Generate PDF Documents

Create professional PDF documents from templates using the RenderDoc API.

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Overview

RenderDoc allows you to generate PDF documents dynamically from templates. This tutorial covers:

• Creating a PDF template (via AI, gallery, or manually)
• Generating PDFs via the API
• Batch document generation
• Webhook notifications for async processing

This is perfect for invoices, receipts, reports, contracts, certificates, and any document you need to generate programmatically.

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Prerequisites

Before starting, make sure you have:

• An active RenderDoc account
• An API key with document generation permissions
• A published PDF template (see Create a Template)

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How PDF Generation Works

RenderDoc uses templates to generate PDFs:

1. Create a Template - Design your PDF layout in the visual editor
2. Call the API - Send a request with your template ID and variables
3. Receive the PDF - Get a download URL for the generated document

Template + Variables → API Call → PDF Document

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Quick Start

Generate your first PDF in under a minute:

Step 1: Get Your Template ID

1. Log in to your RenderDoc Dashboard
2. Go to Templates
3. Find your template and copy the Template ID (UUID or slug)

Step 2: Make an API Call

curl -X POST https://api.renderdoc.dev/api/v1/documents/generate \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer rd_sk_your_api_key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "templateId": "invoice-template",
    "format": "pdf",
    "variables": {
      "invoiceNumber": "INV-2025-001",
      "customerName": "Acme Corp",
      "total": "$1,250.00"
    }
  }'

Step 3: Download Your PDF

The API returns a download URL:

{
  "id": "doc_abc123xyz",
  "status": "completed",
  "format": "pdf",
  "downloadUrl": "https://cdn.renderdoc.dev/documents/doc_abc123xyz.pdf",
  "expiresAt": "2025-12-30T12:00:00.000Z"
}

Download your PDF from the downloadUrl before it expires.

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Code Examples

JavaScript / Node.js

const API_KEY = process.env.RENDERDOC_API_KEY;

async function generateInvoice(invoiceData) {
  const response = await fetch('https://api.renderdoc.dev/api/v1/documents/generate', {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}`,
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      templateId: 'invoice-template',
      format: 'pdf',
      variables: {
        invoiceNumber: invoiceData.number,
        invoiceDate: invoiceData.date,
        customerName: invoiceData.customer.name,
        customerAddress: invoiceData.customer.address,
        items: invoiceData.items,
        subtotal: invoiceData.subtotal,
        tax: invoiceData.tax,
        total: invoiceData.total,
      },
    }),
  });

  const result = await response.json();

  if (!response.ok) {
    throw new Error(result.message);
  }

  console.log('PDF generated:', result.downloadUrl);
  return result;
}

// Usage
generateInvoice({
  number: 'INV-2025-001',
  date: 'December 29, 2025',
  customer: {
    name: 'Acme Corp',
    address: '123 Business St, New York, NY 10001',
  },
  items: [
    { description: 'Consulting', quantity: 10, price: '$1,500.00' },
    { description: 'Software License', quantity: 1, price: '$500.00' },
  ],
  subtotal: '$2,000.00',
  tax: '$170.00',
  total: '$2,170.00',
});

Python

import requests
import os

API_KEY = os.environ.get('RENDERDOC_API_KEY')
API_URL = 'https://api.renderdoc.dev/api/v1/documents/generate'

def generate_invoice(invoice_data):
    response = requests.post(
        API_URL,
        headers={
            'Authorization': f'Bearer {API_KEY}',
            'Content-Type': 'application/json',
        },
        json={
            'templateId': 'invoice-template',
            'format': 'pdf',
            'variables': {
                'invoiceNumber': invoice_data['number'],
                'invoiceDate': invoice_data['date'],
                'customerName': invoice_data['customer']['name'],
                'customerAddress': invoice_data['customer']['address'],
                'items': invoice_data['items'],
                'subtotal': invoice_data['subtotal'],
                'tax': invoice_data['tax'],
                'total': invoice_data['total'],
            },
        },
    )

    result = response.json()

    if not response.ok:
        raise Exception(result.get('message', 'Unknown error'))

    print(f"PDF generated: {result['downloadUrl']}")
    return result

# Usage
generate_invoice({
    'number': 'INV-2025-001',
    'date': 'December 29, 2025',
    'customer': {
        'name': 'Acme Corp',
        'address': '123 Business St, New York, NY 10001',
    },
    'items': [
        {'description': 'Consulting', 'quantity': 10, 'price': '$1,500.00'},
        {'description': 'Software License', 'quantity': 1, 'price': '$500.00'},
    ],
    'subtotal': '$2,000.00',
    'tax': '$170.00',
    'total': '$2,170.00',
})

