Complete guide to integrating our HTML to PDF conversion API into your applications.
🎉 New users get 50 free credits every month - no credit card required!
https://pdflayer.pro/apiTest the API immediately with this simple curl command:
curl -X POST https://pdflayer.pro/api/convert-auth \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
-d '{"source": "<h1>Hello World!</h1>"}' \
--output test.pdfAll API requests require authentication using your API key in the request header.
X-API-Key: pk_your_api_key_here⚠️ Security Warning: Never expose your API key in client-side code. Always make requests from your server backend.
We highly recommend using sandbox mode during development. When enabled, sandbox mode adds a watermark to your generated PDF but doesn't consume your credits, allowing unlimited testing.
💡 Pro Tip: Always use sandbox=true during development and testing. Only disable it for final production conversions.
{
"source": "<h1>Test Document</h1>",
"sandbox": true,
"options": {
"format": "A4"
}
}Manage multiple API keys for different applications or environments. Each account can have up to 10 API keys.
Create new API keys through your dashboard or via API:
curl -X POST https://pdflayer.pro/api/users/api-keys -H "x-api-key: your_primary_key" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{
"name": "Production App",
"description": "API key for production environment"
}'All API keys work interchangeably for PDF conversion. Credits are shared across your account.
curl -X POST https://pdflayer.pro/api/convert-auth -H "x-api-key: your_api_key_here" -H "Content-Type: application/json" -d '{
"source": "<html><body><h1>Hello World</h1></body></html>",
"options": { "format": "A4" }
}'💡 Tip: Use different API keys for development, staging, and production environments to track usage patterns.
Access password-protected URLs using HTTP Basic Authentication.
{
"url": "https://myapp.com/protected-area",
"options": {
"auth": {
"username": "admin",
"password": "secret123"
}
}
}🔒 Security: Basic auth credentials are transmitted securely and not stored. Use HTTPS URLs when possible.
Our API returns detailed information about your PDF conversion in response headers.
| Header | Description |
|---|---|
| X-Credits-Remaining | Credits left in your account |
| X-Credits-Used | Credits consumed by this conversion |
| X-File-Size | Size of generated PDF in bytes |
| X-Process-Time | Processing time in milliseconds |
| X-Sandbox-Mode | Whether sandbox mode was used |
| X-PDFLayer-Processor | PDF rendering engine used |
| X-Request-Id | Unique request identifier for support |
X-Credits-Remaining: 1234 X-Credits-Used: 1 X-File-Size: 52347 X-Process-Time: 1250 X-Sandbox-Mode: false X-PDFLayer-Processor: chromium X-Request-Id: req_1642684800_abc123
Convert HTML strings directly to PDF with full CSS support and custom styling options.
{
"source": "<html><body><h1>Your Content</h1></body></html>",
"options": {
"format": "A4",
"landscape": false
}
}{
"source": "<!DOCTYPE html><html><head><style>body{font-family:Arial}</style></head><body><h1>Report</h1><p>Content here</p></body></html>",
"options": {
"format": "A4",
"margin": {
"top": "2cm",
"bottom": "2cm",
"left": "1.5cm",
"right": "1.5cm"
},
"printBackground": true,
"css": "h1 { color: #00ff88; }",
"header": {
"source": "<div style='text-align: center; font-size: 12px;'>{{title}} - Page {{page}}</div>",
"height": "1cm"
},
"footer": {
"source": "<div style='text-align: center; font-size: 10px;'>Generated on {{date}}</div>",
"height": "1cm"
}
}
}Convert any web page to PDF by providing a URL. Perfect for generating reports from dashboards, invoices from web apps, or archiving web content.
{
"url": "https://myapp.com",
"options": {
"format": "A4",
"delay": 2000
}
}{
"url": "https://app.myapp.com/dashboard",
"options": {
"format": "A4",
"auth": {
"username": "your_username",
"password": "your_password"
},
"cookies": [
{
"name": "session_token",
"value": "abc123xyz",
"domain": "app.myapp.com"
}
],
"http_headers": {
"Authorization": "Bearer your_token",
"User-Agent": "PDFForge-Bot/1.0"
},
"delay": 3000,
"wait_for": "dataLoaded"
}
}| format | A4, A3, Letter, Legal, Tabloid |
| landscape | true/false - Page orientation |
| scale | 0.1-2.0 - Page zoom level |
| pages | "1-3,5" - Select specific pages |
| delay | Milliseconds to wait before capture |
| timeout | Max seconds to load page |
| wait_for | JS function name to wait for |
{
"source": "<h1>Styled Document</h1>",
"options": {
"css": "h1 { color: #00ff88; font-size: 48px; }",
"javascript": "document.title = 'Generated PDF';",
"disable_javascript": false,
"disable_backgrounds": false,
"lazy_load_images": true
}
}Protect your generated PDFs with passwords and usage restrictions.
{
"source": "<h1>Confidential Report</h1>",
"options": {
"protection": {
"user_password": "user123", // Password to open PDF
"owner_password": "admin456", // Password for editing
"no_print": true, // Disable printing
"no_modify": true, // Disable modifications
"no_copy": true // Disable copying text
}
}
}💡 Tip: PDF protection is not foolproof but adds a reasonable barrier for casual users. For highly sensitive documents, consider additional server-side restrictions.
