Quick Start for PHP

Integrate PDFBolt's REST API in PHP to generate PDFs from URLs, HTML, or templates. The examples below cover all three conversion modes (Direct, Sync, Async).

Official PHP SDK

Want helper methods, automatic HTML encoding, and SDK error classes?

See the PHP SDK guide.

1. Get Your API Key

Find your API key on the API Credentials page in your Dashboard. If you don't have an account, sign up – the free plan includes 100 document conversions per month.

2. Make Your First Request

Any HTTP client works – adjust the request structure to match your library.

Examples use Guzzle. Install it with:

composer require guzzlehttp/guzzle

Choose your endpoint:

Direct
Sync
Async

The Direct endpoint provides immediate PDF generation and returns the raw PDF file in the response.

Choose your source:

URL
HTML
Template

Convert a webpage to PDF:

<?php

require __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

use GuzzleHttp\Client;
use GuzzleHttp\Exception\RequestException;

$headers = [
    'API-KEY' => 'XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX',
    'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
];

$body = [
    'url' => 'https://example.com',
    'format' => 'A4',
    'printBackground' => true,
];

try {
    $client = new Client();
    $response = $client->post('https://api.pdfbolt.com/v1/direct', [
        'headers' => $headers,
        'json' => $body,
    ]);

    file_put_contents('webpage.pdf', (string) $response->getBody());
    echo "PDF generated successfully\n";

} catch (RequestException $e) {
    if ($e->hasResponse()) {
        echo "HTTP " . $e->getResponse()->getStatusCode() . "\n";
        echo "Error Message: " . $e->getResponse()->getBody() . "\n";
    } else {
        echo "Error: " . $e->getMessage() . "\n";
    }
}

Convert HTML to PDF (HTML must be base64 encoded):

<?php

require __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

use GuzzleHttp\Client;
use GuzzleHttp\Exception\RequestException;

$htmlContent = '<html><body><h1>Hello!</h1><p>This is a sample PDF.</p></body></html>';
$base64Html = base64_encode($htmlContent);

$headers = [
    'API-KEY' => 'XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX',
    'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
];

$body = [
    'html' => $base64Html,
    'format' => 'A4',
    'printBackground' => true,
    'margin' => [
        'top' => '30px',
        'left' => '30px',
    ],
];

try {
    $client = new Client();
    $response = $client->post('https://api.pdfbolt.com/v1/direct', [
        'headers' => $headers,
        'json' => $body,
    ]);

    file_put_contents('document.pdf', (string) $response->getBody());
    echo "PDF generated successfully\n";

} catch (RequestException $e) {
    if ($e->hasResponse()) {
        echo "HTTP " . $e->getResponse()->getStatusCode() . "\n";
        echo "Error Message: " . $e->getResponse()->getBody() . "\n";
    } else {
        echo "Error: " . $e->getMessage() . "\n";
    }
}

Convert a template with data to PDF:

<?php

require __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

use GuzzleHttp\Client;
use GuzzleHttp\Exception\RequestException;

$headers = [
    'API-KEY' => 'XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX',
    'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
];

$body = [
    'templateId' => 'your-template-id',
    'templateData' => [
        'client_name' => 'John Doe',
        'invoice_number' => 'INV-001',
        'total_amount' => '$299.99',
        'line_items' => [
            ['description' => 'Web Development', 'unit_price' => '$200.00'],
            ['description' => 'Design Services', 'unit_price' => '$99.99'],
        ],
    ],
];

try {
    $client = new Client();
    $response = $client->post('https://api.pdfbolt.com/v1/direct', [
        'headers' => $headers,
        'json' => $body,
    ]);

    file_put_contents('invoice.pdf', (string) $response->getBody());
    echo "PDF generated successfully\n";

} catch (RequestException $e) {
    if ($e->hasResponse()) {
        echo "HTTP " . $e->getResponse()->getStatusCode() . "\n";
        echo "Error Message: " . $e->getResponse()->getBody() . "\n";
    } else {
        echo "Error: " . $e->getMessage() . "\n";
    }
}

New to templates?

