How can I generate PDF files with JavaScript?

General Discussions
, ,
1

I’m looking for a way to convert XML data into PDF files directly from a web page using JavaScript. I need the ability to draw text, images, and simple shapes within the PDF. Is it possible to do all of this entirely within the browser using javascript generate pdf?

2

I’ve worked with this area quite a bit - if you want solid, low-level control, I’d go straight for jsPDF for your javascript generate pdf work.

const doc = new jsPDF();
doc.text("Hello from the browser!", 10, 10);
doc.save("example.pdf");

This tool is super popular because it lets you draw text, embed images, and create simple shapes right inside the browser. It’s especially handy if you’re parsing the XML yourself and laying things out manually. It’s not necessarily the easiest if you just want to convert HTML, but if you want real customization and control over how the PDF looks and behaves, jsPDF is a very reliable pick.

3

Building on Ian’s great point, if you already have your XML transformed into styled HTML on the page, you can actually simplify things a lot by using html2pdf.js for your javascript generate pdf needs.

This wraps both jsPDF and html2canvas under the hood, so instead of manually drawing everything, you can just target a DOM element and let the library handle the conversion:

html2pdf().from(document.body).save();

This is awesome for cases where the visual layout in the browser is already what you want in the PDF — no need to manually process the XML or draw things piece by piece. It’s a huge time-saver when you just want to ‘snapshot’ a section of your page into a PDF.

4

Great points from both Ian and Richaa! If you’re looking for even more advanced workflows, especially when dealing with editing or merging PDFs, I recommend PDF-LIB *or your javascript generate pdf projects.

Unlike jsPDF or html2pdf.js, PDF-LIB gives you deep control over existing PDF documents or lets you build complex PDFs from scratch, with programmatic precision:

import { PDFDocument } from 'pdf-lib';

const pdfDoc = await PDFDocument.create();
const page = pdfDoc.addPage();
page.drawText("Hello, PDF!");
const pdfBytes = await pdfDoc.save();

This is especially powerful if your XML data needs to be merged into specific sections, combined with other PDFs, or you need to apply security features. It’s a more advanced option but incredibly robust for serious document workflows.