PDF generation in Python

Minimal example

import os, requests

r = requests.post(
    "https://docpress.dev/v1/pdf",
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['DOCPRESS_KEY']}"},
    json={"markdown": "# Weekly report\n\n## Summary\n\nAll systems nominal.", "theme": "report", "cover": True, "toc": True},
    timeout=60,
)
r.raise_for_status()
open("weekly-report.pdf", "wb").write(r.content)
print(r.headers["X-Pages"], "pages;", r.headers["X-Quota-Used"], "of", r.headers["X-Quota-Limit"], "used this month")

An official Python SDK is coming; until then the call above is the whole integration.

HTML from a template engine

Render your template to a string, then post it with theme: "none" and your CSS. Inline images as data: URIs.

import base64, pathlib, requests

logo = base64.b64encode(pathlib.Path("logo.png").read_bytes()).decode()
html = render_template("invoice.html", invoice=inv, logo=f"data:image/png;base64,{logo}")
css = pathlib.Path("print.css").read_text()
r = requests.post("https://docpress.dev/v1/pdf", headers=HEADERS,
                  json={"html": html, "css": css, "theme": "none", "page_size": "Letter", "filename": f"{inv.number}.pdf"}, timeout=60)

Handling errors

Errors come back as JSON with a detail message. Treat them differently:

• 422: the document could not be rendered; the message says why (typically an external URL). Fix the input; do not retry unchanged.
• 429: monthly quota reached. Queue the job and alert someone; retrying will not help until the plan changes or the month rolls over.
• 413: source over 2 MB. Shrink embedded images.
• 401: wrong or missing key.

if r.status_code == 422:
    raise ValueError(r.json()["detail"])

Streaming to a web response

In a web framework, pass r.content straight through with Content-Type: application/pdf and a Content-Disposition header. Keep the DocPress key on the server; never call the API from the browser.

Limits and pricing

• No JavaScript is executed. Send the final HTML; anything a script would have drawn or filled in will not appear.
• The renderer has no network access. Images, fonts and stylesheets at external URLs are never fetched; inline them as data: URIs. A request that references an external URL fails with a 422 that names the URL, rather than silently dropping the asset.
• 2 MB of source per request, 300 pages per document, 2 concurrent renders per account.
• Free-plan output carries a small docpress.dev footer mark. Paid plans (from $9/month) do not.

Plans are capped. When a plan's monthly document count is reached the API returns 429 until you upgrade or the month rolls over; there is no overage billing.

• Free: 50 documents/month, footer mark on output, no card required.
• Starter: $9/month, 500 documents, no mark.
• Pro: $29/month, 3,000 documents.
• Scale: $79/month, 15,000 documents.

Every response includes X-Quota-Used and X-Quota-Limit headers so you can watch usage without polling. Details on the pricing page.

Related

• PDF generation in Node.js
• Markdown to PDF API
• HTML to PDF API
• Generate invoice PDFs from JSON