About Nearlimit

Nearlimit makes a file small enough, or compatible enough, for the place it is going. Each page handles one job for one destination: a video for Discord, a PDF for a job portal, a deck for email, a photo for a passport renewal. There is no account and nothing to install.

How it works

Every tool runs in your browser. Video is re-encoded with the WebCodecs encoder built into current browsers, through the open-source Mediabunny library. Images are redrawn and re-encoded on a canvas. PDFs are rewritten with pdf-lib and, when you allow it, redrawn with Mozilla's pdf.js. PowerPoint and EPUB files are unzipped, their pictures recompressed, and zipped again. None of it touches our servers.

Because the work happens on your device, the limits are your device's limits. Each page says what fails where, particularly on iPhone, where Safari restricts memory and some codecs.

Where the numbers come from

Where a service publishes a limit, the page uses that figure and names the source: Discord's help centre for Discord's caps, the US Department of State for passport photos, Microsoft for Outlook, Google for Gmail, Instagram's help centre for video length. Where there is no single standard, as with MLS photo rules, the page says so and gives real examples. If you find a limit that has changed, tell us and we will update the page.

Who runs this

Nearlimit is built and operated by Edgewater Media LLC, an independent publisher of free web tools, reachable at hello@edgewater-media.com. It is not affiliated with Discord, Meta, Google, Microsoft, Apple, Instructure or any MLS. It is supported by advertising, which keeps it free.

See the contact page to report a problem or suggest a destination we should cover.