# mozilla/pdf.js

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53,454 stars · 10,635 forks · JavaScript · Apache-2.0

## Links

- GitHub: https://github.com/mozilla/pdf.js
- Homepage: https://mozilla.github.io/pdf.js/
- awesome-repositories: https://awesome-repositories.com/repository/mozilla-pdf-js.md

## Description

This project is a portable document rendering engine designed to parse and display complex document layouts directly within standard web browser environments. It functions as a web-native viewer that enables the presentation of documents without requiring external software or browser plugins.

The engine utilizes a canvas-based rendering layer to map document page data onto standard web drawing surfaces, ensuring high-fidelity visual output. To maintain interface responsiveness, it offloads heavy parsing and object extraction tasks to background threads. The system also employs asynchronous byte-range fetching to retrieve only the necessary parts of a document on demand, allowing for immediate viewing without waiting for the entire file to download.

The library provides a comprehensive set of tools for client-side processing, including text extraction and the ability to handle multi-page documents. It manages document data through low-level binary buffers and uses web-compatible font processing to ensure that text renders identically to the original file layout. Developers can integrate these capabilities to load remote documents, navigate through pages, and apply precise viewport transformations for custom display logic.

## Tags

### Content Management & Publishing

- [Web-Based Document Viewers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/content-management-publishing/documentation-knowledge-management/web-based-document-viewers.md) — Displays complex document layouts natively in browsers, eliminating the need for third-party plugins.
- [Document Data Extraction](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/content-management-publishing/content-processing-transformation/document-processing-conversion/document-processing/data-extraction-analysis/document-data-extraction.md) — Captures text and visual data locally within the browser to support custom search and analysis workflows.
- [JavaScript Document Parsers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/content-management-publishing/content-processing-transformation/document-processing-conversion/document-processing/format-specific-parsers/javascript-document-parsers.md) — Interprets binary data structures to extract structured content from files using JavaScript.
- [PDF Rendering Engines](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/content-management-publishing/content-processing-transformation/document-processing-conversion/document-processing/rendering-visualization/pdf-rendering-engines.md) — Manages document loading, page navigation, and text extraction to facilitate seamless file viewing. ([source](https://mozilla.github.io/pdf.js/api))
- [Documentation and Knowledge Management](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/content-management-publishing/documentation-knowledge-management.md) — Integrates client-side interfaces for document navigation, text searching, and visual presentation within web applications.
- [Asynchronous Data Fetching](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/content-management-publishing/content-processing-transformation/document-processing-conversion/document-processing/document-lifecycle-retrieval/asynchronous-data-fetching.md) — Streams specific document segments on demand to allow immediate viewing without waiting for full file downloads.

### Graphics & Multimedia

- [Canvas Rendering Engines](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/graphics-engines-rendering/rendering/engines/canvas-vector-graphics/canvas-rendering-engines.md) — Converts vector graphics and font data into pixel-based imagery on HTML5 canvas elements.
- [Viewport Transformations](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/graphics-multimedia/graphics-engines-rendering/rendering/coordinate-viewport-transformations/viewport-transformations.md) — Calculates coordinate scaling and rotation matrices to map internal document dimensions onto target display areas.

### Programming Languages & Runtimes

- [Background Parsing Workers](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/programming-languages-runtimes/language-features-paradigms/concurrency-models/background-parsing-workers.md) — Delegates intensive parsing and data extraction tasks to background threads to maintain interface responsiveness.

### Part of an Awesome List

- [File Utilities](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/awesome-lists/devtools/file-utilities.md) — PDF rendering library for the browser.
- [Fuzzing Corpora](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/awesome-lists/security/fuzzing-corpora.md) — A library used to provide PDF file samples for input testing.

### User Interface & Experience

- [Font Subsetting Engines](https://awesome-repositories.com/f/user-interface-experience/styling-theming-systems/typography-and-iconography/font-processing/font-subsetting-engines.md) — Transforms embedded document fonts into web-compatible formats to preserve original layout fidelity.