Generate PDF
What It Does
Generates a PDF document from either raw HTML content or a public URL using a headless Chromium browser. The API renders the page and returns the result as a downloadable URL, base64 string, or raw PDF file.
When to Use
- Convert an HTML template (invoice, report, certificate) into a PDF
- Take a PDF snapshot of a live webpage
- Generate PDFs with dynamic data via placeholder substitution
- Create PDFs with custom fonts, margins, and page sizes
Required Inputs
You must provide one of:
html_content— raw HTML string to renderurl— a public URL to convert
Authentication
Send your API key in the CLIENT-API-KEY header.
Get your free API key at https://pdfapihub.com. Full API documentation is available at https://pdfapihub.com/docs.
Use Cases
- Invoice Generation — Generate branded PDF invoices from HTML templates with dynamic customer data
- Report Export — Convert dashboard or analytics HTML pages into downloadable PDF reports
- Certificate Creation — Produce personalized certificates or diplomas with dynamic name/date substitution
- Contract Generation — Create contracts from templates with client-specific details filled in
- Resume/CV Export — Convert styled HTML resumes to PDF for download
- Receipt Generation — Auto-generate PDF receipts for e-commerce transactions
- Webpage Archival — Save a snapshot of any public webpage as a PDF for records
Key Options
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
output_format | url (default), base64, file/pdf/binary |
paper_size | A4, A3, A5, Letter, Legal, Tabloid |
landscape | true for landscape orientation |
margin | Object with top, right, bottom, left (e.g. "10mm") |
font | Google Font names, pipe-separated |
dynamic_params | Key-value object for {{placeholder}} replacement |
wait_till | Seconds to wait before rendering (for JS-heavy pages) |
Example Usage
curl -X POST https://pdfapihub.com/api/v1/generatePdf \
-H "CLIENT-API-KEY: your_api_key" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"html_content": "<html><body><h1>Invoice #{{invoice_id}}</h1><p>Total: {{total}}</p></body></html>",
"css_content": "body { font-family: Arial; }",
"dynamic_params": { "invoice_id": "INV-001", "total": "$1,249.00" },
"paper_size": "A4",
"output_format": "url"
}'
Notes
- Boolean fields accept string values:
"true","1","yes","on" - Files are automatically deleted after 30 days
- Page count limits are tier-dependent