For a javascript library for generating pdf files, the strongest matches are parallax/jspdf (jsPDF is a well-established library for generating PDF documents), mrrio/jspdf (This library provides a robust, scriptable interface for generating) and bpampuch/pdfmake (This library provides a declarative engine for generating formatted). ekoopmans/html2pdf.js and jsvine/pdfplumber round out the shortlist. Each is ranked by relevance to your query, popularity and recent activity.
We curate open-source GitHub repositories matching “best javascript pdf libraries”. Results are ranked by relevance to your query — pick filters below to narrow, or refine with AI.
jsPDF is a document creation engine designed to generate professional PDF files through a unified programming interface. It functions as a cross-platform graphics library that enables the programmatic assembly of data into structured layouts, supporting both client-side generation within web browsers and server-side rendering in backend environments. The library utilizes a canvas-based drawing API that translates high-level geometric and text instructions into standardized PDF vector primitives. By employing a cross-platform runtime abstraction, it decouples document generation logic from env
jsPDF is a well-established library for generating PDF documents in both browser and Node.js environments, though it focuses primarily on creation rather than the manipulation or text extraction of existing files.
jsPDF is a JavaScript PDF generation library and client-side engine that produces documents directly on the user's device. It provides a scriptable interface for creating PDF files within web browsers and other JavaScript runtime environments without requiring a backend server. The library includes a tool for defining document dimensions, orientation, and measurement units to control page layout. It also functions as a Unicode font integrator, allowing for the embedding of custom font files to support diverse languages and special characters. Capability areas cover dynamic document automatio
This library provides a robust, scriptable interface for generating PDF documents directly in browser and Node.js environments, though it focuses primarily on creation rather than advanced manipulation or text extraction.
pdfmake is a JavaScript PDF generation library and declarative document engine that transforms structured JavaScript objects into formatted PDF files. It functions as a layout engine capable of producing documents on both the client side within a web browser and on the server side using Node.js. The library utilizes a declarative approach to translate object-based document definitions into final PDFs. It distinguishes itself through a virtual layout engine that calculates element positions and page breaks and an inheritance-based style system that uses dictionaries to maintain visual consiste
This library provides a declarative engine for generating formatted PDF documents in both browser and Node.js environments, though it focuses on creation rather than text extraction or manipulation of existing files.
html2pdf.js is a client-side JavaScript library used to convert HTML elements and webpages into downloadable PDF documents. It operates entirely within the browser, removing the need for a backend server to generate files. The library employs a conversion pipeline that renders HTML to a canvas before generating the final PDF layout. This process includes the ability to preserve active hyperlinks by overlaying clickable regions on anchor tags and managing page breaks through specific style rules or selectors. Users can configure document appearance through settings for page margins, filenames
This library provides a straightforward way to generate PDF documents from HTML content within the browser, though it lacks the broader manipulation and text extraction capabilities of more comprehensive PDF processing toolkits.
pdfplumber is a PDF data extraction library and layout analysis tool used to retrieve text, tables, and geometric objects from PDF files using precise coordinate-based analysis. It functions as a layout analyzer and table parser that identifies the bounding boxes and visual coordinates for every character and image on a page. The library distinguishes itself through visual debugging capabilities, allowing users to render PDF pages as images and draw annotations to verify the position of extracted data. It employs line and intersection analysis to identify cell structures and convert unstructu
This library is a Python-based tool focused on PDF data extraction and layout analysis, making it a mismatch for a visitor specifically seeking a JavaScript-based library for PDF generation and manipulation.
wkhtmltopdf is a command-line utility that renders web pages into PDF documents or image files. It functions as a headless browser engine, utilizing the Qt WebKit rendering environment to process HTML, CSS, and JavaScript into visual representations suitable for server-side tasks. The tool distinguishes itself by translating standard web styling rules into physical page dimensions and layout constraints, allowing for the creation of structured documents from web-based source files. It supports the generation of automated tables of contents and provides granular control over document layout, i
This is a command-line utility written in C++ that renders HTML to PDF, rather than a JavaScript-based library that can be integrated into Node.js or browser environments for programmatic PDF manipulation.
