Introducing Zealdrop — drag, tap, done

· Zealdrop, Product, Desktop

Every week I convert something. A screenshot that needs to be a JPG. A screen recording that's too big for WhatsApp. A PDF that needs one page removed, or a scan that needs its text pulled out. And every time, the options are the same: upload it to a random website, or open a heavy app for a ten-second job.

So I'm building Zealdrop — and it's launching soon for macOS and Windows.

The idea in one gesture

Start dragging any file. Tap a modifier key. A radial wheel opens right under your pointer, with the conversions that make sense for that file. Drop it on a petal and you're done — the result appears next to the original.

  • One key for conversions (PNG → JPG, MOV → MP4, DOCX → PDF…)
  • One key for tools (compress, resize, trim, redact, OCR…)
  • One key for file actions

The keys are remappable, and there's also a right-click menu, a tray drop zone and a command-line tool for people who live in the terminal.

100% offline — and provably so

This is the part I care about most. Zealdrop has no network code at all. Not "we don't look at your files" — the app simply can't send them anywhere. That's enforced in the code, checked automatically on every build, and there's an "Offline Proof" screen in the app so you can see it for yourself.

Contracts, ID cards, client files, family videos: they never leave your machine.

Never touches your originals

Outputs are saved beside the original with a new name. Changed your mind? Undo moves the new file to the Trash or Recycle Bin. Your original is never modified.

What's in version 1.0

  • 475 conversion routes, 46 tools and 8 file actions
  • A main window with a batch queue, history and undo
  • Recipes — chain steps like "resize → compress → rename" into one drop
  • Watch folders that process new files automatically
  • OCR, including Hindi
  • Target-size video compression — "make this under 16 MB" and it figures out the rest
  • Universal macOS build (Apple silicon and Intel) and Windows x64 and ARM64
  • One licence key for both Mac and Windows

How it's built

Zealdrop is a native desktop app built with Tauri and Rust, with an LGPL build of FFmpeg doing the heavy lifting for audio and video. That combination keeps the app small and fast, and it means I can ship the same product on both platforms without compromise.

Coming soon

I'll share more as launch gets closer — the Zealdrop case study has the first screenshots, and the rest is coming: the full list of formats and pricing. If you'd like to know the moment it's out, drop me a message and I'll let you know.

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