Generate a PDF

POST/api/v1/designs/:designId/generate

Renders one PDF from a design, substituting variable values, and returns a temporary presigned download URL. Costs 1 credit.

Path parameters

Param	Type	Required	Notes
`designId`	string	yes	The design id to render.

Body

Field	Type	Required	Notes
`data`	object	no	Variable name → value. Omit for a design with no variables.
`pdfProfile`	string	no	Compliance output: `accessible` (tagged PDF/UA-1 — screen-reader structure, reading order, alt text) or `pdf-a` (archival PDF/A-3b, also tagged). Omit or `standard` for regular output. Same credit cost. Validating with an accessibility checker (axesCheck, PAC, `verapdf --flavour ua1`)? Use `accessible` — `pdf-a` targets archival validation (veraPDF 3b) and does not claim PDF/UA.


curl -X POST "https://api.imaginepdf.com/api/v1/designs/design_abc123/generate" \
  -H "X-API-Key: $IMAGINEPDF_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "data": {
      "invoice_number": "INV-001",
      "customer_name": "Acme Corp",
      "amount": "$1,000.00"
    },
    "pdfProfile": "accessible"
  }'

Response `201 Created`


{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "generationId": "gen_abc123",
    "designId": "design_abc123",
    "filename": "Invoice.pdf",
    "downloadUrl": "https://storage.googleapis.com/...output.pdf?X-Goog-Signature=...",
    "expiresIn": 3600,
    "status": "completed"
  },
  "error": null
}

generationId — stable identifier for this render. The PDF bytes expire, but this id does not — store it to correlate a document with the run that made it.
downloadUrl — presigned URL to the rendered PDF.
expiresIn — seconds the URL stays valid (3600 = one hour).
filename — suggested filename, derived from the design name.

Download it:


curl -L -o invoice.pdf "<downloadUrl>"

The download URL expires after expiresIn seconds. Fetch and store the PDF promptly rather than passing the URL around long-term.

Errors

HTTP	`error.code`	Meaning
402	`INSUFFICIENT_CREDITS`	Workspace is out of credits.
404	`DESIGN_NOT_FOUND`	No design with that id in the workspace.
400	`VALIDATION_ERROR`	Malformed body.

See Errors for the full table, and Credits & plans for credit behavior.

Generate a PDF in Node.js with the REST API
Generate PDFs in Next.js Route Handlers
Preview — render a page to PNG for free while iterating.
Batch generation — one PDF per dataset row.
Variables — how data maps onto the design.