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Getting Started

Generate your first PDF with PodPDF in under 5 minutes!

What You'll Build​

By the end of this guide, you'll be able to:

  • ✅ Get your PodPDF API key
  • ✅ Generate your first PDF from HTML
  • ✅ Understand which endpoint to use
  • ✅ Customize PDF options

Prerequisites​

  • A valid email address
  • cURL or any HTTP client
  • Basic knowledge of REST APIs

Step 1: Get Your API Key​

Dashboard Only

API keys are only available through the dashboard. You cannot generate them via the API.

Sign Up​

  1. Go to https://podpdf.com/signup
  2. Create your account with email and password
  3. Verify your email address

Get Your API Key from Dashboard​

  1. Sign in to your dashboard
  2. Navigate to Settings → API Keys
  3. Click Create New Key if you don't have one
  4. Copy your API key (shown only once)
One-Time Display

API keys are only displayed once when created. Save it immediately! If you lose it, create a new one from the dashboard.

Store Securely

Keep your API key secure! Store it in environment variables, not in your code.

Step 2: Generate Your First PDF​

Now let's create a simple PDF from HTML:

curl -X POST https://api.podpdf.com/quickjob \
  -H "X-API-Key: your_api_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "input_type": "html",
    "html": "<h1>My First PDF</h1><p>This is amazing!</p>"
  }' \
  --output my-first.pdf

Success! 🎉 You now have my-first.pdf on your computer.

Step 3: Try Markdown​

You can also generate PDFs from Markdown:

curl -X POST https://api.podpdf.com/quickjob \
  -H "X-API-Key: your_api_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "input_type": "markdown",
    "markdown": "# My Report\n\n## Section 1\n\nThis is **bold** and this is *italic*."
  }' \
  --output my-markdown.pdf

Step 4: Customize Options​

Add custom margins and formatting:

curl -X POST https://api.podpdf.com/quickjob \
  -H "X-API-Key: your_api_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type": application/json" \
  -d '{
    "input_type": "html",
    "html": "<h1>Custom PDF</h1><p>With custom margins!</p>",
    "options": {
      "format": "A4",
      "margin": {
        "top": "20mm",
        "right": "20mm",
        "bottom": "20mm",
        "left": "20mm"
      },
      "printBackground": true,
      "landscape": false
    }
  }' \
  --output custom.pdf

Step 5: Generate an Invoice​

Here's a practical example - generating an invoice:

curl -X POST https://api.podpdf.com/quickjob \
  -H "X-API-Key: your_api_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "input_type": "html",
    "html": "<!DOCTYPE html><html><head><style>body{font-family:Arial;padding:40px}.header{border-bottom:2px solid #333;padding-bottom:20px}.invoice-details{margin:30px 0}.total{font-size:24px;font-weight:bold;text-align:right}</style></head><body><div class=\"header\"><h1>INVOICE</h1><p>Invoice #12345<br>Date: Dec 29, 2025</p></div><div class=\"invoice-details\"><p><strong>Bill To:</strong><br>John Doe<br>john@example.com</p><table width=\"100%\" style=\"margin-top:30px;border-collapse:collapse;\"><tr style=\"border-bottom:1px solid #ddd;\"><th align=\"left\">Description</th><th align=\"right\">Amount</th></tr><tr><td>PDF Generation Service</td><td align=\"right\">$100.00</td></tr></table></div><div class=\"total\">Total: $100.00</div></body></html>"
  }' \
  --output invoice.pdf

Choosing Between QuickJob and LongJob​

Use /quickjob when:​

  • ✅ Document is simple and small (up to 25 pages maximum)
  • ✅ Need PDF immediately (< 30 seconds)
  • ✅ Synchronous workflow fits your needs
  • ✅ Converting images to PDF (up to 25 images maximum)

Use /longjob when:​

  • ✅ Document is large (more than 25 pages)
  • ✅ Can wait for generation (async)
  • ✅ Want webhook notifications when complete

Learn more about LongJob →

Using Environment Variables​

For security, store your API key in environment variables:

Linux/Mac​

export PODPDF_API_KEY="your_api_key_here"

curl -X POST https://api.podpdf.com/quickjob \
  -H "X-API-Key: $PODPDF_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"input_type":"html","html":"<h1>Hello</h1>"}' \
  --output output.pdf

Node.js​

Create a .env file:

PODPDF_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

Use in your code:

require('dotenv').config();

const apiKey = process.env.PODPDF_API_KEY;

fetch('https://api.podpdf.com/quickjob', {
  headers: {
    'X-API-Key': apiKey,
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  }
});

What's Next?​

Explore More Features​

Common Use Cases​

  • Generate customer invoices
  • Create PDF reports from data
  • Issue certificates and credentials
  • Convert blog posts to PDF

Need Help?​

Free Tier Limits​

Your free account includes:

  • 📊 100 PDFs - All-time quota (does not reset monthly)
  • ⚡ 20 requests/minute - Rate limit
  • 📄 Up to 100 pages - Per PDF
  • 📦 5 MB max - Input size limit
Need More?

Upgrade to a paid plan via your dashboard for unlimited PDFs and higher limits.

Troubleshooting​

Error: 401 Unauthorized​

  • Check that your API key is correct
  • Make sure you're using the X-API-Key header
  • Verify your key hasn't been revoked

Error: 403 Quota Exceeded​

  • You've used all 100 free PDFs
  • Upgrade to a paid plan via your dashboard

Error: 408 Timeout​

  • Your document is too large for QuickJob
  • Use LongJob instead

More troubleshooting →

Congratulations! 🎉​

You've successfully:

  • ✅ Got your API key
  • ✅ Generated your first PDF
  • ✅ Learned the basics
  • ✅ Created a real invoice

Start building amazing PDF generation features into your app!