tessl/npm-pdfkit

A PDF generation library for Node.js with comprehensive text, graphics, and form support

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PDFKit

Name: tessl/npm-pdfkit
Author: tessl

PDFKit is a comprehensive PDF generation library for Node.js and browsers that enables developers to create complex, multi-page, printable documents programmatically. It offers both low-level PDF operations and high-level abstractions for vector graphics, advanced text handling, font embedding, image integration, interactive forms, and accessibility features.

Package Information

Package Name: pdfkit
Package Type: npm
Language: JavaScript/TypeScript
Installation: npm install pdfkit

Core Imports

import PDFDocument from "pdfkit";

For CommonJS:

const PDFDocument = require("pdfkit");

For browsers:

<script src="path/to/pdfkit.standalone.js"></script>
<!-- PDFDocument is available globally -->

Basic Usage

import PDFDocument from "pdfkit";
import fs from "fs";

// Create a new PDF document
const doc = new PDFDocument({
  size: 'A4',
  margins: { top: 50, left: 50, right: 50, bottom: 50 }
});

// Pipe the PDF to a file
doc.pipe(fs.createWriteStream('output.pdf'));

// Add content
doc.fontSize(20)
   .fillColor('blue')
   .text('Hello PDFKit!', 100, 100);

doc.rect(100, 150, 200, 100)
   .fillColor('red')
   .fill();

// Finalize the PDF
doc.end();

Architecture

PDFKit is built around several key components:

PDFDocument Class: Main class extending Node.js Readable stream for PDF generation
Mixin Architecture: Functionality organized into specialized mixins (Color, Vector, Text, Images, etc.)
Page Management: Automatic and manual page handling with buffering support
Stream-Based Output: Compatible with Node.js streams for flexible output handling
Cross-Platform: Works in Node.js and modern browsers with different build targets

Capabilities

Document Management

Core document creation, page management, and output control functionality.

class PDFDocument extends stream.Readable {
  constructor(options?: PDFDocumentOptions);
  addPage(options?: PageOptions): PDFDocument;
  end(): void;
}

interface PDFDocumentOptions {
  pdfVersion?: '1.3' | '1.4' | '1.5' | '1.6' | '1.7' | '1.7ext3';
  compress?: boolean;
  autoFirstPage?: boolean;
  size?: string | [number, number];
  layout?: 'portrait' | 'landscape';
  margins?: MarginDefinition;
  bufferPages?: boolean;
  font?: string | Buffer | ArrayBuffer;
  fontSize?: number;
  info?: DocumentInfo;
  displayTitle?: boolean;
  lang?: string;
  ignoreOrientation?: boolean;
  subset?: PDFSubset;
  tagged?: boolean;
}

Document Management

Text Rendering

Advanced text rendering with flexible positioning, styling, fonts, and layout options including line wrapping and multi-column support.

text(text: string, x?: number, y?: number, options?: TextOptions): PDFDocument;
widthOfString(string: string, options?: TextOptions): number;
font(src: string | Buffer, family?: string, size?: number): PDFDocument;
fontSize(size: SizeValue): PDFDocument;

Text Rendering

Vector Graphics

Comprehensive vector graphics with path construction, shapes, transformations, and painting operations using HTML5 canvas-like API.

rect(x: number, y: number, w: number, h: number): PDFDocument;
circle(x: number, y: number, radius: number): PDFDocument;
moveTo(x: number, y: number): PDFDocument;
lineTo(x: number, y: number): PDFDocument;
fill(color?: ColorValue, rule?: FillRule): PDFDocument;
stroke(color?: ColorValue): PDFDocument;

Vector Graphics

Color Management

Color handling with support for RGB, CMYK, hex colors, gradients, patterns, and spot colors.

fillColor(color: ColorValue, opacity?: number): PDFDocument;
strokeColor(color: ColorValue, opacity?: number): PDFDocument;
linearGradient(x1: number, y1: number, x2: number, y2: number): Gradient;
radialGradient(x1: number, y1: number, r1: number, x2: number, y2: number, r2: number): Gradient;

