PDFPipe is an HTML-to-PDF API. You send a POST request to https://api.pdfpipe.xyz/v1/pdf with a JSON body containing an HTML string or a URL, and receive an application/pdf file in the response. It handles browser rendering in a managed cloud environment, so you do not need to install or maintain any PDF software on your servers.

How do I use the PDFPipe API?

1. Sign up at pdfpipe.xyz to get an API key (format: pp_live_…). 2. POST to https://api.pdfpipe.xyz/v1/pdf with Authorization: Bearer pp_live_your_key and Content-Type: application/json. 3. Set the request body to {"html": " Hello "} or {"url": "https://example.com"} plus an optional "options" object for format, margins, etc. 4. The response body is the raw PDF file. Full reference at https://pdfpipe.xyz/docs.

What programming languages does PDFPipe support?

PDFPipe works with any language that can make an HTTP request. Official SDKs are available for Node.js (npm install pdfpipe-node) and Python (pip install pdfpipe-python). The API also works directly in Go, Java, PHP, Ruby, Rust, C#, Kotlin, Elixir, and others via standard HTTP clients. Framework-specific guides are available at https://pdfpipe.xyz/guides.

What PDF options are available?

Pass an "options" object in the request body. Key options: format (A4, A3, A5, Letter, Legal, Tabloid, default A4), landscape (true/false), margin (CSS length or object with top/bottom/left/right), print_background (true/false), scale (0.1 to 2.0), page_ranges (e.g. "1-3, 5"), header_html, footer_html, inject_css, wait_until (load, domcontentloaded, networkidle0, networkidle2), wait_ms, timeout_ms (1000 to 60000, default 30000), pdf_a (true/false for PDF/A-1b). Full reference at https://pdfpipe.xyz/docs#options.

How much does PDFPipe cost?

Hobby: free, 500 documents per month, no credit card required. Starter: $19/month, 3,000 documents. Growth: $49/month, 15,000 documents. Scale: $149/month, 50,000 documents. Enterprise: custom volume and SLA. Flat pricing: one document counts as one document with no credit conversion.

What is the PDFPipe API endpoint?

The main render endpoint is POST https://api.pdfpipe.xyz/v1/pdf. Additional endpoints: POST /v1/pdf/batch (batch rendering up to 100 items), POST /v1/pdf/merge (merge PDFs), GET /v1/me (check key and usage), GET /v1/documents (list stored PDFs), POST /v1/demo (playground, no key required). Full endpoint list at https://pdfpipe.xyz/docs#endpoints.

Can I not just run Puppeteer or wkhtmltopdf myself?

You can, but running a browser in production means managing memory limits, system font availability, concurrency queues, version pinning, and on-call incidents when it crashes. PDFPipe handles the rendering infrastructure so your team ships product code instead. The API also includes SSRF protection so untrusted HTML cannot reach internal services.

Does PDFPipe support AI agents via MCP?

Yes. Install pdfpipe-mcp-server (npm install pdfpipe-mcp-server), set PDFPIPE_API_KEY, and point any MCP-compatible agent at it. The pdfpipe_generate_pdf tool becomes available for the agent to generate PDFs in a single tool call. Details at https://pdfpipe.xyz/mcp.

PDF Rendering API

Render HTML to PDF with a real print engine

A PDF rendering API backed by a modern browser engine. It draws the same flexbox, grid, web fonts, and print CSS your pages already use, then paginates correctly. The hosted alternative to operating a headless browser fleet yourself.

Render a page or raw HTML

Give it a URL to render or send HTML directly. Either way you get a faithful PDF with backgrounds, fonts, and layout intact.

bash

curl -X POST https://api.pdfpipe.xyz/v1/pdf \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PDFPIPE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://example.com/report/42",
    "options": { "format": "A4", "printBackground": true }
  }' --output report.pdf

Rendering fidelity that actually matches the browser

Modern CSS

Flexbox, grid, custom properties, and print media queries render the way they do on screen.

Fonts and assets

Web fonts and images load before the page is drawn, so nothing renders half-styled.

Correct pagination

break-before, break-after, and break-inside are respected so content lands on the right page.

Why not render it yourself

A headless browser fleet means cold starts, memory leaks, and crashes under load.
Serverless functions rarely fit a full Chromium binary.
Concurrency, timeouts, and recycling are an ongoing operational tax.
A rendering API absorbs all of that and bills per document.

Frequently asked

What is a PDF rendering API?

A hosted service that renders HTML and CSS to PDF using a real browser print engine, exposed over a single HTTP endpoint. You send markup or a URL and receive the rendered PDF.

How is rendering different from a PDF library?

Libraries that draw PDFs by hand do not run a browser, so they miss modern CSS, web fonts, and JavaScript-rendered content. A rendering API uses the browser engine, so what you see is what you get.

Can it render a live URL?

Yes. Pass a public URL and it loads, lays out, and renders that page to PDF, with private-network requests blocked for safety.

Is this a chromium as a service option?

Effectively yes: you get browser-grade rendering without provisioning, scaling, or patching any browser instances yourself.

Which PDF API do you need?

These pages cover related search intents. Pick the one that matches what you are building.

HTML to PDF API

Start here: the overview of sending HTML or a URL and getting a PDF back.

PDF Generation API

Generating documents programmatically at volume with batch and webhooks.

Puppeteer PDF alternative

Replace a self-hosted headless browser without losing rendering quality.

500 free documents a month, flat pricing after that, and a live playground you can try without signing up.

Try it live, no signup →Get your API key →