Using the RenderDoc SDK

import RenderDoc from '@renderdoc/sdk';

const client = new RenderDoc(process.env.RENDERDOC_API_KEY);

const result = await client.documents.generate({
  templateId: 'invoice-template',
  format: 'pdf',
  variables: {
    invoiceNumber: 'INV-2025-001',
    customerName: 'Acme Corp',
    total: '$2,170.00',
  },
});

console.log('Download URL:', result.downloadUrl);

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Batch Generation

Generate multiple documents in a single API call:

const response = await fetch('https://api.renderdoc.dev/api/v1/documents/generate/batch', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}`,
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    templateId: 'invoice-template',
    format: 'pdf',
    documents: [
      {
        variables: {
          invoiceNumber: 'INV-001',
          customerName: 'Customer A',
          total: '$500.00',
        },
      },
      {
        variables: {
          invoiceNumber: 'INV-002',
          customerName: 'Customer B',
          total: '$750.00',
        },
      },
      {
        variables: {
          invoiceNumber: 'INV-003',
          customerName: 'Customer C',
          total: '$1,200.00',
        },
      },
    ],
  }),
});

const batch = await response.json();
console.log('Batch ID:', batch.batchId);
console.log('Documents:', batch.documents);

Batch Response

{
  "batchId": "batch_xyz789",
  "status": "processing",
  "total": 3,
  "completed": 0,
  "failed": 0,
  "documents": [
    { "id": "doc_001", "status": "pending" },
    { "id": "doc_002", "status": "pending" },
    { "id": "doc_003", "status": "pending" }
  ]
}

Check Batch Status

const status = await fetch(
  `https://api.renderdoc.dev/api/v1/documents/batches/${batchId}`,
  {
    headers: { 'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}` },
  }
).then(r => r.json());

console.log('Batch status:', status);

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Webhook Notifications

Get notified when documents are generated:

Configure Webhook

1. Go to Settings → Webhooks in your dashboard
2. Add a webhook endpoint URL
3. Select events: document.generated, document.failed, batch.completed

Webhook Payload

{
  "event": "document.generated",
  "timestamp": "2025-12-29T10:30:00.000Z",
  "data": {
    "id": "doc_abc123",
    "templateId": "invoice-template",
    "format": "pdf",
    "downloadUrl": "https://cdn.renderdoc.dev/documents/doc_abc123.pdf",
    "expiresAt": "2025-12-30T10:30:00.000Z",
    "metadata": {
      "invoiceNumber": "INV-2025-001"
    }
  }
}

Webhook Handler Example

// Express.js webhook handler
app.post('/webhooks/renderdoc', (req, res) => {
  const { event, data } = req.body;

  switch (event) {
    case 'document.generated':
      console.log(`Document ready: ${data.downloadUrl}`);
      // Download and store the PDF
      // Notify the user
      break;

    case 'document.failed':
      console.error(`Document failed: ${data.error}`);
      // Handle the error
      // Retry if appropriate
      break;

    case 'batch.completed':
      console.log(`Batch complete: ${data.total} documents`);
      // Process all documents
      break;
  }

  res.status(200).send('OK');
});

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Output Formats

RenderDoc supports multiple output formats:

Format	Extension	Use Case
pdf	.pdf	Documents, invoices, reports
xlsx	.xlsx	Spreadsheets, data exports

Generate Excel

const result = await fetch('https://api.renderdoc.dev/api/v1/documents/generate', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}`,
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    templateId: 'report-template',
    format: 'xlsx',  // Excel format
    variables: {
      reportTitle: 'Monthly Sales Report',
      month: 'December 2025',
      data: salesData,
    },
  }),
}).then(r => r.json());

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Custom Filenames

Specify a custom filename for the generated document:

const result = await fetch('https://api.renderdoc.dev/api/v1/documents/generate', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}`,
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    templateId: 'invoice-template',
    format: 'pdf',
    filename: 'Invoice-{{invoiceNumber}}-{{customerName}}',  // Dynamic filename
    variables: {
      invoiceNumber: 'INV-2025-001',
      customerName: 'AcmeCorp',
    },
  }),
}).then(r => r.json());

// Result: Invoice-INV-2025-001-AcmeCorp.pdf

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Metadata

Add metadata to track documents:

const result = await fetch('https://api.renderdoc.dev/api/v1/documents/generate', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}`,
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    templateId: 'invoice-template',
    format: 'pdf',
    variables: { /* ... */ },
    metadata: {
      orderId: 'order-123',
      customerId: 'cust-456',
      source: 'api',
    },
  }),
}).then(r => r.json());

Metadata is returned in webhooks and can be used to correlate documents with your systems.

