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How to generate a PDF from HTML in Django

Call the Inkspan /v1/generate/html endpoint from Django to generate a PDF from HTML — no headless browser, font stack, or rendering infrastructure in your deploy. Keep your API key in the environment and POST.

Keep the key in settings loaded from the environment, not in source. Returning HttpResponse with the PDF content type streams it straight to the browser.

Django example

# views.py
import requests
from django.conf import settings
from django.http import HttpResponse

def make_pdf(request):
    r = requests.post(
        'https://api.inkspan.dev/v1/generate/html',
        headers={'X-API-Key': settings.INKSPAN_KEY},
        json={"html": "<h1>Invoice</h1>"},
    )
    r.raise_for_status()
    return HttpResponse(r.content, content_type='application/pdf')

Request parameters

Name	Type	Required	Description
`html`	string	yes	The HTML document or fragment to render.
`filename`	string	no	Filename in the response's Content-Disposition. Defaults to `document.pdf`.

Response

Returns a PDF as a binary stream with Content-Type: application/pdf and Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=document.pdf. Write the response body straight to disk — do not parse it as JSON.

Production notes

For anything slow, hand the call to Celery and email or store the result — a synchronous request ties up a worker for the duration of the render.

Relative URLs have no base to resolve against. Reference images and stylesheets with absolute https:// URLs, or inline them as data: URIs.
Page size and margins come from CSS, not from a parameter. Set @page { size: A4; margin: 18mm; } in your HTML to control them.
External resources are fetched server-side with SSRF protection, so private-network and file:// URLs are rejected. Host assets publicly or inline them.

Errors

Status	Meaning	Fix
`401`	Invalid or missing API key	Send your key in the `X-API-Key` header.
`402`	Monthly quota exceeded	The response reports used/quota. Upgrade at inkspan.dev/#pricing.
`422`	Missing or invalid parameter	Check required fields in the table above — the body names the offending field.

Failed requests do not count against your quota; only successful ones are metered.

Get a free API key →

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