Cookbook

At a glance

The cookbook is task-oriented. Each recipe solves one problem with a copyable, source-backed sample. Recipes are grouped into three families by where the work runs. Choose the family that matches how you call NextPDF, then open the recipe you need.

When you want to understand why the engine behaves a certain way, read the Guides instead. For the verified application programming interface (API), read the Reference.

One sample, one runtime

Each recipe targets one runtime. PHP recipes call the core engine in process. Connect recipes call tools over a transport. Integration recipes wire NextPDF into a framework or renderer backend. Read the matching conventions page before you adapt a sample.

PHP recipes

PHP recipes run the core engine directly, in process. Each recipe starts with composer require nextpdf/core, then uses the public API to build, sign, inspect, or convert documents, including Document::createStandalone() and writeHtml().

PHP recipes The map of every PHP-native recipe: render HTML to PDF, lay out tables, embed and subset fonts, encrypt with AES-256, sign with PAdES, emit PDF/A-4 and tagged PDF/UA-2, extract text, and inspect existing files.

Connect recipes

Connect recipes call NextPDF through the server tool registry over the Model Context Protocol (MCP), Representational State Transfer (REST), or gRPC. The same tool call works across all three transports and stays behind the human-in-the-loop confirmation gate.

Connect recipes Transport-independent recipes for the NextPDF Connect server: hello world, HTML tables, image embedding, digital signatures, accessibility and compliance checks, redaction, forensic analysis, and observability with OpenTelemetry.

Integration recipes

Integration recipes show how to wire NextPDF into an application framework or delegate rendering to an external backend. They cover framework adapters, renderer bridges, and the migration path from a legacy library.

Integration recipes Recipes for the ecosystem packages: choose an integration, return a PDF from a framework controller, queue generation in a background job, render HTML with Artisan, convert Office files with Gotenberg, render at the edge with Cloudflare, and follow the TCPDF migration path.

Recipe conventions

Every recipe follows a documented contract: source-backed samples, reproducibility-profile front-matter, an honest conformance boundary, and the publish gate. Read the conventions page for your recipe family before you adapt a sample.

Integration recipe conventions The contract every runnable integration recipe follows: source-backed samples, reproducibility-profile front-matter, and the publish gate.

Connect recipe conventions The contract every Connect recipe follows: transport-independent tool calls, tier-conditional tools, the risk model and confirmation gate, and the honest conformance boundary.

See also

• Guides — conceptual and how-to documentation.
• Reference — the verified API and the Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) support matrix.
• Choose an integration — a decision matrix that maps use cases to integrations.