quickconvo

The challenge

QuickConvo is a free file-conversion tool. You upload a document, it converts it (for example Word to PDF) and gives it back, with no account and no installs. The web app is a clean Next.js interface, and the actual conversion runs in a separate, containerized API.

Converting a document usually means installing software, trusting an ad-heavy website, or hitting a paywall. The goal was a fast, free, no-signup tool that converts documents straight from the browser, backed by a real engine, while keeping the web app cleanly isolated from the messy parts of file processing.

The approach

• Full-stack, split by responsibility: a Next.js and React front end for the upload-and-download flow, and a separate Express.js API that does the heavy conversion.
• A real conversion engine: the API uses LibreOffice (through LibreOffice-convert) to convert documents, running inside a Docker container so the runtime is reproducible.
• Robust file handling: multipart uploads with Multer and automatic cleanup of temporary files after each download.
• A documented, reusable API: an OpenAPI/Swagger spec for the conversion endpoint, with CORS so it can be consumed from the web app or elsewhere.
• Deployed as two independent pieces: the web app on Vercel and the converter as its own service.

Tech stack

• React
• Tailwind CSS
• Express.js
• MongoDB
• Multer
• LibreOffice-convert
• Docker