tinypdf

Minimal PDF creation library. <400 LOC, zero dependencies, makes real PDFs.

npm install tinypdf

Executive report	Event ticket
KPI dashboard and chart	Bold landscape admission ticket
Certificate	Invoice
Formal award certificate	Editorial studio invoice

Run any example with Bun, for example: bun examples/executive-report.ts.

---

Why tinypdf?

	tinypdf	jsPDF
Size	3.3 KB	229 KB
Dependencies	0	2

~70x smaller. We removed TTF fonts, PNG/SVG, HTML-to-PDF, forms, encryption, and compression. What's left is the 95% use case: put text and images on a page.

Build with it

Invoices, receipts, reports, shipping labels, tickets, certificates, contracts, data exports

Features

Feature	Description
Text	Helvetica (WinAnsi), any size, hex colors, align left/center/right
Shapes	Rectangles and lines
Images	JPEG (photos, logos, signatures)
Links	Clickable URLs with optional underline
Pages	Multiple pages, custom sizes
Markdown	Convert markdown to PDF with headers, lists, rules

Not included

Unicode/custom fonts, PNG/GIF/SVG, vector graphics, forms, encryption, compression, HTML-to-PDF

Need those? Use jsPDF or pdf-lib.

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Quick start

import { pdf } from 'tinypdf'
import { writeFileSync } from 'fs'

const doc = pdf()

doc.page((ctx) => {
  ctx.rect(50, 700, 200, 40, '#2563eb')           // blue rectangle
  ctx.text('Hello PDF!', 60, 712, 24, { color: '#ffffff' })
  ctx.line(50, 680, 250, 680, '#000000', 1)       // black line
})

writeFileSync('output.pdf', doc.build())

Add images

import { readFileSync } from 'fs'

doc.page((ctx) => {
  const logo = new Uint8Array(readFileSync('logo.jpg'))
  ctx.image(logo, 50, 700, 100, 50)
})

Add links

import { pdf, measureText } from 'tinypdf'

doc.page((ctx) => {
  const text = 'Visit Example.com'
  const y = 700
  ctx.text(text, 50, y, 14, { color: '#0066cc' })
  ctx.link('https://example.com', 50, y - 4, measureText(text, 14), 18, { underline: '#0066cc' })
})

Measure text width

import { measureText } from 'tinypdf'

measureText('Hello', 12) // => 27.34 (points)

Markdown to PDF

import { markdown } from 'tinypdf'
import { writeFileSync } from 'fs'

const pdf = markdown(`
# Hello World

A minimal PDF from markdown.

## Features
- Headers (h1, h2, h3)
- Bullet lists
- Numbered lists
- Horizontal rules

---

Automatic word wrapping and pagination included.
`)

writeFileSync('output.pdf', pdf)

Stream large PDFs

Use buildStream() to emit a ReadableStream<Uint8Array> incrementally. Page content and image inputs are retained until the stream reaches them, but stream bodies are emitted directly and the final PDF is not assembled into one additional full-size buffer.

import { pdf } from 'tinypdf'

const doc = pdf()
for (let i = 0; i < 10_000; i++) {
  doc.page((ctx) => ctx.text(`Page ${i + 1}`, 50, 750, 12))
}

// Write to disk (Bun)
await Bun.write('huge.pdf', doc.buildStream())

// Or serve as an HTTP response
return new Response(doc.buildStream(), {
  headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/pdf' },
})

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API

pdf()                                      // create document
doc.page(callback)                         // add page (612×792 default)
doc.page(width, height, callback)          // add page with custom size
doc.build()                                // returns Uint8Array
doc.buildStream()                          // returns ReadableStream<Uint8Array>

ctx.text(str, x, y, size, options?)        // options: { color, align, width }
ctx.rect(x, y, w, h, fill)                 // filled rectangle
ctx.line(x1, y1, x2, y2, stroke, width?)   // line
ctx.image(jpegBytes, x, y, w, h)           // JPEG image
ctx.link(url, x, y, w, h, options?)        // options: { underline }

measureText(str, size)                     // text width in points
markdown(str, options?)                    // options: { width, height, margin }

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Full example

See the complete invoice generator for a production-style layout using only tinypdf's core text, rectangle, and line primitives.

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License

MIT