Markdown-to-PDF API

This guide demonstrates how to convert Markdown content into professionally styled PDF documents using the Markdown-to-PDF API. Whether you’re generating reports from documentation, turning README files into shareable PDFs, or building a content pipeline that outputs print-ready documents, this API handles the conversion for you — complete with syntax-highlighted code blocks, GitHub Flavored Markdown(opens in a new tab) (GFM) tables, and a choice of built-in templates or completely custom HTML and CSS.

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Quick start

Send a JSON request with inline Markdown to get a PDF back:

SHELL
HTTP

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/processor/md_to_pdf \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "markdown": "# Hello World\n\nThis is **bold** and this is *italic*.\n\n- Item one\n- Item two\n\n> A blockquote"
  }' \
  -o output.pdf

POST /processor/md_to_pdf HTTP/1.1
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "markdown": "# Hello World\n\nThis is **bold** and this is *italic*.\n\n- Item one\n- Item two\n\n> A blockquote"
}

Sending raw Markdown

If you have a .md file and don’t need any options, send the file contents directly with the text/markdown content type:

SHELL
HTTP

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/processor/md_to_pdf \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: text/markdown" \
  --data-binary @document.md \
  -o output.pdf

POST /processor/md_to_pdf HTTP/1.1
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY
Content-Type: text/markdown

# My Document

Content of the Markdown file...

Using a built-in template with custom CSS

Select a template and override specific styles with the css parameter:

SHELL
HTTP

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/processor/md_to_pdf \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "markdown": "# Quarterly Report\n\n## Revenue\n\n| Quarter | Revenue |\n|---------|--------:|\n| Q1 | $1.2M |\n| Q2 | $1.5M |\n\n> Full details in the appendix.",
    "template": "built-in:corporate",
    "css": "h1 { color: #1a365d; } table { width: 100%; }"
  }' \
  -o report.pdf

POST /processor/md_to_pdf HTTP/1.1
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "markdown": "# Quarterly Report\n\n## Revenue\n\n| Quarter | Revenue |\n|---------|--------:|\n| Q1 | $1.2M |\n| Q2 | $1.5M |\n\n> Full details in the appendix.",
  "template": "built-in:corporate",
  "css": "h1 { color: #1a365d; } table { width: 100%; }"
}

Uploading assets

When your Markdown references local images or you want to include custom fonts or other files, use multipart/form-data to upload the Markdown file and assets together. Each uploaded file part becomes an asset that can be referenced by filename in the Markdown or in your CSS and HTML templates.

SHELL
HTTP

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/processor/md_to_pdf \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F markdown=@document.md \
  -F logo.png=@images/logo.png \
  -F chart.svg=@images/chart.svg \
  -o output.pdf

POST /processor/md_to_pdf HTTP/1.1
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY
Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=customboundary

--customboundary
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="markdown"; filename="document.md"
Content-Type: text/markdown

# Company Report

![Company Logo](logo.png)

## Performance

![Revenue chart](chart.svg)
--customboundary
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="logo.png"; filename="logo.png"
Content-Type: image/png

<PNG data>
--customboundary
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="chart.svg"; filename="chart.svg"
Content-Type: image/svg+xml

<SVG data>
--customboundary--

To combine asset uploads with template or CSS options, include a data part containing JSON:

SHELL
HTTP

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/processor/md_to_pdf \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F markdown=@report.md \
  -F 'data={"template":"built-in:elegant","css":"img { max-width: 100%; }","markdown_options":{"syntax_highlight":{"theme":"github"}}};type=application/json' \
  -F chart.png=@assets/chart.png \
  -F logo.svg=@assets/logo.svg \
  -o report.pdf

POST /processor/md_to_pdf HTTP/1.1
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY
Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=customboundary

--customboundary
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="markdown"; filename="report.md"
Content-Type: text/markdown

<Markdown data>
--customboundary
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="data"
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "template": "built-in:elegant",
  "css": "img { max-width: 100%; }",
  "markdown_options": {
    "syntax_highlight": {
      "theme": "github"
    }
  }
}
--customboundary
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="chart.png"; filename="chart.png"
Content-Type: image/png

<PNG data>
--customboundary
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="logo.svg"; filename="logo.svg"
Content-Type: image/svg+xml

<SVG data>
--customboundary--

Custom HTML templates

For complete control over the output, provide an HTML template via the html part in a multipart request. The rendered Markdown body is inserted at the {{content}} placeholder inside your HTML.

