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freedomofpress/dangerzone

Converts untrusted PDFs, office documents and images into safe PDFs by rasterizing them inside a sandbox.

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What is it?

Dangerzone takes files you don't trust, such as email attachments, and turns them into PDFs that are safe to open. It accepts PDFs, office documents and images as input.

Conversion happens in two stages. Inside a sandbox, the original document is first converted to PDF if needed, then each page is rendered into raw RGB pixel data. Outside the sandbox, that pixel data is rebuilt into a new PDF, so no active content from the original file carries over.

The project provides a desktop application and installation guides for macOS, Windows, several Linux distributions, Qubes OS and Tails.

Key features

  • 01Converts PDFs, office documents and images into a new PDF.
  • 02Runs the conversion step inside a sandbox, separate from the rebuild step.
  • 03Rebuilds output from raw pixel data, dropping embedded active content.
  • 04Provides a desktop application with installers for major platforms.

Use cases

  • Opening email attachments from unknown senders without risk.
  • Sanitizing documents received from untrusted sources before sharing them.
  • Handling suspicious files in journalism or security-sensitive workflows.

Topics

#pdf#security#sandbox#document-conversion#malware-protection#desktop-app

FAQ

What is dangerzone?
Converts untrusted PDFs, office documents and images into safe PDFs by rasterizing them inside a sandbox. Dangerzone takes files you don't trust, such as email attachments, and turns them into PDFs that are safe to open. It accepts PDFs, office documents and images as input.
Is dangerzone free to use? What license does it have?
dangerzone is open source under the AGPL-3.0 license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is dangerzone still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to dangerzone was on Oct 19, 2026.
What can I use dangerzone for?
Opening email attachments from unknown senders without risk. Sanitizing documents received from untrusted sources before sharing them. Handling suspicious files in journalism or security-sensitive workflows.
Where can I get dangerzone?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/freedomofpress/dangerzone

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