Create and publish your first template in the Dashboard Template Designer or through the Template API, then use its ID in conversion requests. See the Template Guide for Handlebars syntax and examples.

The Sync endpoint returns a JSON response with a download URL for the PDF (valid for 24 hours).

Choose your source:

URL
HTML
Template

Convert a webpage and get a download URL:

<?php

require __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

use GuzzleHttp\Client;
use GuzzleHttp\Exception\RequestException;

$headers = [
    'API-KEY' => 'XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX',
    'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
];

$body = [
    'url' => 'https://example.com',
    'format' => 'A4',
    'printBackground' => true,
];

try {
    $client = new Client();
    $response = $client->post('https://api.pdfbolt.com/v1/sync', [
        'headers' => $headers,
        'json' => $body,
    ]);

    $result = json_decode((string) $response->getBody(), true);
    echo "PDF URL: " . $result['documentUrl'] . "\n";

} catch (RequestException $e) {
    if ($e->hasResponse()) {
        echo "HTTP " . $e->getResponse()->getStatusCode() . "\n";
        echo "Error Message: " . $e->getResponse()->getBody() . "\n";
    } else {
        echo "Error: " . $e->getMessage() . "\n";
    }
}

Convert HTML and get a download URL (HTML must be base64 encoded):

<?php

require __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

use GuzzleHttp\Client;
use GuzzleHttp\Exception\RequestException;

$htmlContent = '<html><body><h1>Hello!</h1><p>This is a sample PDF.</p></body></html>';
$base64Html = base64_encode($htmlContent);

$headers = [
    'API-KEY' => 'XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX',
    'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
];

$body = [
    'html' => $base64Html,
    'format' => 'A4',
    'printBackground' => true,
    'margin' => [
        'top' => '30px',
        'left' => '30px',
    ],
];

try {
    $client = new Client();
    $response = $client->post('https://api.pdfbolt.com/v1/sync', [
        'headers' => $headers,
        'json' => $body,
    ]);

    $result = json_decode((string) $response->getBody(), true);
    echo "PDF URL: " . $result['documentUrl'] . "\n";

} catch (RequestException $e) {
    if ($e->hasResponse()) {
        echo "HTTP " . $e->getResponse()->getStatusCode() . "\n";
        echo "Error Message: " . $e->getResponse()->getBody() . "\n";
    } else {
        echo "Error: " . $e->getMessage() . "\n";
    }
}

Convert a template with data and get a download URL:

<?php

require __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

use GuzzleHttp\Client;
use GuzzleHttp\Exception\RequestException;

$headers = [
    'API-KEY' => 'XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX',
    'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
];

$body = [
    'templateId' => 'your-template-id',
    'templateData' => [
        'client_name' => 'John Doe',
        'invoice_number' => 'INV-001',
        'total_amount' => '$299.99',
        'line_items' => [
            ['description' => 'Web Development', 'unit_price' => '$200.00'],
            ['description' => 'Design Services', 'unit_price' => '$99.99'],
        ],
    ],
];

try {
    $client = new Client();
    $response = $client->post('https://api.pdfbolt.com/v1/sync', [
        'headers' => $headers,
        'json' => $body,
    ]);

    $result = json_decode((string) $response->getBody(), true);
    echo "PDF URL: " . $result['documentUrl'] . "\n";

} catch (RequestException $e) {
    if ($e->hasResponse()) {
        echo "HTTP " . $e->getResponse()->getStatusCode() . "\n";
        echo "Error Message: " . $e->getResponse()->getBody() . "\n";
    } else {
        echo "Error: " . $e->getMessage() . "\n";
    }
}

New to templates?

The Async endpoint returns a requestId immediately and delivers the final result via webhook callback.