SHELL
HTTP

curl -X POST https://api.nutrient.io/processor/md_to_pdf \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -F markdown=@document.md \
  -F html=@template.html \
  -F brand-font.woff2=@fonts/brand-font.woff2 \
  -F header-bg.png=@images/header-bg.png \
  -o output.pdf

POST /processor/md_to_pdf HTTP/1.1
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY
Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=customboundary

--customboundary
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="markdown"; filename="document.md"
Content-Type: text/markdown

<Markdown data>
--customboundary
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="html"; filename="template.html"
Content-Type: text/html

<HTML template data>
--customboundary
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="brand-font.woff2"; filename="brand-font.woff2"
Content-Type: font/woff2

<Font data>
--customboundary
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="header-bg.png"; filename="header-bg.png"
Content-Type: image/png

<PNG data>
--customboundary--

A minimal custom HTML template looks as follows. The {{content}} placeholder is required and is where the rendered Markdown will be injected:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
  <style>
    @font-face {
      font-family: 'BrandFont';
      src: url('brand-font.woff2') format('woff2');
    }
    body {
      font-family: 'BrandFont', sans-serif;
      max-width: 800px;
      margin: 0 auto;
      padding: 40px;
    }
    h1 { color: #2c3e50; border-bottom: 2px solid #3498db; }
  </style>
</head>
<body>
  <header>
    <img src="header-bg.png" alt="Header" style="width:100%">
  </header>
  {{content}}
</body>
</html>

Asset files uploaded alongside the HTML template (fonts, images, stylesheets) can be referenced by their part name. When using an inline HTML template, the css parameter is ignored — all styling is controlled by the HTML.

Supported Markdown features

The parser is CommonMark(opens in a new tab) compliant. All standard CommonMark syntax is supported:

Headings (# through ######)
Paragraphs and line breaks
Emphasis (*italic*, **bold**, ***bold italic***)
Links and images
Inline code and fenced code blocks with syntax highlighting
Block quotes
Ordered and unordered lists
Thematic breaks (---)

The following GFM features are also supported:

Feature	Syntax
Tables	Pipe-delimited tables with column alignment
Strikethrough	`~~deleted text~~`
Autolinks	Bare URLs and email addresses become clickable
Task lists	`- [x] done` / `- [ ] todo`
Alerts	`> [!NOTE]`, `> [!WARNING]`, `> [!TIP]`, `> [!IMPORTANT]`, `> [!CAUTION]`
Footnotes	`[^1]` reference-style and `^[inline]` footnotes
Superscript	`^superscript^`
Subscript	`~subscript~`
Highlight	`==highlighted text==`
Description lists	`Term` followed by `: Definition`

Built-in templates

Select a template with the template parameter. When no template is specified, built-in:default is used.

Report templates

Optimized for multipage documents, articles, and documentation.

Template	Page	Description
`built-in:default`	A4	GFM style. Arimo font, heading underlines, light gray table headers. Used when no template is specified.
`built-in:minimal`	A4, narrow margins	Clean and lightweight. Carlito font, no heading borders, minimal decoration. Maximizes content area.
`built-in:corporate`	US Letter, one-inch margins	Professional business style. Navy headings and table headers. Suitable for formal business documents.
`built-in:elegant`	A4	Dense report style with blue accent headings. Dark table headers. Optimized for data-heavy reports.
`built-in:executive`	A4, one-inch margins	Premium and polished. Generous whitespace, large title. Designed for presentation-quality reports.
`built-in:nordic`	A4	Scandinavian design with serif headings and sans-serif body. Blue accent on lower-level headings.
`built-in:nordic-report`	A4	Dense Nordic style for data-heavy reports. Dark navy table headers, alternating row colors.
`built-in:technical`	A4, tight margins	Information-dense technical documentation. Tight line-height, prominent code blocks. Maximizes content per page.

