gs

View a PDF file

$ gs -dQUIET -dBATCH file.pdf

$ gs -dNOPAUSE -dQUIET -dBATCH -sDEVICE=pdfwrite -dPDFSETTINGS=/ebook -sOutputFile=output.pdf input.pdf

$ gs -dQUIET -dBATCH -dNOPAUSE -sDEVICE=jpeg -r150 -sOutputFile=output_%d.jpg input.pdf

$ gs -dQUIET -dBATCH -dNOPAUSE -sDEVICE=jpeg -dFirstPage=1 -dLastPage=3 -sOutputFile=page%d.jpg input.pdf

$ gs -dQUIET -dBATCH -dNOPAUSE -sDEVICE=pdfwrite -sOutputFile=merged.pdf file1.pdf file2.pdf

$ gs -dQUIET -dBATCH -dNOPAUSE -sDEVICE=pdfwrite -sOutputFile=output.pdf input.ps

$ gs -h

gs [options] [files]...

gs (Ghostscript) is an interpreter for Adobe PostScript and PDF languages. It can convert between formats, render to various output devices, and process PDF and PostScript files.
Ghostscript is widely used for PDF manipulation including merging, splitting, compressing, and converting to image formats. The -dPDFSETTINGS preset controls quality and file size: /screen (lowest), /ebook, /printer, /prepress (highest).

-sDEVICE=DEVICE

Select output device (pdfwrite, jpeg, png16m, etc.)

Specify output filename (use %d for page numbers)

Set output resolution in DPI

PDF quality preset (/screen, /ebook, /printer, /prepress)

Do not pause between pages

Exit after processing files

Suppress normal output messages

Restrict file operations (default)

Start from page N

Process through page N

Set paper size (a4, letter, legal, etc.)

Add library search paths

Display help and available devices

The available devices depend on your Ghostscript installation. Use gs -h to see installed devices. PDFSETTINGS presets affect quality and file size significantly.

Ghostscript has been developed since 1986, providing free PostScript and PDF interpretation. It is widely used for PDF manipulation on Linux systems.

ps2pdf(1), pdf2ps(1), pdftops(1)