A PDF generator for serverless environments
npm install @maheshpaul/serverless-pdf-generatorserverless-pdf-generator is a lightweight package that simplifies the process of generating PDFs from web pages in a serverless environment like Vercel. It utilizes Puppeteer and Chromium to render pages and generate high-quality PDFs.
sh
npm install @maheshpaul/serverless-pdf-generator
`
Usage
$3
Create an API route at src/app/api/pdf/route.ts:
`ts
import { handlePDFRequest } from '@maheshpaul/serverless-pdf-generator';
import { NextRequest } from 'next/server';
export async function GET(request: NextRequest) {
return handlePDFRequest(request, async () => {
const url = new URL(request.url).searchParams.get('url');
if (!url) throw new Error('Missing URL');
return { url, filename: 'download.pdf' };
}, {
format: 'A4',
printBackground: true,
development: process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development'
});
}
`
$3
Create a download button in a React client component:
`tsx
'use client';
export default function DownloadPDF() {
const handleDownload = async () => {
try {
const response = await fetch(/api/pdf?url=${encodeURIComponent('https://google.com')});
if (!response.ok) throw new Error('PDF generation failed');
const blob = await response.blob();
const url = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
const a = document.createElement('a');
a.href = url;
a.download = 'google.pdf';
document.body.appendChild(a);
a.click();
document.body.removeChild(a);
URL.revokeObjectURL(url);
} catch (error) {
console.error('Download failed:', error);
alert('Failed to download PDF');
}
};
return (
);
}
`
$3
If using a server-side approach in a React environment:
`tsx
import React, { useState } from 'react';
const DownloadPDF = () => {
const [loading, setLoading] = useState(false);
const handleDownload = async () => {
setLoading(true);
try {
const response = await fetch('/api/pdf?url=https://example.com');
if (!response.ok) throw new Error('PDF generation failed');
const blob = await response.blob();
const url = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
const a = document.createElement('a');
a.href = url;
a.download = 'example.pdf';
document.body.appendChild(a);
a.click();
document.body.removeChild(a);
URL.revokeObjectURL(url);
} catch (error) {
console.error(error);
alert('Error downloading PDF');
}
setLoading(false);
};
return (
);
};
export default DownloadPDF;
`
API
$3
Generates a PDF from a given URL.
#### Parameters
`ts
interface PDFGeneratorOptions {
url: string;
format?: 'A4' | 'Letter' | 'Legal';
margin?: {
top?: string;
right?: string;
bottom?: string;
left?: string;
};
printBackground?: boolean;
development?: boolean;
}
`
#### Example
`ts
import { generatePDF } from '@maheshpaul/serverless-pdf-generator';
async function downloadPDF() {
const pdfBuffer = await generatePDF({ url: 'https://example.com' });
require('fs').writeFileSync('output.pdf', pdfBuffer);
}
`
$3
Handles a Next.js API request for generating a PDF.
#### Example
`ts
export async function GET(request: NextRequest) {
return handlePDFRequest(request, async () => {
return { url: 'https://example.com', filename: 'example.pdf' };
}, { format: 'A4' });
}
`
Deployment
This package is optimized for serverless environments like Vercel. If using locally, ensure you have set process.env.NODE_ENV === 'development'` to automatically switch between local and serverless execution.