Collate

Collate is a free native Mac app for chatting with and summarizing PDFs. Local AI keeps document processing on the device, with optional bring-your-own-key cloud models, page-level citations, highlights and export, and no account required.

Collate is a native Mac app for reading, questioning and summarizing PDFs. Its central idea is that the language model comes to the documents rather than the other way around: with Local AI selected, document inference runs on the user's own machine, so PDF content is not sent to a cloud model provider. People who handle sensitive reports, interview transcripts or research notes are the obvious audience, along with anyone who simply prefers not to upload files to a third-party service. In practice the workflow is short. A user drops in a single PDF or a whole folder, then asks questions in plain language or requests a summary of a long document to see its overall shape before reading closely. Answers are grounded in the file, and citations link back to the exact page, which makes it easier to check a claim instead of trusting a free-floating reply. Highlights and saved answers can be kept in the library and exported later, so reading, note-taking and extraction happen in one workspace instead of several scattered tools. Setup does not require a Collate account. A local model is downloaded once, after which the app works offline. For users who want a stronger hosted model, Collate supports bringing your own key (BYOK) for a cloud option, and the interface always shows which mode is active, so it is clear whether a given question stays on the device or goes to an external provider. That explicit switch is a notable design choice compared with tools that route everything through the cloud by default. The app is free, targets macOS 13.5 or later, and runs on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. A Windows version is not available yet, though a waitlist exists. Among alternatives, Collate sits between general cloud chatbots that accept PDF uploads and heavier reference managers: it focuses narrowly on document comprehension with a privacy-first default. Buyers who need cross-platform access or team collaboration may find that narrow scope limiting, while individual Mac users with confidential material will find the fit straightforward.