Sygal is a desktop and CLI tool that converts PDFs, Office files, images, scans, web pages and even YouTube links into clean Markdown and structured JSON entirely on your machine. It supports about 29 formats (PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, HTML, email, EPUB, images, etc.), offers native preview and in-place editing before export, batch conversion, a persistent local library with full-text search, and shows token counts per document. OCR is optional and runs through whatever provider you choose (OpenAI, Mistral, Claude, NVIDIA or a custom key), so OCR network calls use your API credentials while the core conversion remains local. The conversion engine standardizes disparate inputs into predictable Markdown/JSON, speeds conversions (advertised ~1.7s per file), and reduces token load on downstream LLMs - especially for visual and web content - by an estimated 2-7x.
The tool targets developers building RAG/vector workflows, professionals handling sensitive documents (legal, healthcare, HR), and everyday users who want a searchable local document library. It ships as a GUI app for macOS/Windows and a CLI (npm sygal-cli) for pipelines, and emphasizes privacy: converted files, library contents and keys stay local, with only optional OCR images or imported URLs reaching external services. Pricing is a one-time purchase (launch offer €25 for two seats), a 14‑day free trial, and no subscription or account required. The maker, Cyrill Semah, built it to avoid cloud uploads, subscriptions, and messy raw exports.
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