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ahrm/sioyek

A PDF viewer for textbooks and research papers, with smart jumps to figures and references, marks, portals and vim-style keys.

Open-source alternative to:Adobe Acrobat Reader

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What is it?

Sioyek is a desktop PDF viewer built for reading dense technical material such as textbooks and research papers. Its main goal is to make it fast to move around a document: you can jump to referenced figures or bibliography items even when the PDF does not contain internal links, and preview them in an overview popup with a right click.

Navigation tools include vim-style marks (lowercase for per-document, uppercase for global), named bookmarks, a searchable table of contents, and a quick-open list of recently used files. Highlights can be created in several styles and searched, and portals link a paragraph to a distant location and display the destination in a separate window, which is useful with multiple monitors.

Key bindings and some UI settings are customizable through configuration files. Official installers exist for Windows, macOS and Linux, and the project is built with Qt, with build instructions for Fedora, generic Linux, Windows and macOS.

Key features

  • 01Smart jump to referenced figures and bibliography items, even without PDF links.
  • 02Right-click overview popups for figures, references and tables.
  • 03Vim-style local and global marks for quick return navigation.
  • 04Named bookmarks, searchable table of contents and quick-open for recent files.
  • 05Searchable highlights in multiple styles.
  • 06Portals that show a linked destination in a separate window.
  • 07Customizable key bindings and UI preferences via config files.

Use cases

  • Reading textbooks where figures and equations are referenced across many pages.
  • Reviewing research papers and jumping between citations and bibliography entries.
  • Working across two monitors with portals showing related figures as you read.
  • Keyboard-driven reading for users familiar with vim-style navigation.

Quick start

  1. 1

    Install on macOS with Homebrew Cask

    brew install --cask sioyek
  2. 2

    Download the official installer for Windows, macOS or Linux from the releases page

  3. 3

    Or build from source on Linux: clone the development branch and run the build script

    git clone --recursive --branch development https://github.com/ahrm/sioyek && cd sioyek && ./build_linux.sh

Things to know

  • Building from source requires Qt 5 or Qt 6.7/6.8 and harfbuzz, which adds setup effort.
  • The macOS build may need manual codesigning or quarantine removal to open.
  • Full documentation is hosted externally on Read the Docs.

In collections

PDF, OCR & document toolsDesktop GUI apps & toolkits

Topics

#pdf#pdf-viewer#research-papers#academic-reading#qt#vim-keybindings#desktop-app#research-paper

FAQ

What is sioyek?
A PDF viewer for textbooks and research papers, with smart jumps to figures and references, marks, portals and vim-style keys. Sioyek is a desktop PDF viewer built for reading dense technical material such as textbooks and research papers. Its main goal is to make it fast to move around a document: you can jump to referenced figures or bibliography items even when the PDF does not contain internal links, and preview them in an overview popup with a right click.
Is sioyek free to use? What license does it have?
sioyek is open source under the GPL-3.0 license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is sioyek still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to sioyek was on Nov 4, 2026.
What can I use sioyek for?
Reading textbooks where figures and equations are referenced across many pages. Reviewing research papers and jumping between citations and bibliography entries. Working across two monitors with portals showing related figures as you read. Keyboard-driven reading for users familiar with vim-style navigation.
How do I install sioyek?
Install on macOS with Homebrew Cask: brew install --cask sioyek Download the official installer for Windows, macOS or Linux from the releases page Or build from source on Linux: clone the development branch and run the build script: git clone --recursive --branch development https://github.com/ahrm/sioyek && cd sioyek && ./build_linux.sh
Where can I get sioyek?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/ahrm/sioyek

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