Where Does Stirling PDF Store Settings and Files?
Where Stirling PDF keeps settings, logs, custom files, and pipeline configs in Docker and desktop installs.
Last updated
Stirling PDF keeps its state in a small set of folders: configs for settings and the database, logs for app logs, customFiles for branding and templates, and pipeline for watched and finished folders. Docker maps these as volumes; desktop installs put them under a base path per OS.
The common mistake is persisting only /configs and wondering where logs or automation went. Mount all four from the start. OCR language files live separately at /usr/share/tessdata and can be re-downloaded, so they matter less for backups.
Where Stirling PDF stores this, by platform
%APPDATA%\Stirling-PDF\
Desktop base path; contains configs/settings.yml, logs/, pipeline/, customFiles/. Docker equivalent is mounting ./stirling-data/configs to /configs plus logs, pipeline, and customFiles volumes.
~/Library/Application Support/Stirling-PDF/
Holds configs/, logs/, pipeline/watchedFolders and finishedFolders, and customFiles/. Same layout as Windows, just under Application Support.
~/.config/Stirling-PDF/
Holds configs/settings.yml plus logs, pipeline, and customFiles subfolders. Docker users should bind-mount this style of layout to /configs, /logs, and /pipeline instead.
Frequently asked questions
Which Docker volumes must I persist for Stirling PDF?
Mount ./stirling-data/configs to /configs, plus logs to /logs and pipeline to /pipeline. Without the configs mount, users, settings, and the database vanish when the container is replaced.
Where is the main settings file?
Open configs/settings.yml in your base path. Login, language, file size limits, and automation folders are all plain YAML there. Restart the app or container after editing.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.