Papermerge

Papermerge is an open-source document management system designed specifically for the administration of digital archives and scanned documents. It uses Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to extract text from images and PDFs, indexing the content to enable full text search across a library of files. This allows users to locate specific information within scanned images that would otherwise be unsearchable.

The software is deployed as a server application and is accessed via a web browser. It provides a user interface that mimics a desktop file browser, allowing users to manage documents through a dual panel view with drag and drop functionality. It is intended for the long term storage and organization of records, providing a structured environment for digitizing physical paperwork.

Key features

• OCR processing with text overlay downloads
• Full text search of scanned documents
• Support for PDF, TIFF, JPEG, and PNG formats
• Hierarchical folder organization and colored tags
• Document versioning and page management
• Custom metadata fields per document type
• Multi-user support with group ownership and sharing
• OpenAPI compliant REST API

The system architecture consists of a backend that integrates with PostgreSQL and a frontend developed with Vite. It supports multi-language UI options to accommodate different regions. For administrative control, the software includes a command line interface that allows operators to perform management tasks, such as clearing and rebuilding the search index or viewing search statistics. The application is designed for flexibility in deployment, offering Docker images for a basic setup as well as more complex Docker Compose scenarios for production environments.

Papermerge serves as a centralized repository for individuals or organizations needing to convert physical archives into a searchable electronic format. It focuses on the lifecycle of a scanned document, from the initial upload and OCR processing to long term categorization and retrieval.