Documents & PDFs · checked 2026-10-19Can I vibecode DocHub?
YES· one-shottable
For one person, DocHub is a PDF editor in the browser: put text and check marks on a page, draw or type a signature, white out a line, merge, rotate and reorder pages. With pdf.js to render and pdf-lib to write, an agent builds that in one sitting and the files never leave your machine. Rewriting existing text in place and sending signature requests with an audit trail are the pieces that don't come cheap, and a signature that has to stand up in a dispute deserves a vendor.
$12/moprice per seat
$144you'd save a year
one sittingbuild time
—people replaced it
What you need on hand.
DifficultyBeginner · No setup beyond your agent.
TimeOne to two hours for the first version
- Claude Code, Codex or CursorAny of them can run the prompt.
- Node.js 22Only needed to build; the result is a static folder.
- A browserEverything runs in it, so no server or keys are needed.
Before you buildDocHub Free gives 3 uses a month of editing and signing. If your needs are that small, or you only sign what others send you, you may not need to pay or build.
- 1. Install one agent: Claude Code, Codex, Cursor.
- 2. Make an empty folder and open it in the agent.
- 3. Paste the prompt below, press enter, and answer its questions as it builds.
The prompt
Build me a local-first PDF editor and signer to replace DocHub for my own documents. Requirements: - A single-page app in TypeScript with Vite and React: `npm run dev` serves http://localhost:5173 and `npm run build` makes a static folder any web server can host. PDFs are processed in the browser and never uploaded. - Open a PDF by drag and drop; render pages to canvas with `pdfjs-dist` with zoom, and show page thumbnails in a left rail. - Toolbar: text box (font, size, colour), check and cross marks, date stamp, highlight, whiteout rectangle, freehand pen and image placement. Click to place; drag, resize and delete objects, and undo with Ctrl-Z. - Signature and initials: draw with `signature_pad`, type in one of three fonts, or upload an image. Saved signatures live in IndexedDB and are placed and resized like any image. - Forms: read AcroForm fields from `pdfjs-dist` annotation data; fill text fields, checkboxes and dropdowns inline, and offer to flatten them on save. - Pages: reorder by dragging thumbnails, rotate, delete, insert pages from a second PDF and merge two files. - Save with `@cantoo/pdf-lib`: embed Noto Sans so any Unicode text works, draw whiteout as a filled rectangle, and write a new file named `<name>-edited.pdf`; the original is never overwritten. Warn that whiteout hides text but leaves it in the file unless "Flatten to image" is ticked, which rasterises each page at 150 DPI. - Autosave the work in progress to IndexedDB so a reload loses nothing. - No accounts, no telemetry, local-first: after the page loads there are no network requests, and fonts and the pdf.js worker are bundled. - Out of scope: editing existing text in place, signature requests to other people, audit trails, OCR and cloud storage connectors. - README: setup, the whiteout limitation, and a plain note that a drawn image signature is a simple electronic signature, not a certificate-based one.
Opens your agent with the prompt filled in, you press enter. Or copy it and paste it into an empty folder.
Then keep going
Next prompts, same folder.
The first prompt builds the core. Run these one at a time in the same folder to grow it into your own DocHub.
Add batch form filling to the PDF editor in this folder. Requirements: - A screen where I load a fillable PDF and a CSV; map each CSV column to an AcroForm field and preview the first row. - Generate one filled PDF per row with `@cantoo/pdf-lib`, optionally flattened, named from a column I choose, and download them all as a ZIP built in the browser (`fflate`). - Show rows that failed (a missing value for a required field) before generating anything. - Nothing is uploaded; update the README.
Add OCR to the PDF editor in this folder. Requirements: - A button that runs `tesseract.js` in a web worker on the pages I pick, with a language selector (English plus one more), and shows progress per page. - Write the recognised text into an invisible layer using `@cantoo/pdf-lib` so the saved PDF is searchable; keep the original page image untouched. - Add a search box that highlights matches on the page. - Bundle the language data locally so no network request is needed; update the README.
Add a one-signer request flow to the PDF editor in this folder. Requirements: - A small Node.js 22 server (Fastify) that stores the prepared PDF and a signer's field positions in SQLite, and creates a random 32-byte link token stored hashed, expiring in 14 days. - The signer page shows the PDF, takes a drawn or typed signature, and returns the signed PDF to me by email through SMTP settings in .env. - Record the time, IP address and a SHA-256 of the file in an audit page appended to the PDF. - Say in the README that this is a simple electronic signature and what that means legally; update the README.
What you lose
- Editing existing text in place, with its AI-assisted rewrite and visual edit
- Sending sign requests to other people, with reminders and an audit trail
- Bulk send, in-person signing and sending by fax
- Google Drive, Gmail, Dropbox, OneDrive and Classroom connections
- Certified documents, a SOC 2 Type II attestation, team workspaces and the mobile apps
Why people still pay
People arrive when a form must be filled or signed today, in a browser, with nothing to install, and stay because DocHub sits inside Google Drive and Gmail. The free plan runs out after three uses a month, so anyone who edits and signs regularly lands on the paid plan.
