Import anything
Bring in PDF, DOCX, PPTX, images, and more while preserving a path to a cleaner native document model.
Format-first
The most compact AI-native document format for the web.
Lean Document Format is built for editable, semantic, portable documents. It is compact by default, native to web primitives, and far more usable by AI systems than opaque legacy files.
AI-nativeCompact by defaultImport-readyExport-friendlyMobile-ready
What the format supports
Input PDF / PPTX / DOCX
Model Semantic and editable
AI Generation and transform
Export Portable outputs
Why legacy files break down
Why now
PDF won distribution. It never won editing.
The web still treats documents like frozen screenshots. That breaks collaboration, search, accessibility, AI workflows, and precise editing. LDF exists because the underlying format has to become usable again.
“A document format should be compact, editable, semantic, portable, and understandable by both people and machines.”
That is the bar LDF is trying to clear. Not a better viewer. A better file.
Capabilities
What LDF unlocks for products and teams.
The pitch is simple: keep documents editable, structured, and portable while staying practical about the formats the world already uses.
Edit with precision
LDF is made for real editing, not screenshots in a viewer. Structure, layout, and assets stay available to software.
AI-native generation
The document model is structured enough for generation, rewriting, analysis, and transformation without guessing at pixels.
Present and publish
One format can move from editable draft to presentation, public page, or durable exported file without a separate universe.
Export what people already use
LDF is not a trapdoor. It is designed to move cleanly back into PDF, PPTX, DOCX, and other practical outputs.
Native to the web
Web-native documents are naturally mobile-ready, collaborative, accessible, and much easier to evolve over time.
Format advantage
Why the format itself matters.
A better editor is not enough. If the underlying format stays bulky, opaque, and page-bound, every product built on top of it inherits that ceiling.
Compact by design
LDF is built to be the most compact document format we know how to make without giving up readability.
Structured and semantic
Documents stay machine-readable, accessible, and easy to diff because they are built on web primitives.
Version-control native
Teams can inspect, review, branch, sign, and ship documents with the same discipline they use for code.
Secure and portable
Content-addressed assets, signing, and deterministic packaging make trust easier to reason about.
AI-friendly surface area
When the document is structured instead of opaque, AI can generate, edit, summarize, and transform it far more reliably.
Built for modern document software
LDF is designed around the actual needs of modern editing, automation, accessibility, and export pipelines.
Built in public
Open repo. Clear thesis. Zero hand-waving.
The format site and spec live in public on GitHub . This is a working thesis for how modern documents should behave.
- A format-first story, not a viewer-first story
- An open GitHub repo for the format and the site
- A clear bridge from existing office files into web-native documents
- A foundation for precise editing, collaboration, AI workflows, and export