> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.curatepdf.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Generate PDF
> Transform templates into PDFs with dynamic data binding and cloud storage
## Overview
The Generate PDF endpoint is the core functionality of CuratePDF. It takes a template ID and dynamic data to produce a professionally formatted PDF document that's automatically stored in secure cloud storage.
Generated PDFs are temporarily stored and accessible via secure download URLs with automatic expiration for enhanced security.
## Key Features
**Variable Substitution**
Replace template variables with real data like customer names, invoice numbers, dates, and complex objects.
**Secure File Hosting**
Generated PDFs are automatically uploaded to secure cloud storage with time-limited download URLs.
**Flexible Naming**
Specify custom filenames with dynamic content for better organization and identification.
**Fast Generation**
Optimized PDF rendering engine processes documents quickly even with complex layouts.
## Data Binding
Template variables are replaced with actual data during PDF generation. Variables use double curly brace syntax: `{{variable_name}}`.
### Simple Variable Binding
```json Template Variables theme={null}
{
"customerName": "John Smith",
"invoiceNumber": "INV-001",
"date": "2024-01-15",
"amount": 1299.99,
"currency": "USD"
}
```
### Complex Object Binding
```json Nested Data theme={null}
{
"data": {
"customer": {
"name": "Acme Corporation",
"email": "billing@acme.com",
"address": {
"street": "123 Business Ave",
"city": "New York",
"state": "NY",
"zip": "10001"
}
},
"items": [
{
"name": "Professional Service",
"quantity": 10,
"rate": 150.00,
"total": 1500.00
},
{
"name": "Consultation",
"quantity": 5,
"rate": 200.00,
"total": 1000.00
}
]
}
}
```
## Common Use Cases
```javascript Invoice Example theme={null}
const invoiceData = {
templateId: "invoice_template_123",
data: {
invoiceNumber: "INV-2024-001",
issueDate: "2024-01-15",
dueDate: "2024-02-14",
company: {
name: "Your Company Inc.",
address: "123 Business St, City, State 12345",
phone: "(555) 123-4567",
email: "billing@yourcompany.com"
},
client: {
name: "Client Corporation",
address: "456 Client Ave, Client City, CC 67890",
email: "ap@clientcorp.com"
},
lineItems: [
{
description: "Web Development Services",
hours: 40,
rate: 125.00,
amount: 5000.00
},
{
description: "Design Consultation",
hours: 8,
rate: 150.00,
amount: 1200.00
}
],
subtotal: 6200.00,
tax: 496.00,
total: 6696.00
},
filename: "invoice-INV-2024-001.pdf"
};
const response = await fetch('https://api.curatepdf.com/api/generate-pdf', {
method: 'POST',
headers: {
'x-api-key': api_key,
'Content-Type': 'application/json'
},
body: JSON.stringify(invoiceData)
});
```
```python Report Example theme={null}
import requests
from datetime import datetime
report_data = {
"templateId": "monthly_report_template",
"data": {
"reportTitle": "Monthly Sales Report",
"reportDate": datetime.now().strftime("%B %Y"),
"generatedOn": datetime.now().isoformat(),
"metrics": {
"totalSales": 125000.50,
"transactionCount": 342,
"averageOrderValue": 365.50,
"topRegion": "North America"
},
"salesData": [
{"month": "January", "sales": 95000, "growth": "5.2%"},
{"month": "February", "sales": 108000, "growth": "8.1%"},
{"month": "March", "sales": 125000, "growth": "12.3%"}
],
"charts": {
"salesTrend": "base64_encoded_chart_image",
"regionBreakdown": "base64_encoded_pie_chart"
}
},
"filename": f"sales-report-{datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m')}.pdf"
}
response = requests.post(
'https://api.curatepdf.com/api/generate-pdf',
headers={
'x-api-key': api_key,
'Content-Type': 'application/json'
},
json=report_data
)
```
```go Certificate Example theme={null}
package main
import (
"bytes"
"encoding/json"
"net/http"
"time"
)
type CertificateData struct {
TemplateID string `json:"templateId"`
Data struct {
StudentName string `json:"studentName"`
CourseName string `json:"courseName"`
CompletionDate string `json:"completionDate"`
InstructorName string `json:"instructorName"`
CertificateID string `json:"certificateId"`
Duration string `json:"duration"`
Grade string `json:"grade"`
} `json:"data"`
Filename string `json:"filename"`
}
func generateCertificate(studentName, courseName string) error {
certData := CertificateData{
TemplateID: "certificate_template_456",
Filename: fmt.Sprintf("certificate-%s-%s.pdf",
strings.ReplaceAll(studentName, " ", "-"),
time.Now().Format("2006-01-02")),
}
certData.Data.StudentName = studentName
certData.Data.CourseName = courseName
certData.Data.CompletionDate = time.Now().Format("January 2, 2006")
certData.Data.InstructorName = "Dr. Jane Smith"
certData.Data.CertificateID = fmt.Sprintf("CERT-%d", time.Now().Unix())
certData.Data.Duration = "40 hours"
certData.Data.Grade = "A+"
jsonData, _ := json.Marshal(certData)
req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST",
"https://api.curatepdf.com/api/generate-pdf",
bytes.NewBuffer(jsonData))
req.Header.Set("x-api-key", apiKey)
req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")
client := &http.Client{}
resp, err := client.Do(req)
return err
}
```
## OpenAPI
````yaml post /api/generate-pdf
openapi: 3.1.0
info:
title: Docurate PDF API
description: Generate PDFs from JSON templates with data binding
version: 1.0.0
servers:
- url: https://api.curatepdf.com
description: Production
security:
- apiKeyAuth: []
paths:
/api/generate-pdf:
post:
tags:
- PDF
summary: Generate PDF
requestBody:
required: true
content:
application/json:
schema:
type: object
properties:
templateId:
type: string
example: template_123
data:
type: object
example:
name: John Doe
company: Acme Corp
filename:
type: string
example: document.pdf
required:
- templateId
responses:
'200':
description: PDF generated successfully
content:
application/json:
schema:
type: object
properties:
success:
type: boolean
example: true
downloadUrl:
type: string
example: https://storage.example.com/document.pdf
expiresAt:
type: string
example: '2024-01-15T23:59:59.000Z'
description: Expiration timestamp for the download URL
filename:
type: string
example: document.pdf
size:
type: integer
example: 123456
description: Size of the generated PDF in bytes
'400':
description: Bad request
'404':
description: Template not found
security:
- apiKeyAuth: []
components:
securitySchemes:
apiKeyAuth:
type: apiKey
in: header
name: x-api-key
description: API key for accessing the Docurate PDF API
````