Direct Conversion

The /v1/direct endpoint generates a PDF from a URL, HTML, or template ID and returns it directly in the response body. Use it when you need the PDF immediately: save to disk, attach to an email, or show an in-app preview while your user is waiting.

Endpoint Details

Method: POST

https://api.pdfbolt.com/v1/direct

Success Example

Request

Example request body for converting a URL to PDF:

{
  "url": "https://example.com"
}

cURL

Complete request with authentication, saving the result as webpage.pdf:

curl 'https://api.pdfbolt.com/v1/direct' \
  -H 'API-KEY: XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"url": "https://example.com"}' \
  -o webpage.pdf

To save response headers (rate limits, conversion cost, content disposition) alongside the PDF, add -D headers.txt:

curl -D headers.txt 'https://api.pdfbolt.com/v1/direct' \
  -H 'API-KEY: XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX' \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"url": "https://example.com"}' \
  -o webpage.pdf

Response

The response contains raw PDF bytes, or Base64-encoded PDF text when isEncoded is true.

Failure Example

API-level failures return a JSON error object. Infrastructure-generated responses, such as 503 and 504, may use a different format. See Error Handling for shared error codes and recommended actions, and the OpenAPI Reference for the exact responses supported by this endpoint.

Request

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "waitForFunction": "() => document.body.innerText.includes('Ready to Download')"
}

Response

{
  "timestamp": "2026-04-30T10:28:43Z",
  "httpErrorCode": 408,
  "errorCode": "CONVERSION_TIMEOUT",
  "errorMessage": "Conversion process timed out. Please see https://pdfbolt.com/docs/parameters#timeout, https://pdfbolt.com/docs/parameters#waituntil and https://pdfbolt.com/docs/parameters#waitforfunction parameters."
}

Body Parameters

Common Parameters

Below is the only parameter specific to /v1/direct. For parameters shared across the Conversion API endpoints, see Conversion Parameters.

isEncoded

Type: boolean

Required: No

Default Value: false

Details: The isEncoded parameter determines the format of the PDF data returned in the response:

• When true: returns Base64-encoded PDF with Content-Type: text/plain.
• When false (default): returns raw PDF binary with Content-Type: application/pdf.

Usage:

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "isEncoded": true
}

Base64 Size Overhead

Base64-encoded responses are approximately 33% larger than raw binary, increasing transfer time and storage usage.

Response

The response format depends on the isEncoded parameter:

Value	Response Format	Content Type
true	Base64-encoded PDF	text/plain
false	Raw PDF binary	application/pdf

For response headers, see API Response Headers.

Next Steps

📄️ Quick Start Guide

Node.js, Python, and PHP SDKs, cURL, and REST examples

📄️ Conversion Parameters

Full reference for all PDF generation parameters