BASALT · JOURNAL
A desktop alternative to iLovePDF for Mac users
iLovePDF and its equivalents cover a broad set of operations well: merge, split, compress, convert, rotate, page numbers. The interface is simple and there is nothing to install.
Two things push people to a desktop equivalent, and only one of them is privacy.
Volume
Browser tools apply limits, on file size, on how many operations you may run, and on how many files you may batch. Those limits are reasonable for occasional use and become the binding constraint the moment your work is repetitive.
A hundred documents that each need the same three operations is a long afternoon in a browser and an unattended run on a desktop.
Files that must not be uploaded
The other reason. A document under legal privilege, a medical record, an employee file, or anything covered by an agreement that names who may hold it. Processing those through a web service means transmitting them to a party not on that list.
That is a policy question rather than a technical one, and many people find their organisation already has an answer.
What a desktop replacement needs to cover
Match it against the operations you actually use, which for most people is a short list:
Combining and splitting. Removing and reordering pages. Compression, with the output actually smaller and still legible. Rotation. Page numbering. Making a scan searchable with OCR. Filling and flattening a form. Signing.
Anything beyond that is worth having and not worth switching for.
Where a desktop tool is genuinely better
Large files. A browser tool has to upload before it can work, so a 300 MB scanned production is a transfer before it is an operation. Locally it is a file already on disk.
Batches. Running the same operation across a folder unattended is straightforward on a desktop and awkward in a browser.
Repeatability. A saved sequence of steps that runs identically every time is something a desktop application can offer and a web form generally cannot.
Where the browser stays better
Working from a machine that is not yours. Sending someone a link. One quick operation on a file you do not care about. Those are real, and there is no need to pretend otherwise.
Frequently asked questions
Why use a desktop PDF tool instead of a browser one?
Two reasons: files that must not be uploaded, and volume. Browser tools limit file size and batch counts, which binds as soon as the work is repetitive, and any document under privilege or an NDA should not be transmitted to a processing service at all.
Are browser PDF tools slower for large files?
Usually, because the file has to be uploaded before any work starts and downloaded afterwards. A 300 MB scan is a transfer before it is an operation, where locally it is already on disk.
What operations does a desktop PDF tool need to replace a web one?
For most people: merge, split, remove and reorder pages, compress, rotate, page numbers, OCR, form filling and flattening, and signing. Match against your own recent use rather than a feature list.
Is there any reason to keep using browser PDF tools?
Yes. Working from a machine that is not yours, sharing a link with someone, or a single quick operation on a file that is not confidential. They are genuinely convenient for those.
Doing it in Basalt
Basalt is a native macOS PDF toolkit: eighteen tools in one window covering merge, split, page organisation, compression, OCR, passwords, Bates numbering, forms, signing, watermarks and comparison. Every file is processed on your Mac, and the engine that opens documents holds no network entitlement at all, which macOS enforces at the code-signature level, so nothing is uploaded. Redaction destroys content rather than covering it and an independent verifier proves the material is gone before a file is written. A one time $29 licence covers up to three Macs, and it is free for the first 24 hours. Download it at basaltformac.com, or install it with brew install --cask chipmunk1101/tap/basalt.
Redaction that proves itself
Basalt destroys the content you mark, then re-opens the file it wrote and proves the content is gone before it saves anything. Your documents never leave your Mac.