PDFForge is HIPAA compliant and suitable for processing Protected Health Information (PHI). Enable HIPAA mode for healthcare applications.
{
"source": "<h1>Patient Report</h1><p>Sensitive medical data...</p>",
"options": {
"hipaa_compliant": true,
"format": "A4",
"protection": {
"user_password": "secure_password",
"no_print": true,
"no_copy": true
},
"watermark": {
"text": "CONFIDENTIAL - PHI",
"opacity": 0.3
}
}
}🔒 HIPAA Mode: Automatically enforces security requirements including HTTPS-only webhooks, encrypted storage, and disabled external script execution.
Add text or image watermarks to your PDFs for branding or marking document status.
{
"source": "<h1>Document</h1>",
"options": {
"watermark": {
"text": "CONFIDENTIAL",
"opacity": 0.3,
"position": "center",
"rotation": 45,
"font_size": 72,
"color": "#ff0000"
}
}
}{
"source": "<h1>Document</h1>",
"options": {
"watermark": {
"image": "https://myapp.com/logo.png",
"opacity": 0.2,
"position": "top-right",
"scale": 0.5
}
}
}For large documents or batch processing, use webhooks to receive notifications when your PDF is ready for download.
{
"source": "<h1>Large Document</h1>",
"options": {
"webhook": "https://myapp.com/webhooks/pdf-ready",
"format": "A4"
}
}{
"success": true,
"message": "PDF generation queued",
"webhook": "https://myapp.com/webhooks/pdf-ready",
"credits_remaining": 245
}When PDF is ready, we'll POST to your webhook URL:
{
"status": "success",
"pdf_url": "https://pdflayer.pro/storage/generated.pdf",
"original_request": { ... },
"processing_time": 1247,
"file_size": 2048576
}Check your current credit balance and view transaction history.
curl https://pdflayer.pro/api/users/credits \ -H "X-API-Key: pk_your_api_key"
{
"credits": 245,
"history": [
{
"id": "crd_abc123",
"amount": -1,
"type": "usage",
"description": "PDF conversion",
"createdAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"
},
{
"id": "crd_def456",
"amount": 500,
"type": "purchase",
"description": "Purchased 500 credits",
"createdAt": "2024-01-14T15:20:00Z"
}
]
}Our API uses conventional HTTP response codes to indicate success or failure.
PDF generated successfully
PDF generation queued (webhook mode)
Invalid parameters or missing required fields
Invalid or missing API key
Not enough credits to complete conversion
Too many requests - try again later
const axios = require('axios');
const fs = require('fs');
async function convertToPDF() {
try {
const response = await axios.post('https://pdflayer.pro/api/convert-auth', {
source: '<h1>Hello World</h1>',
options: {
format: 'A4',
margin: { top: '1cm', bottom: '1cm' }
}
}, {
headers: {
'Content-Type': 'application/json',
'X-API-Key': 'pk_your_api_key'
},
responseType: 'arraybuffer'
});
fs.writeFileSync('output.pdf', response.data);
console.log('PDF saved successfully!');
} catch (error) {
console.error('Error:', error.response.data);
}
}import requests
def convert_to_pdf():
url = "https://pdflayer.pro/api/convert-auth"
headers = {
"Content-Type": "application/json",
"X-API-Key": "pk_your_api_key"
}
data = {
"source": "<h1>Hello World</h1>",
"options": {
"format": "A4",
"watermark": {
"text": "DRAFT",
"opacity": 0.3
}
}
}
response = requests.post(url, json=data, headers=headers)
if response.status_code == 200:
with open("output.pdf", "wb") as f:
f.write(response.content)
print("PDF saved successfully!")
else:
print(f"Error: {response.json()}")<?php
$curl = curl_init();
curl_setopt_array($curl, array(
CURLOPT_URL => 'https://pdflayer.pro/api/convert-auth',
CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
CURLOPT_POST => true,
CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => array(
'Content-Type: application/json',
'X-API-Key: pk_your_api_key'
),
CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => json_encode(array(
'source' => '<h1>Hello World</h1>',
'options' => array(
'format' => 'A4',
'header' => array(
'source' => '<div>Page {{page}}</div>',
'height' => '1cm'
)
)
))
));
$response = curl_exec($curl);
curl_close($curl);
file_put_contents('output.pdf', $response);
echo "PDF saved successfully!";
?>require 'net/http'
require 'json'
uri = URI('https://pdflayer.pro/api/convert-auth')
http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = true
request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(uri)
request['Content-Type'] = 'application/json'
request['X-API-Key'] = 'pk_your_api_key'
request.body = {
source: '<h1>Hello World</h1>',
options: {
format: 'A4',
protection: {
user_password: 'secret123'
}
}
}.to_json
response = http.request(request)
File.open('output.pdf', 'wb') do |file|
file.write(response.body)
end
puts "PDF saved successfully!"