Paperless-ngx
Paperless-ngx is an open-source document management system that turns scanned paper and PDFs into a searchable digital archive. It performs OCR on every document, extracts dates and correspondents, and applies tags and document types with trainable matching rules, so filing becomes automatic. It is the actively maintained, community-supported continuation of Paperless-ng.
Overview
Description
Paperless-ngx is an open-source document management system that transforms scanned paper, PDFs, and email attachments into an indexed, full-text-searchable archive. Documents are OCR'd on ingestion, then classified with tags, correspondents, and document types using matching rules that can train themselves from your corrections. It is the actively maintained, community-supported successor to Paperless and Paperless-ng.
Features
- Automatic OCR: Recognizes text in scans and image PDFs in over 100 languages via Tesseract.
- Smart classification: Auto-assigns tags, correspondents, and document types with trainable matching.
- Full-text search: Fast search across content and metadata, with fuzzy matching and saved views.
- Consumption pipeline: Watch folders, IMAP email fetching, a REST API, and mobile uploads.
- Document lifecycle: Versioned edits, notes, custom fields, and configurable retention.
- Access control: Per-document and per-object permissions with users and groups.
Technology Stack
- Python / Django backend with a Celery task queue
- Angular single-page frontend
- PostgreSQL (or SQLite / MariaDB) plus Redis
- Tesseract OCR, Apache Tika, and Gotenberg for document processing
- Docker Compose for deployment
Requirements
- Docker and Docker Compose
- Minimum 2 GB RAM (4 GB recommended for multi-language OCR)
- Storage sized to your document archive plus originals
Learning resources
How to setup Paperless-NGX Docker Container | Self-Hosting Lab Series
A step-by-step lab walkthrough of deploying Paperless-ngx with Docker Compose, wiring up the consume folder, and tagging the first scanned documents.
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ArticlePaperless-ngx Setup & Installation
The official setup guide covering the Docker Compose install script, bare-metal installation, environment configuration, and migrating from Paperless-ng.
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