Presentation templates

Larger text and more whitespace, optimized for executive briefings.

Template	Page	Description
`built-in:elegant-presentation`	A4	Elegant scaled up for presentations. Larger body and title text. Blue accent headings.
`built-in:nordic-executive`	A4	Premium with large title, inverted code blocks (dark background, light text).
`built-in:nordic-presentation`	A4	Nordic style scaled for projection. Large headings, dark navy table headers.

Custom CSS

Override or extend the selected template’s styles with the css parameter. The custom CSS is appended after the template stylesheet:

{
  "markdown": "# My Document\n\nStyled content here.",
  "template": "built-in:nordic",
  "css": "body { font-size: 12pt; } h1 { color: #e74c3c; } table th { background: #2c3e50; color: white; }"
}

When no template is specified, the CSS is appended after the default stylesheet. When using a custom HTML template (via the html multipart part), the css parameter is ignored.

Page layout

The layout parameter controls page dimensions, orientation, and margins. If omitted, the template’s default layout is used.

{
  "markdown": "# Landscape Report\n\nWide tables look better in landscape.",
  "layout": {
    "size": "Letter",
    "orientation": "landscape",
    "margin": { "top": 20, "right": 20, "bottom": 20, "left": 20 }
  }
}

Option	Type	Default	Description
`size`	String or object	`"A4"`	A preset name (`"A4"`, `"Letter"`, `"Legal"`, `"A0"`–`"A8"`) or custom dimensions `{"width": mm, "height": mm}`.
`orientation`	String	`"portrait"`	`"portrait"` or `"landscape"`.
`margin`	Object	`{"top": 10, "right": 10, "bottom": 10, "left": 10}`	Page margins in millimeters. Each field must be >= 0.

Syntax highlighting

Fenced code blocks with a language identifier receive automatic syntax highlighting. Configure via markdown_options.syntax_highlight:

{
  "markdown": "# Code Example\n\n```python\ndef greet(name):\n    return f'Hello, {name}!'\n```",
  "markdown_options": {
    "syntax_highlight": {
      "theme": "github"
    }
  }
}

Option	Type	Default	Description
`theme`	string	`"onedark"`	Color theme name. Refer to the dark themes and light themes options below.

Set syntax_highlight to false to disable highlighting entirely.

Dark themes

onedark (default)
dracula
monokai
nord
github-dark
github-dark-dimmed
gruvbox-dark
catppuccin-mocha
base16-ocean-dark
ayu-dark
ayu-mirage
solarized-dark
visual-studio-dark
material-dark
night-owl
synthwave-84
coldark-dark
tokyonight-storm
tokyonight-night
kanagawa-wave
kanagawa-dragon
rose-pine
rose-pine-moon
nightfox
nordfox
carbonfox
terafox
duskfox
everforest-dark
oxocarbon-dark
tomorrow-night
zenburn

Light themes

github
github-light
inspired-github
catppuccin-latte
gruvbox-light
solarized-light
ayu-light
material-light
one-light
coldark-cold
tokyonight-day
kanagawa-lotus
rose-pine-dawn
dawnfox
dayfox
everforest-light
oxocarbon-light
emacs
base16-ocean-light

Available fonts

The following fonts are available out of the box:

Font	Style	Metric equivalent
Carlito	Sans-serif	Calibri
Arimo	Sans-serif	Arial
Caladea	Serif	Cambria
Noto Sans	Sans-serif	—
DejaVu Sans	Sans-serif	—
Liberation Mono	Monospace	Courier New
Cousine	Monospace	—

Use these font families in your custom CSS or HTML templates. To use a custom font, upload the font file as a multipart part and reference it with @font-face in your CSS or HTML template.