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Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/barchart/aws-lambda-pdf-generator/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

This guide walks you through everything you need to go from zero to a working PDF generation endpoint. By the end, you will have cloned the repository, deployed the service to your AWS account using the Serverless framework, and used curl to convert an HTML snippet into a downloadable PDF file.
1

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure the following tools are installed and configured on your machine:
  • AWS account — Sign up here if you don’t already have one. Your IAM user or role must have sufficient permissions to create API Gateway, Lambda, IAM, S3, and CloudFormation resources.
  • AWS CLI — Install and configure it with your credentials by following the official instructions. Run aws sts get-caller-identity to confirm your credentials are active.
  • Node.js — The Lambda runtime targets Node.js 20.x. We recommend installing and managing Node.js versions with NVM (Node Version Manager).
  • Yarn — The project uses Yarn as its package manager. Install it by following the Yarn installation instructions.
  • Serverless Framework — Install it globally by following the Serverless installation instructions. The project requires Serverless Framework v3 (>=3.38.0 <4.0.0).
If you use NVM, run nvm install 20 && nvm use 20 to ensure you are on a Node.js 20.x version before proceeding.
2

Clone and Install

Clone the repository from GitHub and install all workspace dependencies from the project root:
git clone https://github.com/barchart/aws-lambda-pdf-generator.git
cd aws-lambda-pdf-generator
yarn install
Yarn uses the workspace configuration defined at the repo root to install dependencies for all packages, including packages/api. This step installs puppeteer-core, @sparticuz/chromium, and all other runtime and build dependencies.
3

Deploy to AWS

From the project root directory, run the production deployment command:
yarn deploy:prod
This command runs in two phases:
  1. Build phase (make clean && make all) — Compiles and packages the Chromium v122 binary into the Lambda Layer artifact (layers/chromium-v122.zip). This step requires make to be available in your shell.
  2. Deploy phase (serverless deploy --stage prod) — The Serverless framework provisions all AWS infrastructure defined in packages/api/serverless.yml: the HeadlessChromium Lambda Layer, the print Lambda function (Node.js 20.x, 2,048 MB memory, 30-second timeout), and the API Gateway endpoint.
When the deployment completes, the CLI output will include your API Gateway base URL. It will look similar to:
endpoints:
  POST - https://{api-identifier}.execute-api.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/prod/print
Copy this URL — you will use it in the next step.
Your AWS account must have permissions to create and manage Lambda, API Gateway, IAM roles, S3 buckets, and CloudFormation stacks. If the deployment fails with an access error, check your IAM policy.
4

Convert Your First HTML to PDF

With the service deployed, send your first HTML-to-PDF conversion request using curl. Replace {api-identifier} with the actual identifier from your deployment output:
curl 'https://{api-identifier}.execute-api.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/prod/print' \
  -X 'POST' \
  --output my-document.pdf \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data-binary '{"source":"quickstart","html":"<html><body><h1>Hello World</h1><p>Converted from HTML to PDF.</p></body></html>"}'
The request body is a JSON object with three fields:
FieldTypeRequiredDescription
htmlstring✅ YesThe full HTML document to render as a PDF.
sourcestringNoA label identifying the request origin, used in Lambda logs.
settingsobjectNoPuppeteer page.pdf() options such as format, width, height, and margins.
A successful request returns an application/pdf binary response, which curl writes directly to my-document.pdf.
Replace {api-identifier} in the URL with the actual identifier shown in your Serverless deployment output. The stage name in the URL must also match the stage you deployed — this guide uses prod.
5

Verify the Output

Open my-document.pdf in any PDF viewer (Preview on macOS, Adobe Reader, your browser, etc.) and confirm the document renders correctly. You should see a page with the heading Hello World and the paragraph text Converted from HTML to PDF.If the file is empty or the command returned an error response, check the following:
  • Confirm the endpoint URL and stage name are correct.
  • Run aws sts get-caller-identity to verify your AWS credentials are still active.
  • Check the Lambda function logs in the AWS Console under CloudWatch → Log Groups → /aws/lambda/serverless-pdf-generator-prod-print for detailed error messages.
You can pass any valid HTML string in the html field — including inline CSS, external fonts referenced via <link>, and self-contained JavaScript. Chromium waits for networkidle0 before capturing the PDF, so most styles and scripts will be fully applied.

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What’s Next

Now that your service is live, explore the rest of the documentation to configure, extend, and integrate the PDF generator:

Configuration

Customize Lambda memory, timeout, CORS settings, and S3 large-response handling.

POST /print Reference

Full API reference for the /print endpoint including all request parameters and error codes.

Architecture

Deep-dive into how API Gateway, Lambda, the Chromium Layer, and S3 fit together.

Large Responses

Learn how the service handles PDFs that exceed API Gateway’s 10 MB response limit via S3 offloading.

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