What the VERT File Converter README Says
This is a reading of the repository and the live site, not a second product and not a branded landing page.
Read on 2026-10-29 from the pages named in Sources. We did not upload a test file, time a conversion, or audit a deletion job.
The repository, in the words on the README
The README describes VERT as a file conversion utility that uses WebAssembly to convert files on your device instead of a cloud, and points at the live instance vert.sh. It says the interface is Svelte and TypeScript. The feature list says conversion on device, no file or file-size limits, images, audio, documents, and video, over 250 formats, conversion settings, and a Svelte interface.
The asterisk on video is the sentence that matters. The README says local in-browser video is supported, and that some conversion may require server-side processing. It says server video conversion is available on the official instance, and that the daemon is self-hostable. The license line says AGPL-3.0.
What GitHub's API returned the same day
GitHub's API, read on 2026-10-29, reports the VERT repository was created on 2024-11-11 and last pushed on 2026-10-20. The license field is AGPL-3.0. The vertd repository's license field is GPL-3.0, and that API response shows a push on 2026-10-19. We are not publishing a star count.
The vert.sh response header last-modified was 2026-10-20, the same calendar day as that VERT push. The homepage sentence in the HTML is stronger than the README asterisk: it says all file processing is done on your device, with no file-size limit and no ads, and that the project is open source.
Which sentence to trust for video
Use the more specific pages for video. The FAQ says non-video files stay on device and video is uploaded. The about page names an RTX 4000 Ada server and an hour of retention. The privacy page, last updated 2026-10-06, says videos if required are the exception, and that a longer keep needs explicit permission. The homepage slogan does not cancel those sentences.
The directory row is VERT. How the sentences affect a choice is how to choose an online file converter and upload or on-device. Running the daemon is self-host a file converter. The family split is the format matrix. Notes are indexed on the Front blog index.
What this reading leaves out
- We did not clone the logo, the layout, or the domain.
- We did not treat donation amounts on the about page as a software price.
- We did not decide whether the homepage slogan is a bug. It is a conflicting sentence, dated to the day we read it.
Keep reading on Front
Every post, newest first, is on the Front blog index.
- How to choose an online file converter: where the file goes, before which logo you pick.
- Upload or on-device: what VERT, CloudConvert, and Convertio say about the bytes.
- Self-host a file converter: the video daemon on a machine you administer.
- Format matrix by family: image, audio, document, and video, by the library named.
FAQ
Is VERT open source?
The README says AGPL-3.0, and the GitHub API license field on 2026-10-29 was AGPL-3.0. The video daemon vertd is a separate repository whose API license field was GPL-3.0.
Is VERT fully local?
The homepage says yes. The README, FAQ, about page, and privacy page say non-video is local and some video is not. Quote the page you mean.
When was the repository created?
The GitHub API listed 2024-11-11 for creation and a push on 2026-10-20. The vertd API listed a push on 2026-10-19. Those are API fields, not a release announcement we rewrote.