Convert plain text content to PDF documents. This endpoint is ideal for generating PDFs from log files, code snippets, markdown content, or any plain text that needs to be preserved with its original formatting.

Endpoint

POST /textToPdf

Authentication

Requires a valid API key or OAuth token in the Authorization header:

Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY

See Authentication for details.

Request Body

Content-Type: application/json or multipart/form-data

Field Details

text (required)

The plain text content to render as a PDF. The text is rendered with:

• Monospace font (Courier New) for consistent character width
• 1.5 line height for readability
• Whitespace preservation (white-space: pre-wrap)
• 2cm page margins
• Automatic HTML entity escaping (<, >, &)

font_size (optional)

The font size in points for the text content. If not provided, defaults to 12. Common sizes:

• 10 - Compact, good for code or logs
• 12 - Standard (default)
• 14 - Larger, better readability

filename (optional)

The filename for the downloaded PDF. If not provided, defaults to document.pdf. The .pdf extension is automatically appended if not present.

Storage Options

Control how the generated PDF is stored and returned.

Storage Modes:

• memory: Return PDF bytes directly in response (no persistence). This is the default for REST API calls.
• default: Store in pdf-mcp S3 bucket, return JSON with document metadata and signed URL.
• byob: Store in your own S3 bucket (requires BYOB configuration).

Example Request

Basic Text Conversion (JSON)

curl -X POST https://api.pdf-mcp.io/textToPdf \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "text": "Hello, World!\n\nThis is a plain text document.\nLine breaks are preserved."
  }' \
  --output document.pdf

Code Snippet with Custom Font Size

curl -X POST https://api.pdf-mcp.io/textToPdf \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "text": "function greet(name) {\n    console.log(\"Hello, \" + name);\n}\n\ngreet(\"World\");",
    "font_size": 10,
    "filename": "code-snippet.pdf"
  }' \
  --output code-snippet.pdf

Log File Export

curl -X POST https://api.pdf-mcp.io/textToPdf \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "text": "[2024-01-15 10:30:00] INFO  Server started\n[2024-01-15 10:30:01] INFO  Connected to database\n[2024-01-15 10:30:02] WARN  Cache miss for key: user_123",
    "font_size": 10,
    "filename": "server-logs.pdf"
  }' \
  --output server-logs.pdf

Using Form Data

curl -X POST https://api.pdf-mcp.io/textToPdf \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F "text=This is plain text content sent via form data." \
  -F "font_size=12" \
  -F "filename=form-output.pdf" \
  --output form-output.pdf

With Storage (Persistent PDF)

curl -X POST https://api.pdf-mcp.io/textToPdf \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "text": "Server Log Export\n\n[2024-01-15 10:30:00] INFO  Server started\n[2024-01-15 10:30:01] INFO  Connected to database",
    "font_size": 10,
    "storage": {
      "mode": "default",
      "filename": "server-logs.pdf",
      "expires_in": 86400,
      "retention_days": 30
    }
  }'

Response

Success (memory mode)

When storage.mode is memory or not provided, returns the PDF as a binary file download.

Headers:

Content-Type: application/pdf
Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="document.pdf"

Success (with storage)

When storage.mode is default or byob, returns JSON with document metadata and a signed download URL:

{
  "success": true,
  "document_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000",
  "url": "https://s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/...",
  "filename": "server-logs.pdf",
  "file_size_bytes": 12345,
  "page_count": 1,
  "storage_mode": "default",
  "expires_at": "2024-02-15T10:30:00Z",
  "signed_url_expires_at": "2024-01-16T10:30:00Z"
}

Error

{
  "error": "Failed to convert text to PDF",
  "message": "Error description"
}

Status Codes:

Output Formatting

The generated PDF uses the following default styling:

body {
    font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;
    font-size: 12pt;  /* or your specified font_size */
    line-height: 1.5;
    white-space: pre-wrap;
    margin: 2cm;
}

Whitespace Handling

• Line breaks: Preserved (\n creates new lines)
• Spaces: Multiple spaces are preserved
• Tabs: Rendered as spaces
• Long lines: Wrap to fit page width

Character Escaping

HTML special characters are automatically escaped:

• < becomes <
• > becomes >
• & becomes &

This ensures your text is rendered exactly as provided, even if it contains HTML-like content.

Use Cases

Code Documentation

curl -X POST https://api.pdf-mcp.io/textToPdf \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "text": "# API Reference\n\n## Endpoints\n\nGET  /users\nPOST /users\nGET  /users/:id\nPUT  /users/:id",
    "font_size": 11,
    "filename": "api-reference.pdf"
  }' \
  --output api-reference.pdf

Data Export

curl -X POST https://api.pdf-mcp.io/textToPdf \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "text": "Name          Email                  Status\n--------------------------------------------------\nJohn Doe      john@example.com       Active\nJane Smith    jane@example.com       Pending",
    "font_size": 10,
    "filename": "users-export.pdf"
  }' \
  --output users-export.pdf

Example: Python Integration

import requests

API_KEY = "YOUR_API_KEY"
API_URL = "https://api.pdf-mcp.io/textToPdf"

response = requests.post(
    API_URL,
    headers={
        "Authorization": f"Bearer {API_KEY}",
        "Content-Type": "application/json"
    },
    json={
        "text": "Hello from Python!\n\nThis text document was generated via the API.",
        "font_size": 12,
        "filename": "python-output.pdf"
    }
)

if response.status_code == 200:
    with open("output.pdf", "wb") as f:
        f.write(response.content)
    print("PDF saved successfully!")
else:
    print(f"Error: {response.status_code}")

Example: Node.js Integration

const fs = require('fs');

const API_KEY = 'YOUR_API_KEY';
const API_URL = 'https://api.pdf-mcp.io/textToPdf';

async function generatePdf() {
  const response = await fetch(API_URL, {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${API_KEY}`,
      'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      text: 'Hello from Node.js!\n\nThis text document was generated via the API.',
      font_size: 12,
      filename: 'nodejs-output.pdf'
    })
  });

  if (response.ok) {
    const buffer = await response.arrayBuffer();
    fs.writeFileSync('output.pdf', Buffer.from(buffer));
    console.log('PDF saved successfully!');
  } else {
    console.error('Error:', response.status);
  }
}

generatePdf();

Tips and Best Practices

Content Preparation

• Use \n for line breaks in your text
• For multi-line strings in programming languages, use raw strings or template literals
• Escape JSON special characters properly when embedding in curl commands

Font Size Selection

• Use smaller fonts (10pt) for dense content like logs or code
• Use larger fonts (14pt) for documents meant to be printed or read on paper
• Test with a sample to find the right balance for your content

Page Layout

• Text wraps automatically at page margins
• Very long single lines will wrap to fit
• Consider breaking long content into logical sections with blank lines

Related Endpoints

• HTML to PDF - Convert HTML with full styling control
• Image to PDF - Convert images to PDF
• Merge PDFs - Combine multiple PDFs

Credit Usage

Approximately 1 credit per page generated.