React-pdf is a library of components designed to integrate document viewing and interaction into web applications. It provides a standardized interface for parsing and displaying portable document format files directly within a browser environment, supporting input from local files, remote web addresses, and encoded data strings. The library renders document content onto HTML5 canvas elements to ensure consistent visual display across browsers. To maintain interface responsiveness during document processing, it offloads parsing tasks to background threads. It also implements a layered approac
This library is a specialized React component for rendering and viewing PDF documents in the browser, but it lacks the PDF generation and manipulation capabilities required for a general-purpose PDF library.
Embed PDF Viewer is a browser-based PDF rendering library that uses a WebAssembly port of the PDFium engine to display documents entirely on the client side, with no server-side processing required. It provides a framework-agnostic core engine layer that manages the PDF document lifecycle, memory allocation, and WebAssembly resource cleanup, with dedicated integration hooks for React and Vue 3 that handle initialization, document loading, and reactive state management. The library offers both a pre-built, embeddable viewer that can be inserted into any web page with a single initialization ca
This is a specialized PDF viewer and rendering component designed for embedding in web interfaces, but it lacks the document generation and manipulation capabilities required for a general-purpose PDF library.
Gotenberg is a stateless, containerized service that provides a unified API for document conversion, manipulation, and web-to-PDF rendering. It functions as a centralized engine that abstracts complex document processing tasks, allowing users to interact with various rendering tools and libraries through standard HTTP requests. The service distinguishes itself by utilizing headless browser automation to capture web content and by wrapping multiple specialized PDF engines into a single interface. It supports asynchronous task execution, offloading resource-intensive operations to background wo
This is a containerized service and API for document conversion rather than a JavaScript library that you would import and integrate directly into your Node.js or browser-based application code.
pdfminer.six is a programmatic tool for extracting text, layout information, and metadata from PDF documents into machine-readable formats. It functions as a document parser that converts internal PDF objects and structures into accessible data objects for analysis. The project includes utilities for decrypting RC4 and AES encrypted files to enable content extraction. It also provides a layout analyzer to identify fonts, colors, and text locations to determine the organizational structure of pages. The system covers a broad range of extraction capabilities, including the retrieval of embedde
This is a Python-based PDF parsing and extraction tool, which does not meet the requirement for a JavaScript-based library for generating or manipulating PDF documents.
vue-office is an office document preview library and web-based document viewer designed to render Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF files directly in a web browser. It provides a collection of reusable components that allow for the display of documents using network URLs, data buffers, or blob data without requiring external plugins. This rendering solution is built as a cross-framework document renderer, offering integration for Vue 2, Vue 3, and React. It enables client-side document display to avoid server-side conversion processes. The library handles document visualization through client
This library is a document viewer component designed for rendering files in the browser, but it lacks the PDF generation, manipulation, and text extraction capabilities required for a general-purpose PDF library.
pdfcpu is a Go PDF processing library and command-line interface designed for programmatically manipulating, optimizing, and validating PDF files. It provides a toolkit for document content modification and structural management. The project distinguishes itself as an optimization tool and layout engine, capable of reducing file sizes and improving loading speeds by streamlining internal structures. It also functions as a security manager, providing password-based encryption, decryption, and digital signature verification. Its capability surface includes page management for merging, splittin
This is a Go-based command-line tool and library for PDF processing, which does not meet the requirement for a JavaScript-based library for web or Node.js environments.
| Repository | Stars | Language | License | Last push |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| parallax/jspdf | 31.2K | JavaScript | MIT | |
| mrrio/jspdf | 31.2K | JavaScript | MIT | |
| bpampuch/pdfmake | 12.3K | JavaScript | NOASSERTION | |
| ekoopmans/html2pdf.js | 4.9K | JavaScript | MIT | |
| jsvine/pdfplumber | 9.7K | Python | mit | |
| wkhtmltopdf/wkhtmltopdf | 14.6K | C++ | LGPL-3.0 | |
| wojtekmaj/react-pdf | 10.9K | TypeScript | mit | |
| embedpdf/embed-pdf-viewer | 3.3K | TypeScript | mit | |
| gotenberg/gotenberg | 12.5K | Go | MIT | |
| pdfminer/pdfminer.six | 6.9K | Python | mit |