DocHub or your own copy?
Seats
Over
Your usage
3h ×$/h
DocHub, 1 yr$144
Your own copy, 1 yr$5running + build session
You keep$139pays for itself in the first month
Estimate · Runs in your browser, or on any free static host. The build is token usage on your agent plan.
Take your data, then cancel.
1 · Take your data out of DocHub
- 1One document: open it and click the download/export icon in the upper right, or right-click it on the Dashboard and choose Download/Export. Pick your computer, Google Drive, Classroom, Gmail, Dropbox or OneDrive.
- 2Word: choose the DOCX option in the Download or export window; PDF options there include flatten, certify, password protect and compress.
- 3Many documents: select them on the Dashboard and choose Actions, then Download, to get a ZIP.
- 4Form data: the help center lists an article for exporting field values to a CSV spreadsheet.
2 · Cancel DocHub
- 1Individuals: go to dochub.com/settings/billing/plans and downgrade to the free version, or open your billing settings and click Change Plan.
- 2Organizations: open DocHub, your organization, then Settings, Billing, Change Plan.
- 3Your account keeps paid status for the period you already paid for, or the rest of a trial; you can click restore subscription before it ends.
- 4To remove everything, go to Settings, Account and click Delete my account. That deletes your documents from DocHub's servers.
- Deleting the account doesn't say it cancels a paid plan, so downgrade first.
- Revoke DocHub's access at myaccount.google.com/u/0/permissions and remove the Chrome extension separately; deleting the account leaves both in place.
- The help center's billing articles don't cover refunds. Email support@dochub.com and keep the date you cancelled.
- Download your signed documents and their completion records before you leave; the export steps cover documents, not your sent-request history.
The escape hatch
Don't feel like building it? These are already free.
Stirling-PDFOpen sourceSelf-hosted PDF app with page tools, annotation, signing and conversion in the browser. MIT licence with some proprietary parts.★ 95k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗DocumensoOpen sourceAGPL-3.0 e-signature app: send a document to signers and keep a signing record. The closest match to DocHub's sign-request half.★ 15k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗OpenSignOpen sourceAGPL-3.0 document signing with templates and a hosted option; some folders carry a separate licence.★ 7.1k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗
WebVisit ↗DocumensoOpen sourceAGPL-3.0 e-signature app: send a document to signers and keep a signing record. The closest match to DocHub's sign-request half.★ 15k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗OpenSignOpen sourceAGPL-3.0 document signing with templates and a hosted option; some folders carry a separate licence.★ 7.1k · active Oct 2026 · docker to self-host
WebVisit ↗
The numbers
DocHub pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual, per month | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/user | $0/user | 3 shared uses a month of the core tools; add text, draw, stamp, merge, rotate, reorder and delete pages; 3 folders; AI assistant; iOS and Android apps. |
| Basic | $8/user | $6/user | Unlimited PDF downloads, self-sign and templates, unlimited folders, whiteout, highlight, advanced fillable fields and attachments; 2 organizations and 5 team members. Editing existing text, sign requests and envelopes stay at 3 shared uses a month. |
| Pro | $12/user | $9/user | Unlimited PDF editing and sign requests, envelopes, bulk send, in-person signing, public documents, shared folders, enhanced search, password protection, certified documents and SSO for 5 domains, plus priority support. |
| Site License | custom | — | Everything in Pro plus unlimited users, volume discounts, rooms, HIPAA with a BAA, and early access to new features. |
- Free tier
- 3 uses a month shared across the core tools and 3 folders; teams, whiteout and highlight need a paid plan.
- Billing
- Monthly or yearly (yearly saves 25%). Pro starts with a 30-day trial that falls back to Free if you cancel. Every organization member who needs Pro features needs a paid licence. Invoiced billing gives 30 days to pay by wire, card or check. The pricing page shows a 180-day money-back badge, while DocHub's comparison pages mention a 14-day full refund and the help center's cancel article is silent on refunds: ask support before relying on either.
- Hidden costs
- Basic still caps editing existing text, sign requests and envelopes at 3 uses a month, so regular editing and signing means Pro. The prices were read in US dollars in one fetch and as EUR 8 and EUR 12 in another, so check the currency at checkout.
- Source
- dochub.com
Also on the list
Related apps
Free allows 3 uses a month shared across the core tools (editing existing text, self-sign, sign requests, templates, envelopes, share links), plus basic PDF tools, the AI assistant and the mobile apps.
Yes. An AI coding agent such as Claude Code, Codex or Cursor can build a usable personal version in one session with the prompt on this page, running on your own machine.
About $12 a month on the Pro plan per seat, $144 a year (checked 2026-10-19).
Editing existing text in place, with its AI-assisted rewrite and visual edit; Sending sign requests to other people, with reminders and an audit trail; Bulk send, in-person signing and sending by fax; Google Drive, Gmail, Dropbox, OneDrive and Classroom connections; Certified documents, a SOC 2 Type II attestation, team workspaces and the mobile apps. If any of those matter to you, keep paying.
Yes: Stirling-PDF (open source), Documenso (open source), OpenSign (open source).