--- title: "Generate a blank PDF server-side | Nutrient" canonical_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/document-engine/pdf-generation/from-html/blank-pdf/" md_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/document-engine/pdf-generation/from-html/blank-pdf.md" last_updated: "2026-05-25T09:22:39.179Z" description: "Learn how to create a blank PDF using HTML and the PDF Generation API. Step-by-step guide for seamless document creation and management." --- # Generate a blank PDF This guide will take you through the process of generating a blank PDF using the PDF Generation feature. ## Document content To generate a blank PDF, you can supply some HTML that renders as an empty page, like so: ```html ``` ## PDF generation Next, send the above HTML to Document Engine for generation. Use the [`/api/documents`](https://www.nutrient.io/api/reference/document-engine/upstream/#tag/Documents/operation/upload-document) endpoint, sending the [PDF Generation schema](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/document-engine/pdf-generation/from-html/schema.md) with the HTML file from above: ### CURL ```bash curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/api/documents \ -H 'Authorization: Token token=' \ -F document_id=blank-document \ -F generation='{ "html": "page.html" }' \ -F page.html=@/path/to/page.html ``` ### HTTP ```http POST /api/documents HTTP/1.1 Authorization: Token token= Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=customboundary --customboundary Content-Disposition: form-data; name="document_id"; blank-document --customboundary Content-Disposition: form-data; name="generation"; Content-Type: application/json { "html": "page.html" } --customboundary Content-Disposition: form-data; name="page.html" filename="page.html"; Content-Type: text/html --customboundary ``` After performing the above `curl` command, you can view the generated document in the Server dashboard at http://localhost:5000/dashboard/documents/blank-document:![A blank PDF](@/assets/guides/document-engine/pdf-generation/blank-document.png) Using the [PDF Generation schema](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/document-engine/pdf-generation/from-html/schema.md), you can control the page size you want to create. In this example, you create the page in letter size: ### CURL ```bash curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/api/documents \ -H 'Authorization: Token token=' \ -F document_id=blank-document \ -F generation='{ "html": "page.html", "layout": { "size": "Letter"} }' \ -F page.html=@/path/to/page.html ``` ### HTTP ```http POST /api/documents HTTP/1.1 Authorization: Token token= Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=customboundary --customboundary Content-Disposition: form-data; name="document_id"; blank-document --customboundary Content-Disposition: form-data; name="generation"; Content-Type: application/json { "html": "page.html", "layout": { "size": "Letter"} } --customboundary Content-Disposition: form-data; name="page.html" filename="page.html"; Content-Type: text/html --customboundary ``` --- ## Related pages - [Java](/guides/document-engine/pdf-generation/from-html/java.md) - [JavaScript](/guides/document-engine/pdf-generation/from-html/javascript.md) - [Edit a generated PDF](/guides/document-engine/pdf-generation/from-html/edit-a-generated-pdf.md) - [Python](/guides/document-engine/pdf-generation/from-html/python.md) - [Create PDFs from scratch](/guides/document-engine/pdf-generation/from-html/from-scratch.md) - [Generate fillable PDF forms from HTML](/guides/document-engine/pdf-generation/from-html/fillable-pdf-forms.md) - [Customize the page header and footer](/guides/document-engine/pdf-generation/from-html/page-header-footer.md) - [PHP](/guides/document-engine/pdf-generation/from-html/php.md) - [HTML-to-PDF conversion server sample code](/guides/document-engine/pdf-generation/from-html/sample-code.md) - [HTML template design for generating PDFs](/guides/document-engine/pdf-generation/from-html/template-design.md) - [HTML-to-PDF generation schema](/guides/document-engine/pdf-generation/from-html/schema.md)