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Real-World Example: Invoice System

Complete example integrating with an order system:

class InvoiceService {
  constructor(apiKey) {
    this.apiKey = apiKey;
    this.baseUrl = 'https://api.renderdoc.dev/api/v1';
  }

  async generateInvoice(order) {
    // Calculate totals
    const subtotal = order.items.reduce(
      (sum, item) => sum + item.quantity * item.price,
      0
    );
    const tax = subtotal * (order.taxRate / 100);
    const total = subtotal + tax;

    // Format items for template
    const formattedItems = order.items.map(item => ({
      description: item.name,
      quantity: item.quantity,
      unitPrice: this.formatCurrency(item.price),
      amount: this.formatCurrency(item.quantity * item.price),
    }));

    // Generate PDF
    const response = await fetch(`${this.baseUrl}/documents/generate`, {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: {
        'Authorization': `Bearer ${this.apiKey}`,
        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
      },
      body: JSON.stringify({
        templateId: 'invoice-template',
        format: 'pdf',
        filename: `Invoice-${order.invoiceNumber}`,
        variables: {
          invoiceNumber: order.invoiceNumber,
          invoiceDate: this.formatDate(order.createdAt),
          dueDate: this.formatDate(order.dueDate),
          companyName: 'Your Company',
          companyAddress: '123 Business St, City, ST 12345',
          customerName: order.customer.name,
          customerAddress: order.customer.address,
          customerEmail: order.customer.email,
          items: formattedItems,
          subtotal: this.formatCurrency(subtotal),
          taxRate: order.taxRate,
          taxAmount: this.formatCurrency(tax),
          total: this.formatCurrency(total),
          paymentTerms: 'Payment due within 30 days.',
        },
        metadata: {
          orderId: order.id,
          customerId: order.customer.id,
        },
      }),
    });

    return response.json();
  }

  formatCurrency(amount) {
    return new Intl.NumberFormat('en-US', {
      style: 'currency',
      currency: 'USD',
    }).format(amount);
  }

  formatDate(date) {
    return new Date(date).toLocaleDateString('en-US', {
      year: 'numeric',
      month: 'long',
      day: 'numeric',
    });
  }
}

// Usage
const invoiceService = new InvoiceService(process.env.RENDERDOC_API_KEY);

const order = {
  id: 'order-123',
  invoiceNumber: 'INV-2025-001',
  createdAt: new Date(),
  dueDate: new Date(Date.now() + 30 * 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000),
  taxRate: 8.5,
  customer: {
    id: 'cust-456',
    name: 'John Doe',
    email: '[email protected]',
    address: '456 Customer Lane, New York, NY 10001',
  },
  items: [
    { name: 'Product A', quantity: 2, price: 99.99 },
    { name: 'Product B', quantity: 1, price: 149.99 },
  ],
};

invoiceService.generateInvoice(order)
  .then(result => console.log('Invoice generated:', result.downloadUrl))
  .catch(err => console.error('Error:', err));

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PDF Design Best Practices

Layout

1. Use standard page sizes - A4 for international, Letter for US
2. Set appropriate margins - 40-60px for printing
3. Keep it single page - When possible, fit content on one page
4. Use visual hierarchy - Clear headings, grouped sections

Typography

1. Professional fonts - Arial, Helvetica, Georgia work best
2. Readable sizes - 10-12pt for body, 14-18pt for headings
3. Consistent alignment - Right-align numbers for easy scanning
4. Adequate spacing - White space improves readability

Branding

1. Include your logo - Top-left is traditional for invoices
2. Use brand colors - Sparingly for headers and accents
3. Professional footer - Contact info and company details

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Troubleshooting

PDF Not Generating

Solutions:

1. ✅ Verify template exists and is published
2. ✅ Check all required variables are provided
3. ✅ Ensure API key has document generation permissions
4. ✅ Check for validation errors in the response

Layout Issues in PDF

Solutions:

1. ✅ Preview the template before generating
2. ✅ Use fixed widths for columns in tables
3. ✅ Avoid very long unbroken text
4. ✅ Test with maximum expected data length

Missing Data in PDF

Solutions:

1. ✅ Check variable names match exactly (case-sensitive)
2. ✅ Verify nested object structure matches template
3. ✅ Ensure array data is properly formatted
4. ✅ Check the Variables tab in template editor

Download URL Expired

Solutions:

1. ✅ Download immediately after generation
2. ✅ Use webhooks for async processing
3. ✅ Re-generate the document if needed
4. ✅ Consider storing documents in your own storage

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Next Steps

Now that you can generate PDF documents:

• Batch Generation - Generate multiple documents at once
• Excel Reports - Generate Excel spreadsheets
• Webhooks - Get notified when documents are ready
• API Reference - Full API documentation

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Related Resources

• API Reference: Documents
• Developer Guide: Generating Documents
• User Guide: Template Designer
• User Guide: Document Logs