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Paperless-ngx

Paperless-ngx is a self-hosted document management system that converts scanned and digital documents into a searchable archive using optical character…

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Paperless-ngx is a self-hosted document management system that converts scanned and digital documents into a searchable archive using optical character recognition, tagging, and metadata storage for homelab users who want a paperless, organized records repository.

Platform availability

Available on 6 of 9 platforms

Health score?A 0-100 score computed nightly from four factors: maintained (40%: recent commits and steady activity), popular (25%: GitHub stars, log scale), easy to install (20%: platforms, install notes, setup guides, Docker image) and light to run (15%: minimum RAM, ARM support). When the source code has been checked, a fifth factor, security check (20%: automated scan for committed secrets, unsafe desktop-app settings, known-vulnerable dependencies and project hygiene; any serious finding caps it at 20), is added. Factors without data are left out and the rest are rescaled.

90/100 Excellent

Maintained
100last commit 7 days ago
Popular
9346,443 GitHub stars
Easy to install
905 install platforms, install notes, setup guide, Docker image
Light to run
602 GB minimum RAM, runs on ARM

Availability: platform listings confirmed today, links checked 10 days ago

GitHub stars
46,443
Open issues
4
Last commit
2026-10-08
Latest release
v3.3.0
License
GPL-3.0
Activity
declining

Checked 6 days ago - source: GitHub (paperless-ngx/paperless-ngx)

Resources & Compatibility

Minimum requirements: 2 GB RAM, 1 CPU core(s). ARM (e.g. Raspberry Pi) is supported.

Checked 17 days ago - source: Docker Hub image tags and published docs

First-install notes

  • Start the Docker Compose installation If you are using Docker Compose (a tool that runs the app in containers), run docker compose up -d from the folder with docker-compose.yml. Without this, the app and its document-processing services are not running. source
  • Create the consume and media folders Create the consume and media folders where Paperless-ngx expects them. Consume is where new documents arrive, and media stores processed files, so missing folders can break document intake or saving. source
  • Install system tools if not using Docker If you are installing on Debian without Docker, run the apt install command for the listed packages first. These tools handle images, PDFs, and scanning, so document processing can fail without them. source

Fetched 17 days ago - each note links to its source

Alternatives (9)

  • Genius Scan - Genius Scan is a scanner in your pocket.
  • Mayan EDMS - Mayan EDMS is a web-based open-source electronic document management system that helps individuals and teams organize, index, and share doc…
  • Papermerge - Papermerge is an open source document management system (DMS) for archiving, organizing, and retrieving digital documents.
  • Paperwork - Paperwork is a personal document manager for scanned documents (and PDFs).
  • Papra - Papra is a lightweight, self-hosted document management and archiving platform that automatically imports, stores, and organises files for…
  • Teedy - Teedy is an open-source, lightweight document management system for individuals and small businesses that provides optical character recogn…
  • docspell - Docspell assists in organizing your piles of digital documents, resulting from scanners, e-mails and other sources with minimal effort.
  • ecodms - EcoDMS is an audit-compliant document management system for self-hosted users that scans, stores, manages, and retrieves data and documents…
  • paperless-ng - Paperless-ng is an archived self-hosted document management system for homelab users that indexes scanned documents, stores metadata, and m…

Checked 14 days ago - source: AlternativeTo

Common questions

Why is backup especially important for a Paperless-ngx server?

Paperless-ngx is meant to replace paper for important documents, so it should run on a server with proper backup in place.

What command should I run to start a Docker Compose installation?

Run docker compose up -d from the folder with docker-compose.yml. Without this, the app and its document-processing services are not running.

What should I install on Debian if I do not use Docker?

Install the listed apt packages first. These tools handle images, PDFs, and scanning, so document processing can fail without them.

How do I migrate from Paperless-ng to Paperless-ngx?

Migrating from Paperless-ng is easy: just drop in the new docker image.

What basic setup topics should a new user review?

A community guide covers basic configuration choices, tags, document types, and Docker Compose setup.

Answers sourced from docs.paperless-ngx.com, github.com, www.reddit.com, www.redditmedia.com

Community

Collected 11 days ago - public community threads

Install guides