Documentation

API Endpoint

The endpoint synchronously generates a PDF document and returns it directly as the HTTP response.

POST http://sandbox.pdfmotor.net/v1/render
Content-Type: application/json
X-API-Key: sk_live_***

Request Parameters

The API key is provided via HTTP header. All other parameters are sent as JSON in the request body.

Templates

Templates define the visual layout and structure of generated PDF documents. They control typography, spacing, tables, branding, and overall document design.

Each customer environment includes a default template for immediate use. Additional templates can be designed and deployed based on your specific document requirements.

Selecting a template

The template used for rendering can be specified via the optional template field in the request body. If omitted, the default template is applied automatically.

{
  "template": "default"
}

Custom template example

Below is an example of a customer-specific template. Custom templates may include complex layouts such as table-based documents, invoices, certificates, reports or government forms.

Code Examples

import java.io.InputStream;
import java.io.OutputStream;
import java.net.HttpURLConnection;
import java.net.URL;
import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
import java.nio.file.Files;
import java.nio.file.Path;

public class Example {

  public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {

    String json = "{" +
      "\"template\":\"default\"," +
      "\"title\":\"Damage Report\"," +
      "\"subtitle\":\"Date: 2026-01-10\"," +
      "\"fields\":[" +
      "  {\"label\":\"Name\",\"value\":\"John Doe\"}," +
      "  {\"label\":\"Email\",\"value\":\"john@example.com\"}," +
      "  {\"label\":\"Damage Type\",\"value\":\"Water damage\"}" +
      "]," +
      "\"footer\":\"Generated with PDF Motor\"" +
      "}";

    URL url = new URL("https://sandbox.pdfmotor.net/v1/render");
    HttpURLConnection con = (HttpURLConnection) url.openConnection();

    con.setRequestMethod("POST");
    con.setRequestProperty("Content-Type", "application/json");
    con.setRequestProperty("X-API-Key", "YOUR_DEMO_KEY");
    con.setDoOutput(true);

    try (OutputStream os = con.getOutputStream()) {
      os.write(json.getBytes(StandardCharsets.UTF_8));
    }

    int status = con.getResponseCode();
    System.out.println("HTTP Status: " + status);

    if (status != 200) {
      throw new RuntimeException("HTTP error: " + status);
    }

    try (InputStream is = con.getInputStream()) {
      Files.copy(
        is,
        Path.of("document.pdf"),
        java.nio.file.StandardCopyOption.REPLACE_EXISTING
      );
    }

    System.out.println("PDF generated: document.pdf");
  }
}

import requests

payload = {
  "template": "default",
  "title": "Damage Report",
  "subtitle": "Date: 2026-01-10",
  "fields": [
    { "label": "Name", "value": "John Doe" },
    { "label": "Email", "value": "john@example.com" },
    { "label": "Damage Type", "value": "Water damage" }
  ],
  "footer": "Generated with PDF Motor"
}

r = requests.post(
  "https://sandbox.pdfmotor.net/v1/render",
  json=payload
)

r.raise_for_status()

with open("document.pdf", "wb") as f:
  f.write(r.content)

$payload = @{
  template = "default"
  title = "Damage Report"
  subtitle = "Date: 2026-01-10"
  fields = @(
    @{ label = "Name"; value = "John Doe" }
    @{ label = "Email"; value = "john@example.com" }
    @{ label = "Damage Type"; value = "Water damage" }
  )
  footer = "Generated with PDF Motor"
} | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 5

Invoke-RestMethod `
  -Uri "https://sandbox.pdfmotor.net/v1/render" `
  -Method POST `
  -ContentType "application/json" `
  -Body $payload `
  -OutFile "document.pdf"

curl -X POST https://sandbox.pdfmotor.net/v1/render \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -d '{
    "template": "default",
    "title": "Damage Report",
    "subtitle": "Date: 2026-01-10",
    "fields": [
      { "label": "Name", "value": "John Doe" },
      { "label": "Email", "value": "john@example.com" },
      { "label": "Damage Type", "value": "Water damage" }
    ],
    "footer": "Generated with PDF Motor"
  }' \
  --output document.pdf

const payload = {
  template: "default",
  title: "Damage Report",
  subtitle: "Date: 2026-01-10",
  fields: [
    { label: "Name", value: "John Doe" },
    { label: "Email", value: "john@example.com" },
    { label: "Damage Type", value: "Water damage" }
  ],
  footer: "Generated with PDF Motor"
};

fetch("https://sandbox.pdfmotor.net/v1/render", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
  body: JSON.stringify(payload)
})
.then(res => {
  if (!res.ok) throw new Error("HTTP error " + res.status);
  return res.blob();
})
.then(blob => {
  window.open(URL.createObjectURL(blob));
})
.catch(err => console.error(err));

HTTP Responses & Error Messages

The API uses standard HTTP status codes to indicate the outcome of a request. Successful responses return the generated PDF directly in the response body.