Generate PDF

Generate a PDF document from an HTML template with optional CSS styling, dynamic data injection, and custom headers and footers.

Endpoint

POST https://api.docreate.io/api/pdf/external

Headers

Request Body

The request body must be a JSON object with the following fields:

Response

On success, the API returns the generated PDF as a binary stream.

On failure, the API returns a JSON error object. See Error Handling for details.

Examples

Basic PDF Generation

A minimal request to generate a simple PDF document:

curl -X POST https://api.docreate.io/api/pdf/external \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "html": "<h1>Invoice #1042</h1><p>Thank you for your purchase.</p>"
  }' \
  --output invoice.pdf

With CSS Styling

Generate a styled PDF with custom fonts, colors, and layout:

curl -X POST https://api.docreate.io/api/pdf/external \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "html": "<div class=\"invoice\"><h1>Invoice #1042</h1><table><tr><th>Item</th><th>Amount</th></tr><tr><td>Design Services</td><td>$2,500.00</td></tr></table></div>",
    "css": "body { font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; padding: 40px; } .invoice { max-width: 800px; margin: 0 auto; } h1 { color: #1a1a1a; border-bottom: 2px solid #e5e5e5; padding-bottom: 10px; } table { width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; margin-top: 20px; } th, td { padding: 12px; text-align: left; border-bottom: 1px solid #e5e5e5; } th { background-color: #f9f9f9; font-weight: 600; }"
  }' \
  --output styled-invoice.pdf

With Dynamic Data

Use template variables to inject dynamic data into your HTML template:

curl -X POST https://api.docreate.io/api/pdf/external \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "html": "<h1>Invoice #{{invoiceNumber}}</h1><p>Bill to: {{customerName}}</p><p>Amount: {{amount}}</p><p>Due date: {{dueDate}}</p>",
    "css": "body { font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; padding: 40px; }",
    "data": {
      "invoiceNumber": "1042",
      "customerName": "Acme Corp",
      "amount": "$2,500.00",
      "dueDate": "2026-03-15"
    }
  }' \
  --output dynamic-invoice.pdf

With Header and Footer

Add repeating headers and footers across all pages, including page numbers:

curl -X POST https://api.docreate.io/api/pdf/external \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "html": "<h1>Annual Report 2026</h1><p>Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit...</p>",
    "css": "body { font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; padding: 40px; }",
    "headerHtml": "<div style=\"font-size: 10px; color: #999; text-align: center; width: 100%; padding: 10px 0;\">Acme Corp — Confidential</div>",
    "footerHtml": "<div style=\"font-size: 10px; color: #999; text-align: center; width: 100%; padding: 10px 0;\">Page <span class=\"pageNumber\"></span> of <span class=\"totalPages\"></span></div>"
  }' \
  --output report.pdf

JavaScript (Node.js)

const response = await fetch('https://api.docreate.io/api/pdf/external', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    html: '<h1>Invoice #{{invoiceNumber}}</h1><p>Amount: {{amount}}</p>',
    css: 'body { font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; padding: 40px; }',
    data: {
      invoiceNumber: '1042',
      amount: '$2,500.00',
    },
  }),
});

if (!response.ok) {
  const error = await response.json();
  throw new Error(`PDF generation failed: ${error.error}`);
}

const pdfBuffer = Buffer.from(await response.arrayBuffer());

// Save to file
const fs = await import('fs/promises');
await fs.writeFile('invoice.pdf', pdfBuffer);

Python

import requests

response = requests.post(
    'https://api.docreate.io/api/pdf/external',
    headers={
        'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    },
    json={
        'html': '<h1>Invoice #{{invoiceNumber}}</h1><p>Amount: {{amount}}</p>',
        'css': 'body { font-family: Helvetica, sans-serif; padding: 40px; }',
        'data': {
            'invoiceNumber': '1042',
            'amount': '$2,500.00',
        },
    },
)

if response.status_code == 200:
    with open('invoice.pdf', 'wb') as f:
        f.write(response.content)
else:
    print(f"Error: {response.json()}")

Notes

• The maximum request body size is 5 MB. For larger documents, consider splitting them into multiple requests.
• HTML rendering supports standard HTML5 and CSS3 properties. JavaScript embedded in HTML is not executed.
• External resources (images, fonts) referenced via URLs in your HTML must be publicly accessible.
• The generated PDF uses A4 page size by default.