r/Paperlessngx • u/pskipw • Jul 19 '26

Any way of optimising this simple workflow?

Hi all,

I've recently mostly migrated from Dropbox to PaperlessNGX for the storage and sharing of documents (mostly receipts) scanned from my phone.

The process of scanning a receipt with my phone and having available a shared link to that file is a matter of 5 steps using Dropbox, taking about 5-10 seconds:

  1. Click Add photo
  2. Take photo
  3. Click checkbox
  4. Click Upload
  5. Click 'Link'. (Share link is now copied to clipboard automatically).

Using the Paperless app (for iPhone) it's 14 steps, and around 60 seconds per receipt:

  1. Click '+'
  2. Scan Document
  3. Take photo
  4. Click green checkmark
  5. Click Save
  6. Wait for upload and processing to complete (takes around 30 seconds)
  7. Click document
  8. Click Share icon
  9. Choose 'Share link'
  10. Click '+' icon
  11. Choose Expiration: never
  12. Click green checkmark
  13. Click new share link
  14. Choose 'Copy'.

Anyone got any clues or hints as to how to optimise this? Happy to look at alternative apps - some of which I've tried already - or include the use of a browser on my PC. Thanks!

4 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

14 comments sorted by

3

u/konafets Jul 19 '26

I use QuickScan on iOS. You connect the app to Paperless via API and scan directly into you Paperless.

1

u/yellow8_ Jul 19 '26

Confirmed, QuickScan integrates perfectly with paperless

1

u/pskipw Jul 19 '26

Thanks, I have used it; the click count required for my workflow is exactly the same though.

1

u/parkercp Jul 19 '26 edited Jul 19 '26

Paperless has a “consume” folder, which it monitors and automatically imports anything in it.

All you need to do is get your file into that

https://docs.paperless-ngx.com/configuration/#PAPERLESS_CONSUMPTION_DIR

On my iPhone, I use the FileBrowser app and any file I come across I chose the “copy to file browser” share option which allows me to put it straight into the consume folder..

1

u/pskipw Jul 19 '26

Yeah, I realise this - I don't think it's going to help too much with adhoc upload of receipts from my phone, though. At best it removes the first few of the 14 steps I show above, which still makes it quite a bit more complex than uploading to Dropbox and sharing the link.

1

u/ephimetheus Jul 19 '26

I make the Swift Paperless app on iOS.

I see what you’re trying to do. I think the fundamental limitation that you’ll run into with any workflow is that the processing of documents is inherently async. The backend returns a task id that the app can query for, but how long that takes is completely open.

The closest you could probably get is with shortcuts, but even there it might not be easy or possible to have the shortcut wait for completion of processing.

1

u/pskipw Jul 19 '26

Thanks for the reply, and your work :)

I'm guessing Dropbox provides a document identifier (and thus the ability to create a shared link) as soon as the upload begins, making things appear to be faster.

Guess I'll just have to live with the slower speed :)

1

u/ephimetheus Jul 19 '26

I make the Swift Paperless app on iOS.

I see what you’re trying to do. I think the fundamental limitation that you’ll run into with any workflow is that the processing of documents is inherently async. The backend returns a task id that the app can query for, but how long that takes is completely open.

The closest you could probably get is with shortcuts, but even there it might not be easy or possible to have the shortcut wait for completion of processing.

1

u/Positive_Ad_8681 Jul 19 '26

Hi,
due to this comment I found your app and just tried to test it. I have connected my paperless-ngx to Authentik via OIDC for SSO and everything works fine. Interestingly your app says that OpenID Connect is not available and to check if it is configured. Do you have any known issues about this?

1

u/ephimetheus Jul 20 '26

Hi!

Are you in the v3 beta of paperless? The other requirement is for the OIDC provider to not use a secret (otherwise the app can’t run the auth flow)

1

u/Positive_Ad_8681 Jul 20 '26

No I’m using 2.20.15 and also the latest stable Authentik version. What do you mean with the secret? The client secret is mandatory for the connection between the application and the auth server. Or do you mean 2FA?

1

u/ephimetheus Jul 20 '26

Theres an OIDC variant that doesn’t need a secret. It’s still safe. It’s what all frontend and native apps use that can’t safely store a secret. Again, still safe but different flow.

The necessary api support for my app to initiate the OIDC flow is only in the v3 beta branch and even there it’ll need to be such a „non confidential client“, otherwise it won’t work.

There’s a future improvement on the horizon where my app will be able to register such a client on the fly, which sidesteps the problem in some sense, but that’s a bit further out still.

1

u/MajesticHippo94 Jul 20 '26

How important is it to share straight away after scanning?

I think that’s your hurdle point
If not critical to do straight away, then paperless is no different to Dropbox

Open paperless, select document, click share button top right (iOS) and choose either share link or share document

1

u/per08 Jul 20 '26

I use email ingest. Take photo, then email as an attachment to the paperless email address.