Guides
At a glance
Section titled “At a glance”Guides connect NextPDF to the place your code runs. This tab opens with the production operations checklist, then covers five areas in adoption order: framework and renderer integrations, the NextPDF Connect server, the Python SDK, engine extension authoring, and troubleshooting. Each section below opens with its hub, then lists the pages you will use most.
For a copyable, task-oriented recipe, use the Cookbook. For the verified Application Programming Interface (API) surface and support matrices, use the Reference.
Integrations
Section titled “Integrations”Eight packages connect the core engine to frameworks, browser renderers, edge services, build tools, and legacy migration paths. Every package section follows the same manual structure — overview, install, quickstart, configuration, API, developer guide, production usage, security, and troubleshooting — so once you know one package’s docs, you know them all.
| Page | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Integrations | The extension map and the selection guide. Read this first to pick a package. |
| Integrations API index | Which extension API page covers each framework, renderer, transport, and build-tool surface. |
| NextPDF for Laravel | The Laravel framework adapter. |
| NextPDF for Symfony | The Symfony framework adapter. |
| NextPDF for CodeIgniter | The CodeIgniter framework adapter. |
| NextPDF Artisan | The Chrome renderer bridge for browser-grade HTML rendering. |
| NextPDF Cloudflare | The edge deployment path on Cloudflare. |
| NextPDF Gotenberg | The Gotenberg renderer bridge. |
| TCPDF compatibility | The compatibility shim for codebases moving off TCPDF. |
| NextPDF Backport Builder | The build tool that targets older PHP runtimes. |
NextPDF Connect
Section titled “NextPDF Connect”The nextpdf/server package runs the engine as a long-lived service: one deterministic tool registry served over the Model Context Protocol (MCP), Representational State Transfer (REST), and gRPC, behind a human-in-the-loop confirmation gate for high-risk tools.
| Page | Use it for |
|---|---|
| NextPDF Connect | The section hub: concepts, configuration, and operations for the server. |
| Connect overview | The package boundary and the three transports. |
| Connect quickstart | A runnable first MCP handshake and the matching REST render request. |
| Connect configuration | The MCP YAML file and the NEXTPDF_* environment variables. |
| Connect API reference | Every registered tool, gRPC symbol, error model entry, and rate limit. |
| Connect deployment | RoadRunner worker profiles, Docker, and Redis-backed stores. |
| Connect security and operations | Authentication, transport security, and the threat model. |
Each transport has its own reference page.
| Page | Use it for |
|---|---|
| MCP transport | JSON-RPC 2.0 framing over standard input and output. |
| REST transport | The OpenAPI 3.1 contract, bearer authentication, and tier-gated routes. |
| gRPC transport | The nextpdf.connect.v1 service, server streaming, and metadata authentication. |
Python SDK
Section titled “Python SDK”Citation-ready PDF extraction for Python applications, agents, and the command line, backed by a NextPDF Connect endpoint.
| Page | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Python SDK | The section hub for the nextpdf Python package. |
| Python SDK overview | What the SDK does and how it relates to Connect. |
| Python SDK quickstart | Install with pip install nextpdf and point a client at your server. |
| Python SDK API reference | The client classes, methods, and typed results. |
| Python CLI | The command-line interface for extraction workflows. |
| Python MCP server | Exposing the SDK to MCP-speaking agents. |
Extend the engine
Section titled “Extend the engine”The public Service Provider Interface (SPI) lets you add capability without forking: contracts for fonts, layout engines, event listeners, and signing back ends, each with an explicit stability promise.
| Page | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Extension authoring | What you can extend and the stability promise behind it. |
| SPI stability rules | The backward-compatibility contract your extension can rely on. |
| Custom fonts: the FontRegistry contract | Registering and shipping your own fonts. |
| Custom layout engines and text interception | Replacing or intercepting layout behavior. |
| Action triggers and event listeners | Observing and reacting to the document lifecycle. |
| KMS provider contract | Supplying keys from your own Key Management Service (KMS). |
Troubleshooting
Section titled “Troubleshooting”Symptom-to-resolution entries grounded in the engine’s own exception taxonomy. Start from what you observe, not from a class name.
| Page | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Troubleshooting | The knowledge-base hub: how entries are structured and where to start. |
| Troubleshoot fonts and tagging | Font embedding and structure-tagging failures. |
| Troubleshoot encryption and permissions | Encryption, password, and permission failures. |
| Troubleshoot memory and performance | Memory ceilings and throughput problems. |
| Troubleshoot PDF/A and PDF/UA validation | Archival and accessibility validation failures. |
| Troubleshoot signatures and timestamps | Signature and timestamp validation failures. |
See also
Section titled “See also”- Cookbook — task-oriented recipes for PHP, Connect, and integrations.
- Reference — the verified API surface, support matrices, and error reference.
- Migrate to NextPDF — moving off another PDF library, in the Get started tab.
- Inside NextPDF — the Insider_ essays on why the engine behaves the way it does.