pdfRest API Toolkit is a REST API for PDF processing from Datalogics. It is built on the Adobe® PDF Library™, so rendering, conversion, and standards conformance (PDF/A, PDF/X, PDF 2.0) come from the same engine that powers Acrobat rather than from an open-source renderer. Developers use it to add PDF conversion, OCR, extraction, redaction, signing, and e-invoice generation to their applications through more than 50 HTTP endpoints.
pdfRest runs in three deployments with an identical API: pdfRest Cloud with US and EU endpoints, a self-hosted PDF API Container for Docker and Kubernetes (used for data residency, HIPAA workloads, and air-gapped environments), and AWS Marketplace. A workflow built against Cloud moves to Container without code changes.
What pdfRest API Toolkit does
Document generation
- Create PDF from HTML, Markdown, Word, Excel, PowerPoint and images
- Create a blank PDF and add text, tables and shapes by API
- Create ZUGFeRD and Factur-X hybrid e-invoices (PDF/A-3 with embedded CII XML) from invoice XML
File conversion
- Convert PDF to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Markdown, JPG, PNG, TIFF and PostScript
- Convert PDF to PDF/A for archiving and PDF/X for print
OCR and data extraction
- OCR scanned PDFs; extract text with coordinates, form data and images
- Query, summarize and translate PDF content
Security and compliance
- Redact PDF text with preview and apply steps; sign, encrypt, restrict and watermark
- Validate ZUGFeRD and Factur-X invoices; TDM Reserve for AI training opt-out
Editing and optimization
- Merge, split, set page boxes, compress and linearize PDFs
- Flatten forms, layers, annotations and transparencies; convert XFA to AcroForm
Developer tools
- API Lab: send a request to any endpoint with your own key and copy the generated cURL, Python, JavaScript, C#, Java or PHP code
- Official Python SDK on PyPI; sample code for JavaScript, C#, Java, PHP and cURL
- pdfRest community node for self-hosted n8n
- Resource IDs let you chain endpoints without re-uploading files
- Getting-started guides for Cloud, Container and AWS, plus a full API reference
pdfRest API Toolkit is offered on a Starter plan and paid plans. Datalogics is SOC 2 Type 2 audited.
Who Is the Company Behind pdfRest?