Generate PDF, DOCX, EPUB, and PPTX from structured data
Define document blocks, styles, and fonts in JSON. Get back PDF, DOCX, EPUB, or PPTX files.
See Document Generation in action
Start from a real implementation pattern, not blank docs. See the input, runnable code, and structured output your workflow can use next.
{
"format": "pdf",
"document": {
"metadata": { "title": "Series A Board Pack" },
"page": {
"size": { "preset": "A4" },
"margins": {
"top_in_pt": 48,
"right_in_pt": 48,
"bottom_in_pt": 54,
"left_in_pt": 48
}
},
"styles": {
"text": { "font_family": "Helvetica", "font_size_in_pt": 11, "color": "#334155", "line_height": 1.5 },
"headline": { "font_family": "Helvetica", "font_size_in_pt": 28, "color": "#0F172A", "font_weight": "bold" },
"table": {
"header": { "background_color": "#E2E8F0", "text_color": "#0F172A", "font_size_in_pt": 10, "font_weight": "bold" },
"body": { "background_color": "#FFFFFF", "text_color": "#334155", "font_size_in_pt": 10 }
}
},
"content": [
{ "type": "headline", "level": "h1", "text": "Series A Board Pack" },
{ "type": "paragraph", "markdown": "**Q4 revenue:** USD 4.8M | **Gross margin:** 78% | **Net retention:** 123%" },
{ "type": "separator" },
{ "type": "headline", "level": "h2", "text": "Operating Highlights" },
{ "type": "list", "variant": "unordered", "items": [
{ "text": "Opened Frankfurt region with 14 enterprise accounts" },
{ "text": "Reduced median document extraction latency to 1.9 seconds" },
{ "text": "Launched deterministic OG image generation for every public page" }
] },
{ "type": "headline", "level": "h2", "text": "Regional Revenue" },
{ "type": "table", "column_widths_in_percent": [34, 22, 18, 26], "header": { "cells": [
{ "text": "Region" },
{ "text": "Revenue" },
{ "text": "Growth" },
{ "text": "Gross Margin" }
] }, "rows": [
{ "cells": [{ "text": "North America" }, { "text": "USD 2.1M" }, { "text": "+31%" }, { "text": "81%" }] },
{ "cells": [{ "text": "Europe" }, { "text": "USD 1.7M" }, { "text": "+26%" }, { "text": "77%" }] },
{ "cells": [{ "text": "APAC" }, { "text": "USD 1.0M" }, { "text": "+18%" }, { "text": "73%" }] }
] },
{ "type": "paragraph", "markdown": "Next quarter focus: enterprise onboarding, deeper spreadsheet generation adoption, and gross margin expansion." }
]
}
}
First page preview of the generated PDF
curl -X POST \
https://api.iterationlayer.com/document-generation/v1/generate \
-H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"format": "pdf",
"document": {
"metadata": {
"title": "Series A Board Pack"
},
"page": {
"size": { "preset": "A4" },
"margins": {
"top_in_pt": 48,
"right_in_pt": 48,
"bottom_in_pt": 54,
"left_in_pt": 48
}
},
"styles": {
"text": {
"font_family": "Helvetica",
"font_size_in_pt": 11,
"color": "#334155",
"line_height": 1.5
},
"headline": {
"font_family": "Helvetica",
"font_size_in_pt": 28,
"color": "#0F172A",
"font_weight": "bold"
},
"table": {
"header": {
"background_color": "#E2E8F0",
"text_color": "#0F172A",
"font_size_in_pt": 10,
"font_weight": "bold"
},
"body": {
"background_color": "#FFFFFF",
"text_color": "#334155",
"font_size_in_pt": 10
}
}
},
"content": [
{
"type": "headline",
"level": "h1",
"text": "Series A Board Pack"
},
{
"type": "paragraph",
"markdown": "**Q4 revenue:** USD 4.8M | **Gross margin:** 78% | **Net retention:** 123%"
},
{
"type": "separator"
},
{
"type": "headline",
"level": "h2",
"text": "Operating Highlights"
},
{
"type": "list",
"variant": "unordered",
"items": [
{ "text": "Opened Frankfurt region with 14 enterprise accounts" },
{ "text": "Reduced median document extraction latency to 1.9 seconds" },
{ "text": "Launched deterministic OG image generation for every public page" }
]
},
{
"type": "headline",
"level": "h2",
"text": "Regional Revenue"
},
{
"type": "table",
"column_widths_in_percent": [34, 22, 18, 26],
"header": {
"cells": [
{ "text": "Region" },
{ "text": "Revenue" },
{ "text": "Growth" },
{ "text": "Gross Margin" }
]
},
"rows": [
{ "cells": [{ "text": "North America" }, { "text": "USD 2.1M" }, { "text": "+31%" }, { "text": "81%" }] },
{ "cells": [{ "text": "Europe" }, { "text": "USD 1.7M" }, { "text": "+26%" }, { "text": "77%" }] },
{ "cells": [{ "text": "APAC" }, { "text": "USD 1.0M" }, { "text": "+18%" }, { "text": "73%" }] }
]
},
{
"type": "paragraph",
"markdown": "Next quarter focus: enterprise onboarding, deeper spreadsheet generation adoption, and margin expansion."