Color Management

Image Handling

Image embedding and rendering with support for JPEG and PNG formats, including transparent PNGs and EXIF orientation.

image(src: ImageSource, x?: number, y?: number, options?: ImageOptions): PDFDocument;
openImage(src: ImageSource): PDFImage;

type ImageSource = string | Buffer | ArrayBuffer;

Image Handling

Interactive Elements

Annotations, hyperlinks, form fields, and interactive PDF features for creating engaging documents.

link(x: number, y: number, w: number, h: number, url: string, options?: AnnotationOptions): PDFDocument;
formText(name: string, x: number, y: number, w: number, h: number, options?: FormFieldOptions): PDFDocument;
note(x: number, y: number, w: number, h: number, contents: string, options?: AnnotationOptions): PDFDocument;

Interactive Elements

Font Management

Advanced font handling with font registration, size utilities, and typography controls.

font(src: string | Buffer | ArrayBuffer, family?: string, size?: number): PDFDocument;
fontSize(size: SizeValue): PDFDocument;
registerFont(name: string, src: string | Buffer | ArrayBuffer, family?: string): PDFDocument;
currentLineHeight(includeGap?: boolean): number;

Font Management

Document Outline

PDF bookmarks and navigation structure for creating organized document outlines.

outline.addItem(title: string, options?: OutlineOptions): OutlineItem;

interface OutlineOptions {
  expanded?: boolean;
  destination?: string;
}

Document Outline

File Attachments

Embed files within PDF documents for comprehensive document packages.

file(src: string | Buffer, options?: FileOptions): PDFReference;

interface FileOptions {
  name?: string;
  type?: string;
  description?: string;
  hidden?: boolean;
  creationDate?: Date;
  modifiedDate?: Date;
}

File Attachments

Tables

Structured table creation with comprehensive layout and styling options.

table(options?: TableOptions): PDFTable;

interface PDFTable {
  row(data: any[], lastRow?: boolean): PDFTable | PDFDocument;
  end(): PDFDocument;
}

Tables

Accessibility Features

Tagged PDF support, structure elements, and accessibility features for creating inclusive documents.

struct(type: StructureType, options?: StructureOptions, children?: StructureElement[]): StructureElement;
markContent(tag: string, options?: MarkingOptions): PDFDocument;

Accessibility Features

Types

type ColorValue = string | [number, number, number] | [number, number, number, number] | Gradient | Pattern;
type SizeValue = number | string;
type MarginDefinition = number | [number, number] | [number, number, number, number] | 
  { vertical: number; horizontal: number } | 
  { top: number; right: number; bottom: number; left: number };

interface DocumentInfo {
  Title?: string;
  Author?: string;
  Subject?: string;
  Keywords?: string;
  Creator?: string;
  Producer?: string;
  CreationDate?: Date;
  ModDate?: Date;
}

type PDFSubset = 'PDF/A-1' | 'PDF/A-1a' | 'PDF/A-1b' | 'PDF/A-2' | 'PDF/A-2a' | 'PDF/A-2b' | 'PDF/A-3' | 'PDF/A-3a' | 'PDF/A-3b' | 'PDF/UA';

// Standard page sizes supported
type PageSize = 'A0' | 'A1' | 'A2' | 'A3' | 'A4' | 'A5' | 'A6' | 'A7' | 'A8' | 'A9' | 'A10' |
  'B0' | 'B1' | 'B2' | 'B3' | 'B4' | 'B5' | 'B6' | 'B7' | 'B8' | 'B9' | 'B10' |
  'C0' | 'C1' | 'C2' | 'C3' | 'C4' | 'C5' | 'C6' | 'C7' | 'C8' | 'C9' | 'C10' |
  'RA0' | 'RA1' | 'RA2' | 'RA3' | 'RA4' | 'SRA0' | 'SRA1' | 'SRA2' | 'SRA3' | 'SRA4' |
  'EXECUTIVE' | 'FOLIO' | 'LEGAL' | 'LETTER' | 'TABLOID';

Install with Tessl CLI