Quick Start Guide

Generate your first PDF in 5 minutes – using cURL, Postman, or your preferred language (Node.js, Python, Java, PHP, C#, Go, Rust).

Sign up for an account. Once registered, find your API key on the API Keys page in your Dashboard. The free plan includes 100 document conversions per month – no credit card required.

Quick API Testing with Postman

Import the PDFBolt Postman collection to run API requests without writing code.
See the Postman Quick Start for setup details.

2. Set Up Authorization

Authenticate by adding your API-KEY to request headers:

API-KEY: XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX

Firewall Configuration

If your source URLs or webhook endpoints restrict access by source IP, allowlist PDFBolt's static outbound IP addresses.

See IP Addresses for the full list.

3. Make Your First Request

Choose your endpoint based on response type:

Direct – get the PDF immediately in the response (simplest, recommended for getting started).
Sync – get a downloadable URL in a JSON response.
Async – receive a webhook callback when ready (best for high-volume).

Choose your endpoint:

Direct
Sync
Async

Choose your source:

URL
HTML
Template

Convert a webpage to PDF:

curl 'https://api.pdfbolt.com/v1/direct' \
  -H 'API-KEY: XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://example.com",
    "format": "A4",
    "printBackground": true
  }' \
  -o webpage.pdf

Convert HTML to PDF:

curl 'https://api.pdfbolt.com/v1/direct' \
  -H 'API-KEY: XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "html": "PGh0bWw+PGJvZHk+PGgxPkhlbGxvITwvaDE+PHA+VGhpcyBpcyBhIHNhbXBsZSBQREYuPC9wPjwvYm9keT48L2h0bWw+",
    "format": "A4",
    "printBackground": true,
    "margin": {
      "top": "30px",
      "left": "30px"
    }
  }' \
  -o document.pdf

Base64 Explanation

The base64 encoded HTML above represents:

<html><body><h1>Hello!</h1><p>This is a sample PDF.</p></body></html>

Convert a template with data to PDF:

curl 'https://api.pdfbolt.com/v1/direct' \
  -H 'API-KEY: XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "templateId": "your-template-id",
    "templateData": {
      "client_name": "John Doe",
      "invoice_number": "INV-001",
      "total_amount": "$299.99",
      "line_items": [
        {
          "description": "Web Development",
          "unit_price": "$200.00"
        },
        {
          "description": "Design Services",
          "unit_price": "$99.99"
        }
      ]
    }
  }' \
  -o invoice.pdf

New to templates?

Create your first template in the app, then use its ID in your API calls. Learn more about Templates
You can also generate templates with AI from descriptions or reference files.

Expected Result

The response is the raw PDF binary, saved to the file specified by your -o flag. Open it to view your PDF.

Choose your source:

URL
HTML
Template

Convert a webpage and get a download URL:

curl 'https://api.pdfbolt.com/v1/sync' \
  -H 'API-KEY: XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://example.com",
    "format": "A4",
    "printBackground": true
  }'

Convert HTML and get a download URL:

curl 'https://api.pdfbolt.com/v1/sync' \
  -H 'API-KEY: XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "html": "PGh0bWw+PGJvZHk+PGgxPkhlbGxvITwvaDE+PHA+VGhpcyBpcyBhIHNhbXBsZSBQREYuPC9wPjwvYm9keT48L2h0bWw+",
    "format": "A4",
    "printBackground": true,
    "margin": {
      "top": "30px",
      "left": "30px"
    }
  }'

Convert a template with data and get a download URL:

curl 'https://api.pdfbolt.com/v1/sync' \
  -H 'API-KEY: XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "templateId": "your-template-id",
    "templateData": {
      "client_name": "John Doe",
      "invoice_number": "INV-001",
      "total_amount": "$299.99",
      "line_items": [
        {
          "description": "Web Development",
          "unit_price": "$200.00"
        },
        {
          "description": "Design Services",
          "unit_price": "$99.99"
        }
      ]
    }
  }'

New to templates?

Create your first template in the app, then use its ID in your API calls. Learn more about Templates
You can also generate templates with AI from descriptions or reference files.

Expected Result

The response is JSON with a documentUrl field – fetch that URL to download your PDF (valid for 24 hours).

Plan requirement

The /v1/async endpoint is available on paid plans. Free plan users can use /v1/direct and /v1/sync.

Choose your source:

URL
HTML
Template

Convert a webpage and receive a webhook callback:

curl 'https://api.pdfbolt.com/v1/async' \
  -H 'API-KEY: XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://example.com",
    "format": "A4",
    "printBackground": true,
    "webhook": "https://your-app.com/webhook"
  }'

Convert HTML and receive a webhook callback:

curl 'https://api.pdfbolt.com/v1/async' \
  -H 'API-KEY: XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "html": "PGh0bWw+PGJvZHk+PGgxPkhlbGxvITwvaDE+PHA+VGhpcyBpcyBhIHNhbXBsZSBQREYuPC9wPjwvYm9keT48L2h0bWw+",
    "format": "A4",
    "printBackground": true,
    "margin": {
      "top": "30px",
      "left": "30px"
    },
    "webhook": "https://your-app.com/webhook"
  }'

Convert a template with data and receive a webhook callback:

curl 'https://api.pdfbolt.com/v1/async' \
  -H 'API-KEY: XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "templateId": "your-template-id",
    "templateData": {
      "client_name": "John Doe",
      "invoice_number": "INV-001",
      "total_amount": "$299.99",
      "line_items": [
        {
          "description": "Web Development",
          "unit_price": "$200.00"
        },
        {
          "description": "Design Services",
          "unit_price": "$99.99"
        }
      ]
    },
    "webhook": "https://your-app.com/webhook"
  }'

New to templates?

Create your first template in the app, then use its ID in your API calls. Learn more about Templates
You can also generate templates with AI from descriptions or reference files.

Expected Result

The response is JSON with a requestId. Your webhook URL receives a POST request with the PDF once it's ready.

4. Integration Guides

Full integration guides for each supported language and for Postman:

Next Steps

API Endpoints – Direct, Sync, Async modes and Usage Monitoring.
Conversion Parameters – customize page size, headers/footers, fonts, and more.
Error Handling – HTTP status codes and recommended actions.
Templates – reusable PDF layouts with Handlebars syntax.

Quick Start Guide

2. Set Up Authorization

3. Make Your First Request

4. Integration Guides

📄️ Node.js

📄️ Python

📄️ Java

📄️ PHP

📄️ C#

📄️ Go

📄️ Rust

📄️ Postman

Next Steps

1. Sign Up and Get Your API Key​

2. Set Up Authorization​

3. Make Your First Request​

4. Integration Guides​

📄️ Node.js

📄️ Python

📄️ Java

📄️ PHP

📄️ C#

📄️ Go

📄️ Rust

📄️ Postman

Next Steps​

1. Sign Up and Get Your API Key

2. Set Up Authorization

3. Make Your First Request

4. Integration Guides

Next Steps