PDF Meta Viewer

A focused, cross-platform desktop utility for inspecting PDF metadata and exporting it as clean JSON.

PDF Meta Viewer keeps document processing local. Open or drop a PDF, search its metadata, preview extracted text, and export a structured metadata file without uploading the document anywhere.

Highlights

• Automatic background analysis — the interface stays responsive while a PDF is parsed
• Searchable, sortable metadata table with multi-row copy
• Extracted text preview with a safe two-million-character display limit
• Drag and drop, macOS-native file dialogs, overwrite protection, and sensible export names
• Light and dark appearance with the preference remembered between launches
• Keyboard shortcuts and accessible component descriptions
• Friendly validation and error messages with structured diagnostic logging
• Atomic, pretty-printed JSON exports

Requirements

• Java 17 or newer
• Maven 3.9 or newer (for building from source)

Run from source

mvn clean package
java -jar target/pdf-meta-viewer.jar

The first command runs the full test suite and creates a self-contained executable JAR. Pass a PDF path after the JAR name to open it immediately.

Native packages

The release scripts build self-contained applications with a bundled Java runtime:

# Run on macOS
./scripts/build-macos.sh app

# Run on Windows; requires WiX Toolset 3.x
.\scripts\build-windows.ps1 -Target exe

Mac App Store .pkg and Microsoft Store .msix/.msixupload modes are also included. Native packages must be built on their target operating system. See RELEASING.md for signing assets, Partner Center/App Store Connect identity values, exact commands, validation, and submission steps.

Use the app

1. Select Open PDF, press Ctrl/Command + O, or drop one PDF onto the window.
2. Search and sort the metadata, or switch to Text preview.
3. Select one or more rows and choose Copy selected when you need values on the clipboard.
4. Choose Export JSON or press Ctrl/Command + E to save the current metadata.

Ctrl/Command + F focuses metadata search. Escape clears the current search.

An export has a stable, explicit shape:

{
  "source": "example.pdf",
  "metadata": {
    "Content-Type": "application/pdf",
    "dc:title": "Example"
  }
}

Command-line use

The packaged app opens the graphical interface. For scripting, build the project and run the CLI entry point with the shaded JAR on the classpath:

java -cp target/pdf-meta-viewer.jar program.Main <input.pdf> [output.json]

With no output path it prints tab-separated metadata. With an output path it writes the same structured JSON produced by the app.

Development

mvn test
mvn test -Dgroups=smoke
mvn clean verify

Architecture

MetaViewerForm
  ├─ PDFExtractor          validates and parses a PDF with Apache Tika
  ├─ DocumentRecord        immutable extraction result
  ├─ MetadataTableModel    searchable table presentation
  └─ DocumentRepository   atomically writes structured JSON

The UI is built with standard Swing and FlatLaf. PDF parsing uses Apache Tika's dedicated PDF module; JSON serialization uses Jackson.

Release

See RELEASING.md for owner, packaging, signing, validation, and Store submission steps.