pdfmill

n8n community node to generate branded PDF and PNG documents from a template or raw HTML via pdfmill — workflow data in, finished document out. No Chrome to host.

Package Information

Released: 2 mo ago
Downloads: 0 weekly / 0 monthly
Latest Version: 0.2.1

Available Nodes

Documentation generating…

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PDFmill
Generate a branded PDF or PNG from a pdfmill template or raw HTML.

Documentation

n8n-nodes-pdfmill

npm version
npm downloads
License: MIT

Generate branded PDF and PNG documents from an n8n workflow — invoices,
quotes, reports, certificates, packing slips — powered by pdfmill.
Workflow data in, finished document out. No Chrome to host.

This is a community node for n8n. It is a thin client over
the pdfmill render engine: it does not render anything itself, it calls the API
and hands you the document as a binary that flows straight into Gmail, Google
Drive, Slack, S3, or anywhere else.

Install

In n8n (self-hosted or Cloud that allows community nodes):

Settings → Community Nodes → Install, then enter:

n8n-nodes-pdfmill

Or from a shell in your n8n instance:

npm install n8n-nodes-pdfmill

Credential — “pdfmill API”

  1. Create an API key in the pdfmill dashboard → API Keys.
  2. In n8n, add a pdfmill API credential:
    • API Key — the key you just created.
    • Base URL — leave as https://api.pdfmill.dev (only change it for a
      self-hosted engine).
  3. Click Test — n8n verifies the key against the engine. Green means you're ready.

Your key rides n8n's credential system: it is never a node parameter and never logged.

The node — “Generate PDF”

One node, two operations:

1. Generate from Template

Render one of your pdfmill templates with data.

Field What it is
Template Name or ID Pick from your account (dropdown, loaded live), or set an ID via an expression.
Data The values merged into the template's {{variables}}. Defaults to {{ $json }} — the incoming item — so the happy path is a single field.
Format PDF (default) or PNG.
Put Output File in Field Binary property to hold the document (default data).
Options Page size, landscape, margins, scale, print background, file name.

2. Generate from HTML

Render raw HTML you supply (usually an expression that maps HTML from an earlier
node). Same Data / Format / Options / output fields. {{handlebars}}
variables in the HTML are filled from Data.

Output

  • Binary: the rendered document on the chosen property (default data),
    with the correct filename + MIME type — chain it straight into an email/upload node.
  • JSON metadata: { success, source, template, format, pages, bytes, durationMs, requestId, fileName, mimeType }.

Worked example — invoice → email (5 minutes)

  1. Manual Trigger (or a Stripe/webhook trigger in production).
  2. A node that produces the invoice data (a Set/Code node, or your real mapping).
  3. PDFmill → operation Generate from Template → template Invoice →
    Data {{ $json }} → Format PDF.
  4. Gmail → Send → add a binary attachment from the data property.

Five ready-made versions of this (payment→invoice→email, row→certificate→Drive,
form→report→Slack, scheduled summary, order→packing-slip) are in
gallery/ — import them directly.

Errors

Every engine error surfaces with its code, a plain message, and a
requestId (quote it to support). n8n's Continue On Fail is honored — a
failing item passes an { error, code, requestId } down the branch while good
items in the batch still render.

Code HTTP Meaning What to do
UNAUTHORIZED 401 Missing/invalid API key Fix the pdfmill credential.
QUOTA_EXCEEDED 402 Monthly document cap reached Upgrade the plan, or wait for the next period.
INVALID_REQUEST 400 Malformed request/data Check the Data and Options.
TEMPLATE_NOT_FOUND 404 No such template ID Pick a template from the dropdown.
PAYLOAD_TOO_LARGE 413 Request data too large Reduce the payload.
OUTPUT_TOO_LARGE 422 Rendered document too large Simplify the template/data.
RENDER_TIMEOUT 504 Render exceeded the time limit Simplify the template, reduce size.
RENDER_FAILED 500 The engine could not render Check the template/HTML + data.
BUSY 429 Rate-limited / at capacity Retry with backoff.
MISSING_CREDENTIAL — No key/base URL configured Complete the pdfmill credential.
ENGINE_UNREACHABLE — Could not reach the engine Check the Base URL and network.

Compatibility

  • n8n nodes API version 1; requires Node.js >= 20.15 (n8n's floor).
  • The node is a thin client — it works against hosted pdfmill and any
    self-hosted pdfmill engine (set the credential Base URL).

Development

pnpm install
pnpm --filter n8n-nodes-pdfmill run build       # tsc → dist + icons
pnpm --filter n8n-nodes-pdfmill run lint         # eslint-plugin-n8n-nodes-base (verification linter)
pnpm --filter n8n-nodes-pdfmill run test         # vitest (engine HTTP mocked)

A real node↔engine integration render is gated on env (see
scripts/integration-n8n.md):

PDFMILL_ENGINE_URL=http://localhost:8080 PDFMILL_API_KEY=... \
  pnpm --filter n8n-nodes-pdfmill run test

License

MIT

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