How to compress your PDF on Linux
- 1
Open this page in Firefox or Chrome on your Linux and add your PDF.
- 2
Choose a compression level or a target size.
- 3
Click Compress and download the smaller PDF.
Compress PDF on Linux: built-in options vs this tool
On Linux the classic command is Ghostscript: gs -sDEVICE=pdfwrite -dPDFSETTINGS=/ebook -o out.pdf in.pdf. This page gives a similar result with a target-size option and no command line.
It works in Firefox or Chrome on Ubuntu, Fedora and other Linux desktops, as an alternative to command-line tools.
Private by design
Your file is processed by your own browser, in memory. It is never uploaded, stored or seen by anyone, and the page’s security policy blocks it from sending data to other servers.
Frequently asked questions
How do I shrink PDF size Linux?
Open this page in Firefox or Chrome on your Linux and add your PDF. Choose a compression level or a target size. Click Compress and download the smaller PDF. It runs in the browser on Linux, with nothing to install.
How to reduce PDF size Linux?
Add the PDF, choose a compression level (or a target size), then click Compress PDF. The result shows the before and after size.
Does it work on Linux?
It works in Firefox or Chrome on Ubuntu, Fedora and other Linux desktops, as an alternative to command-line tools.
Will compression make my PDF blurry?
Text and vector graphics are never touched, so they stay sharp. Only images are recompressed. Light keeps images close to the original; Strong is visibly softer on photos.
Why didn’t my PDF get much smaller?
PDFs made from text (exported from Word, for example) contain few images, so there is little to compress. Large savings come from scans and photos.
How small does a PDF need to be for email?
Gmail and Yahoo accept attachments up to 25 MB, Outlook.com up to 20 MB. Staying under 10 MB is safest because some company mail servers set lower limits.
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