PDF markup · Takeoff · Schedules · Built for construction

Mark up, measure and bid from the plans. AI and workflow that run offline.

Folio Forge is a desktop PDF editor for estimators, project managers and supers. Take off quantities, mark up sheets, build the schedule and ask questions of the specs, while your documents stay on your computer.

Join early access See pricing

Windows desktop · Android field app · 14-day free trial at launch

The Folio Forge window: one title bar row with the file commands, a tool bar grouped into navigate, edit, text markup, shapes, drafting and measure; the pages panel on the left; a marked-up PDF in the middle; the selected markup's properties on the right — The Folio Forge workspace: every tool in one grouped bar, pages on the left, the selected markup's properties on the right.

Your plans stay on your computer

Your AI and workflow run offline, with a model you choose. Your documents are not uploaded to us.

Numbers you can trace

Measurements are never rounded for storage, totals or export. Rounding is display only.

Answers with a source

Answers from your documents cite the passage they came from, and Folio asks instead of guessing.

Office and field

One licence covers your Windows PC and one Android phone or tablet running the field app.

Features

One program from the first sheet to the bid.

The tools estimators reach for, built to work together across every open sheet, spec and schedule.

01 · MEASURE & TAKE OFF

Quantities, costs and waste, straight from the sheet.

Set a scale per sheet or per viewport, then measure lengths, areas, perimeters, counts, angles, radii and slopes. Assign measurements to takeoff items with unit costs and waste, and see totals by item, page or space.

Scale areas for sheets with more than one drawing scale
Takeoff legends placed right on the sheet
Branded Excel and CSV exports of totals and markups

Measuring an area on a plan sheet in Folio Forge

Takeoff totals panel: slab on grade, 192 SF, 201.6 SF with 5% waste, $1,512.00

A wall run traced along the top and right edges of two slab areas: 28 feet long, 9 feet high, finished both sides, 462 SF net with one opening

The wall's quantities: 504 SF gross, one opening, 462 SF finished surface for drywall and paint, 29 studs and 84 feet of plates

02 · WALLS

Drywall, paint and studs in one pass.

Define wall types once, trace the run, and Folio Forge works out the drywall, paint and stud quantities for each side. Found walls are listed for review before they count.

03 · MARK UP

Markups the field already reads.

Clouds, callouts, revision deltas, stamps like Approved and As-Built, symbols, hatch fills and material patterns. Keep them in layers, give them statuses and your own columns, and lock what is final.

Save any styled tool to the Tool Chest and reuse it on every job.

Two Folio Forge stamps, Approved and Revise and Resubmit, each signed with the author's name and date

04 · SCHEDULES

A Gantt chart next to the drawings.

Activities, milestones and links like "follows 2, start to start plus 3 days". Compile phases straight from the spec sections, then export to PNG, PDF or Excel. It works as a standalone Gantt maker too.

The schedule editor: Mobilize, Framing, Drywall and a Dried in milestone with linked bars on a weekly Gantt chart

The Folio Review panel listing findings across the open documents

05 · FOLIO, THE ASSISTANT

Ask the specs. Get the paragraph, not a guess.

Ask "how long does the slab cure?" and Folio answers from the document, citing the section it came from. Search across every open tab, keep notes per project, and let Folio Review check the set for conflicts and missing scope.

Labelled by source

From this document, from your notes, or general. Never mixed.

Asks when it's missing

A missing date or value gets a question, never a made-up number.

06 · DOCUMENTS

Issue sets that are ready to send.

Headers and footers, watermarks and Bates numbers across every page or every open tab. Number and link sheets, compare revisions, fill and build forms, sign, redact and remove hidden data before it leaves the office.

Redaction removes the text, line work and image pixels under the mark, plus hidden comments and form fields.

A finished sheet with a header, a FOR REVIEW watermark and a Bates number in the footer

And the everyday PDF work

Edit text in place
Text boxes and white-out
Recognize text on scans (OCR)
Insert, move, rotate and split pages
Copy pages and markups between tabs
Find and redact
Password-protected copies
Smaller copies for email
Markups list with summary PDF
Projects across open tabs
New blank PDFs
Connect Claude or ChatGPT through an MCP bridge

Bring your own AI model.

Folio Forge doesn't ship or pick a language model for you. Add one that fits your computer, and it runs offline on your own machine. You choose the model, and its licence is between you and its maker.

One installer

Works with no AI model at all

Every tool is in one download. Search, takeoff, schedules, Folio Review's own checks and Folio's fixed answers all work before you add a model.

Add the model you want

A GGUF file that fits your computer

Download a language model from a public library such as Hugging Face and choose it in Preferences. Folio Forge never downloads one for you.

Checked before you see it

Cited to your documents

Sentences Folio shows as coming from your documents cite a passage and are checked against it. General answers are labelled, and stay off unless you turn them on.

Folio Forge doesn't make, supply or endorse any AI model. Schedule edits and AI review checks stay off until you allow them. Check AI answers before you rely on them.

FIELD APP

Take the set to the job site.

The Folio Forge Android app opens the same sheets and markups on a phone or tablet. Your licence covers one Android phone or tablet alongside your Windows PC.

See the Android app Android download details

A floor plan open in the Folio Forge Android app with an office area and a 24 foot wall run measured

OFFLINE AI AND WORKFLOW

Your bids stay yours.

Offline workflow

Documents are opened, marked up and saved on your computer, and are not uploaded to us. The program itself may connect to our servers, for example for licensing.

AI on your machine

The model you add runs locally. No API key, no per-question charge.

Encrypted notes and history

Chat history, notes and indexes are stored encrypted and can be deleted any time.

MCP bridges off by default

Use Claude or ChatGPT only if you choose, share only the tabs you tick, and review changes first. What you share goes to that provider.

Buy it once, or by the month.

US$720 one-time with updates for this release year and the next, or US$39.99 a month (US$360 a year). 14-day free trial.

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Questions

Can I open drawings from AutoCAD or Revit?

Folio Forge works on PDFs, including PDFs exported from CAD. It reads AutoCAD's text comments, but it does not open DWG or RVT files.

Should I check the quantities before I bid?

Yes. Quantities depend on the drawings and the scales you set. Always check measurements, totals and AI answers against the contract documents.

How many computers can I use it on?

One person, on one Windows PC and one Android phone or tablet. A second PC needs its own licence. Moving to a new PC? Release the old one in the app, or email us. Companies buy one licence per person.

Does the AI send my documents anywhere?

Not by default. The AI model you add runs offline on your computer. If you choose to use Claude or ChatGPT through an optional MCP bridge, only the tabs you share go to that provider, under its own terms.

Which AI model do I need?

A language model in GGUF format that llama.cpp can run and that fits your computer's memory. The user manual explains how to choose a size and lists the models Folio Forge's own tests have used, as a record, not a recommendation. Folio Forge doesn't supply or endorse any model, and every tool works without one.

When can I get it?

Folio Forge v1 is in its final stretch. Join the early-access list below and we'll email you when it's ready to download.

Be first in line for v1.

Leave your email and we will tell you when Folio Forge is ready to download. No newsletter, no sharing your address.