Choose your source:

URL
HTML
Template

Convert a webpage and receive a webhook callback:

<?php

require __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

use GuzzleHttp\Client;
use GuzzleHttp\Exception\RequestException;

$headers = [
    'API-KEY' => 'XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX',
    'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
];

$body = [
    'url' => 'https://example.com',
    'format' => 'A4',
    'printBackground' => true,
    'webhook' => 'https://your-app.com/webhook',
];

try {
    $client = new Client();
    $response = $client->post('https://api.pdfbolt.com/v1/async', [
        'headers' => $headers,
        'json' => $body,
    ]);

    $result = json_decode((string) $response->getBody(), true);
    echo "Request ID: " . $result['requestId'] . "\n";
    echo "PDF will be sent to webhook when ready\n";

} catch (RequestException $e) {
    if ($e->hasResponse()) {
        echo "HTTP " . $e->getResponse()->getStatusCode() . "\n";
        echo "Error Message: " . $e->getResponse()->getBody() . "\n";
    } else {
        echo "Error: " . $e->getMessage() . "\n";
    }
}

Convert HTML and receive a webhook callback (HTML must be base64 encoded):

<?php

require __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

use GuzzleHttp\Client;
use GuzzleHttp\Exception\RequestException;

$htmlContent = '<html><body><h1>Hello!</h1><p>This is a sample PDF.</p></body></html>';
$base64Html = base64_encode($htmlContent);

$headers = [
    'API-KEY' => 'XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX',
    'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
];

$body = [
    'html' => $base64Html,
    'format' => 'A4',
    'printBackground' => true,
    'margin' => [
        'top' => '30px',
        'left' => '30px',
    ],
    'webhook' => 'https://your-app.com/webhook',
];

try {
    $client = new Client();
    $response = $client->post('https://api.pdfbolt.com/v1/async', [
        'headers' => $headers,
        'json' => $body,
    ]);

    $result = json_decode((string) $response->getBody(), true);
    echo "Request ID: " . $result['requestId'] . "\n";
    echo "PDF will be sent to webhook when ready\n";

} catch (RequestException $e) {
    if ($e->hasResponse()) {
        echo "HTTP " . $e->getResponse()->getStatusCode() . "\n";
        echo "Error Message: " . $e->getResponse()->getBody() . "\n";
    } else {
        echo "Error: " . $e->getMessage() . "\n";
    }
}

Convert a template with data and receive a webhook callback:

<?php

require __DIR__ . '/vendor/autoload.php';

use GuzzleHttp\Client;
use GuzzleHttp\Exception\RequestException;

$headers = [
    'API-KEY' => 'XXXXXXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXXXXXXXXXX',
    'Content-Type' => 'application/json',
];

$body = [
    'templateId' => 'your-template-id',
    'templateData' => [
        'client_name' => 'John Doe',
        'invoice_number' => 'INV-001',
        'total_amount' => '$299.99',
        'line_items' => [
            ['description' => 'Web Development', 'unit_price' => '$200.00'],
            ['description' => 'Design Services', 'unit_price' => '$99.99'],
        ],
    ],
    'webhook' => 'https://your-app.com/webhook',
];

try {
    $client = new Client();
    $response = $client->post('https://api.pdfbolt.com/v1/async', [
        'headers' => $headers,
        'json' => $body,
    ]);

    $result = json_decode((string) $response->getBody(), true);
    echo "Request ID: " . $result['requestId'] . "\n";
    echo "PDF will be sent to webhook when ready\n";

} catch (RequestException $e) {
    if ($e->hasResponse()) {
        echo "HTTP " . $e->getResponse()->getStatusCode() . "\n";
        echo "Error Message: " . $e->getResponse()->getBody() . "\n";
    } else {
        echo "Error: " . $e->getMessage() . "\n";
    }
}

New to templates?

Quick Start for PHP

1. Get Your API Key

2. Make Your First Request

Next Steps

📄️ API Endpoints

📄️ Conversion Parameters

📄️ Error Handling

📄️ Templates

1. Get Your API Key​

2. Make Your First Request​

Next Steps​

📄️ API Endpoints

📄️ Conversion Parameters

📄️ Error Handling

📄️ Templates

1. Get Your API Key

2. Make Your First Request

Next Steps