I built a 15-tool PDF suite running 100% on-chain with React and Motoko

Hey everyone,

Most web-based PDF tools upload your private files to a random backend server just to merge a couple of pages or add a signature. I wanted to see what it would look like to build an all-in-one PDF utility suite that runs completely serverless on the Internet Computer Protocol (ICP).

After a lot of trial and error configuring the UI and backend logic, I finally wrapped up VaultyPDF.

What it actually does

Instead of building just a basic file converter, I packed 15+ everyday document utilities into a single dark-mode dashboard:

• Core file handling: Merging, splitting, compressing, and page cropping.
• Security & privacy: Permanent document redaction and on-chain e-signatures.
• Tracking: Decentralized user metadata and file state tracking handled directly through Motoko canisters (main.mo).

The tech stack

• Frontend: React with a clean, dark-mode SaaS dashboard layout.
• Backend: Motoko canisters running on ICP for serverless execution without traditional cloud databases.

Turning it into a boilerplate

Setting up the frontend routing, dark-mode components, and Motoko canister connections from scratch took way longer than I expected. Since a lot of solo devs and indie hackers want to build micro-SaaS apps on ICP without spending weeks on boilerplate layout code, I cleaned up the repo and packaged it as a starter template.

If you are building on ICP or just want to save yourself 100+ hours of frontend and canister setup, you can check out the full source code bundle here:

👉 Grab the VaultyPDF React + Motoko Boilerplate on Gumroad

Would love to hear what you guys think about running heavy document workflows on-chain, or if anyone else here is building SaaS tools with Motoko!