install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install pdfrip

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#pdfrip

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/pd/pdfrip/package.nix · source: api.github.com

overview

Package summary

Multi-threaded PDF password cracking utility

Project links

Commands and aliases

pdfrip

history

Project history and usage

PDFRip is an MIT-licensed, multithreaded PDF password-recovery utility written in Rust. It supports wordlists, masks, known-substring searches, date and number generators, brute force, checkpoints, and JSON output.

Project history

PDFRip was published as a Rust-based, multithreaded PDF password-cracking utility. The official release history records version 1.0.0, followed by a major 2.0 overhaul that reworked the engine and expanded search modes.

Version 3.0.0 focused on correctness, measurable prepared-verifier performance, broader PDF Standard Security Handler compatibility, exact checkpoint and resume behavior, structured JSON output, and hardened cross-platform release processes.

Adoption history

PDFRip is available through Homebrew and Nix in addition to Cargo and repository release binaries. Its Rust implementation and prebuilt-release workflow make it suitable for contemporary cross-platform security-tool collections.

How it is used

Users select an encrypted PDF and a candidate-generation mode, such as a wordlist, bounded mask, date range, numeric range, known substring, or printable-ASCII brute force.

Checkpoint and resume support preserves verified progress for long jobs. The optional --user-password-only mode can improve performance but intentionally excludes owner-only passwords.

The tool targets password-based user and owner credentials in the PDF Standard Security Handler; certificate or public-key encrypted documents are not supported.

Why package nerds care

PDFRip pairs a focused password-recovery purpose with Rust concurrency, structured candidate generators, checkpointing, and machine-readable output. It occupies a middle ground between small legacy PDF crackers and large general-purpose cracking suites.

Timeline

2021: Version 1.0.0 released on February 11.
2025: Version 2.0.0 released on January 4 and 2.0.1 on January 9.
2026: Version 3.0.0 released on March 18.

Related projects

The README compares the problem space with password-cracking workflows but scopes PDFRip specifically to PDF Standard Security Handler user and owner passwords. Certificate-encrypted PDFs are outside its scope.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Build metadata lists 2 build dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`pdfrip`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-09-19

manager version3.0.0

manager updated2026-09-13

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detectedv3.0.0

https://github.com/mufeedvh/pdfrip

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:pdfrip
Version	3.0.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/pdfrip
Homepage	https://github.com/mufeedvh/pdfrip
Repository	https://github.com/mufeedvh/pdfrip
License	MIT
Source archive	https://github.com/mufeedvh/pdfrip/archive/refs/tags/v3.0.0.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-09-13T06:30:16Z
Pulse	updated
Build dependencies	cmake, rust
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	pdfrip
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Head Version	HEAD
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	head stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

pdfrip

nix profile install nixpkgs#pdfrip

normalized package name match
Matched by: Pdfrip

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/pd/pdfrip/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/pdfrip.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment
pkg.so package database
pkgdb category and tag curation

Install pdfrip with Homebrew, Nix