--- title: "Markdown-to-PDF API" canonical_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/dws-processor/tools-and-api/markdown-to-pdf-api/" md_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/dws-processor/tools-and-api/markdown-to-pdf-api.md" last_updated: "2026-05-22T20:57:56.534Z" description: "Turn Markdown into professionally styled PDFs with built-in templates, syntax highlighting, GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) tables, and custom CSS — or bring your own HTML template for complete control." --- # 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](https://github.github.com/gfm/) (GFM) tables, and a choice of built-in templates or completely custom HTML and CSS. [Try for Free](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/dws-processor/getting-started.md) ## Quick start Send a JSON request with inline Markdown to get a PDF back: ### SHELL ### HTTP ## 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 ## Using a built-in template with custom CSS Select a template and override specific styles with the `css` parameter: ### SHELL ### HTTP ## 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 To combine asset uploads with template or CSS options, include a `data` part containing JSON: ### SHELL ### HTTP ## 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 A minimal custom HTML template looks as follows. The `{{content}}` placeholder is required and is where the rendered Markdown will be injected: ```html
Header
{{content}} ``` 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](https://spec.commonmark.org/0.31.2/) 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: ```json { "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. ```json { "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`: ````json { "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](#dark-themes) and [light themes](#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. --- ## Related pages - [DOCX templating API](/guides/dws-processor/tools-and-api/docx-templating-api.md) - [Document-to-image API](/guides/dws-processor/tools-and-api/document-to-image-api.md) - [Tools and APIs](/guides/dws-processor/tools-and-api.md) - [PDF generator API](/guides/dws-processor/tools-and-api/pdf-generator-api.md) - [Image-to-PDF API](/guides/dws-processor/tools-and-api/image-to-pdf-api.md) - [Office-to-PDF API](/guides/dws-processor/tools-and-api/office-to-pdf-api.md) - [PDF-to-image API](/guides/dws-processor/tools-and-api/pdf-to-image-api.md) - [PDF OCR API](/guides/dws-processor/tools-and-api/pdf-ocr-api.md) - [PDF security API](/guides/dws-processor/tools-and-api/pdf-security-api.md) - [Redaction API](/guides/dws-processor/tools-and-api/redaction-api.md) - [PDF-to-PDF/A API](/guides/dws-processor/tools-and-api/pdf-to-pdfa-api.md) - [PDF watermark API](/guides/dws-processor/tools-and-api/pdf-watermark-api.md) - [PDF/UA auto-tagging API](/guides/dws-processor/tools-and-api/pdfua-api.md)