--- title: "Nutrient Web SDK operational modes | Nutrient SDK" canonical_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/web/about/operational-modes/" md_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/web/about/operational-modes.md" last_updated: "2026-05-19T01:10:17.136Z" description: "Nutrient Web SDK runs in the browser or with Document Engine (self-hosted or managed) to offload document storage." --- # Operational modes Nutrient Web SDK runs in two modes: - In the browser (standalone) - With Document Engine (self-hosted or managed) Document Engine handles document storage, rendering, and editing in the second mode. Your frontend code stays mostly the same across modes. Initialization and file opening are the main differences. For example, request headers configured in Web SDK for fetching documents apply to standalone mode. In Web SDK + Document Engine mode, document fetching is handled by Document Engine, so browser-side document request headers aren’t used for that step. To compare Nutrient document solutions, refer to the [capability and component comparison](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/web/about/capability-and-component-comparison-document-engine.md) guide. ## Nutrient Web SDK in the browser Nutrient Web SDK renders and edits documents directly in the browser using WebAssembly. This mode doesn’t require a server, plugins, or internet access. Browser-based rendering and processing provide the following benefits: - **No server deployment** — You don’t need to deploy or maintain rendering servers. - **Reduced infrastructure load** — The client handles rendering and processing. - **Stable UI on slower networks** — Network speed has less impact on viewer interactions. - **Data stays in the client** — Documents don’t need to move across your network for rendering. ## Nutrient Web SDK with Document Engine When you combine Web SDK with [Document Engine](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/document-engine.md), the server handles storage and rendering. The web viewer receives only the document data it needs. Run Document Engine in your infrastructure or use [managed by Nutrient](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/document-engine/as-a-service/managed-document-engine.md). Web SDK with Document Engine provides the following benefits: - **Server-side rendering and processing** — Reduces browser workload for large or complex documents. - **Built-in syncing** — Synchronizes annotations and form field values across sessions and servers. - **Server-side controls** — Runs sensitive processing on the server. - **Advanced features** — Supports OCR (Document Engine only) and Instant collaboration on web and mobile. - **Scales with traffic** — Supports growing workloads with a server-based architecture. - **Headless workflows** — Enables batch conversion and other automated document tasks. ## Comparing operational modes | Deployment | Web SDK | Web SDK + Document Engine | | ------------------ | ---------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Deployment options | On your infrastructure | On your infrastructure or [managed by Nutrient](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/document-engine/as-a-service/managed-document-engine.md) | | Backend | Static | [Document Engine](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/document-engine.md) | | Deployment method | Any | Container | | Framework | Web SDK | Web SDK + Document Engine | | -------------------- | ------- | ------------------------- | | Angular | ✓ | ✓ | | ASP.NET | ✓ | ✓ | | Blazor | ✓ | ✓ | | Electron | ✓ | | | HTML5 | ✓ | ✓ | | jQuery | ✓ | ✓ | | Next.js | ✓ | ✓ | | Nuxt.js | ✓ | ✓ | | Progressive web apps | ✓ | ✓ | | React | ✓ | ✓ | | Ruby on Rails | ✓ | ✓ | | Svelte | ✓ | ✓ | | TypeScript | ✓ | ✓ | | Vue | ✓ | ✓ | | Flutter | ✓ | ✓ | | PDF support | Web SDK | Web SDK + Document Engine | | ---------------- | ------- | ------------------------- | | PDF | ✓ | ✓ | | PDF/A 1, 2, 3, 4 | ✓ | ✓ | | XFDF | ✓ | ✓ | | Instant JSON | ✓ | ✓ | | Office document support | Web SDK | Web SDK + Document Engine | | ----------------------- | ------- | ------------------------- | | DOCX, DOC, DOTX, DOCM | ✓ | ✓ | | PPTX, PPT, PPTM, PPSX | ✓ | ✓ | | XLSX, XLS, XLSM | ✓ | ✓ | | RTF | | ✓ | | ODT | | ✓ | | HTML support | Web SDK | Web SDK + Document Engine | | ------------ | ------- | ------------------------- | | HTML | | ✓ | | Image support | Web SDK | Web SDK + Document Engine | | ------------- | ------- | ------------------------- | | PNG | ✓ | ✓ | | JPEG, JPG | ✓ | ✓ | | TIFF, TIF | ✓ | ✓ | | HEIC | | ✓ | | GIF | | ✓ | | WebP | | ✓ | | SVG | | ✓ | | TGA | | ✓ | | EPS | | ✓ | | BMP | | ✓ | | Email support | Web SDK | Web SDK + Document Engine | | ------------- | ------- | ------------------------- | | EML | | ✓ | | MSG | | ✓ | | CAD support | Web SDK | Web SDK + Document Engine | | ----------- | ------- | ------------------------- | | DWG | | ✓ | | DXF | | ✓ | | TXT support | Web SDK | Web SDK + Document Engine | | ----------- | ------- | ------------------------- | | TXT | ✓ | ✓ | | Performance | Web SDK | Web SDK + Document Engine | | ------------------- | ----------- | ------------------------- | | Initial load time | Fast | Fastest | | Document rendering | Client-side | Server-side | | Document processing | Client-side | Server-side | | Document streaming | | ✓ | | Functionality | Web SDK | Web SDK + Document Engine | | ------------------------ | ------------ | ------------------------- | | Viewer | ✓ | ✓ | | Annotations | ✓ | ✓ | | Forms | ✓ | ✓ | | Signatures | ✓ | ✓ | | Editor | ✓ | ✓ | | PDF generation | ✓ | ✓ | | Conversion | ✓ | ✓ | | Extraction | ✓ | ✓ | | Redaction | ✓ | ✓ | | OCR | | ✓ | | Document security | ✓ | ✓ | | Search | ✓ | ✓ | | Bookmarks | ✓ | ✓ | | Events and notifications | ✓ | ✓ | | Print | ✓ | ✓ | | User authentication | Not built in | [Built in](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/web/instant-synchronization/authentication.md) | | Annotation and form synchronization | Web SDK | Web SDK + Document Engine | | ------------------------------------------ | ------------ | ------------------------- | | Sync annotations and form data to a server | Not built in | Built in | | Conflict resolution for concurrent editing | Not built in | Built in* | | Customizable permissions | Not built in | Built in | | Incremental sync (annotation diff) | Not built in | Built in | _\* Via Nutrient Instant (a component for Document Engine)_ Refer to the [Document Engine Instant synchronization](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/document-engine/instant-synchronization/get-started.md) guides. --- ## Related pages - [Browser support for our JavaScript PDF viewer](/guides/web/pspdfkit-for-web/browser-support.md) - [File type support](/guides/web/about/file-type-support.md) - [Compare deployment options and use cases for Nutrient document solutions](/guides/web/about/capability-and-component-comparison-document-engine.md) - [Compare deployment options and use cases for Nutrient document solutions](/guides/web/about/capability-and-component-comparison-web-sdk-document-engine.md) - [JavaScript PDF framework support](/guides/web/about/frameworks.md) - [Licensing](/guides/web/pspdfkit-for-web/licensing.md) - [Compare deployment options and use cases for Nutrient document solutions](/guides/web/about/capability-and-component-comparison-web-sdk.md)