100% private — processed in your browser
Your files are processed locally in your browser with JavaScript. They are never uploaded to a server. You can verify this yourself: open your browser DevTools, go to the Network tab, and watch — no file data leaves your device.
How to summarize a PDF
Most PDF summarizers upload your document to a server — or charge for it. This tool summarizes in your browser with a real AI model — DistilBART (Apache-2.0) running through Transformers.js. It reads the text layer of each page, splits long documents into chunks, summarizes each part, then combines them into one summary, so nothing is silently cut off.
Two honest limits. First, the model is English-only (trained on CNN/DailyMail news): it works best on English documents and the summary quality drops on other languages. Second, the model itself is big — about 343 MB on first use, then it is cached in your browser. A scanned PDF has no text layer at all, so there is nothing to summarize — use OCR PDF first to read the text, then summarize it.
How to use this tool
- 1Drop PDF files onto the page (up to 20 at once) and pick a summary length: Short, Medium, or Detailed.
- 2Press Summarize PDF. On first use the model downloads about 343 MB — after that it is cached.
- 3Read the summary on the page, download each summary as a .txt file, or all of them as one ZIP.
Frequently asked questions
How good is the summary?
Good on plain English text — news, reports, essays, manuals. Weaker on jargon, tables, and lists, and weaker on non-English documents, because the model was trained on English news. An AI summary can miss a nuance, so read important documents yourself before relying on it.
Why does it download about 343 MB the first time?
The summary model itself is about 343 MB. It downloads once from Hugging Face, is cached in your browser, and later summaries reuse it without downloading again. Your PDF files are never uploaded anywhere.
What happens with a very long PDF?
The model can only read about 4,000 characters at once, so the tool splits the document into chunks, summarizes each part, then summarizes the parts into one final summary. Nothing is silently cut off — but a very long document takes longer.
Can it summarize a scanned PDF?
No — a scanned PDF has no text layer, so there is nothing to summarize. Use OCR PDF first to read the text from the scan, then summarize the result.
Is my PDF uploaded anywhere?
No. The file is read and summarized in your browser tab. Only the summary model is downloaded (from Hugging Face, on first use). Your document never leaves your device.