}
]
}
}'{
"success": true,
"data": {
"buffer": "JVBERi0xLjcKMSAwIG9iago8...",
"mime_type": "application/pdf"
}
}import { IterationLayer } from "iterationlayer";
const client = new IterationLayer({
apiKey: "YOUR_API_KEY",
});
const result = await client.generateDocument({
format: "pdf",
document: {
metadata: { title: "Series A Board Pack" },
page: {
size: { preset: "A4" },
margins: {
top_in_pt: 48,
right_in_pt: 48,
bottom_in_pt: 54,
left_in_pt: 48,
},
},
styles: {
text: {
font_family: "Helvetica",
font_size_in_pt: 11,
color: "#334155",
line_height: 1.5,
},
headline: {
font_family: "Helvetica",
font_size_in_pt: 28,
color: "#0F172A",
font_weight: "bold",
},
table: {
header: {
background_color: "#E2E8F0",
text_color: "#0F172A",
font_size_in_pt: 10,
font_weight: "bold",
},
body: {
background_color: "#FFFFFF",
text_color: "#334155",
font_size_in_pt: 10,
},
},
},
content: [
{
type: "headline",
level: "h1",
text: "Series A Board Pack",
},
{
type: "paragraph",
markdown: "**Q4 revenue:** USD 4.8M | **Gross margin:** 78% | **Net retention:** 123%",
},
{
type: "separator",
},
{
type: "headline",
level: "h2",
text: "Operating Highlights",
},
{
type: "list",
variant: "unordered",
items: [
{ text: "Opened Frankfurt region with 14 enterprise accounts" },
{ text: "Reduced median document extraction latency to 1.9 seconds" },
{ text: "Launched deterministic OG image generation for every public page" },
],
},
{
type: "headline",
level: "h2",
text: "Regional Revenue",
},
{
type: "table",
column_widths_in_percent: [34, 22, 18, 26],
header: {
cells: [
{ text: "Region" },
{ text: "Revenue" },
{ text: "Growth" },
{ text: "Gross Margin" },
],
},
rows: [
{ cells: [{ text: "North America" }, { text: "USD 2.1M" }, { text: "+31%" }, { text: "81%" }] },
{ cells: [{ text: "Europe" }, { text: "USD 1.7M" }, { text: "+26%" }, { text: "77%" }] },
{ cells: [{ text: "APAC" }, { text: "USD 1.0M" }, { text: "+18%" }, { text: "73%" }] },
],
},
{
type: "paragraph",
markdown: "Next quarter focus: enterprise onboarding, deeper spreadsheet generation adoption, and margin expansion.",
},
],
},
});{
"success": true,
"data": {
"buffer": "JVBERi0xLjcKMSAwIG9iago8...",
"mime_type": "application/pdf"
}
}from iterationlayer import IterationLayer
client = IterationLayer(
api_key="YOUR_API_KEY"
)
result = client.generate_document(
format="pdf",
document={
"metadata": {
"title": "Series A Board Pack",
},
"page": {
"size": {"preset": "A4"},
"margins": {
"top_in_pt": 48,
"right_in_pt": 48,
"bottom_in_pt": 54,
"left_in_pt": 48,
},
},
"styles": {
"text": {
"font_family": "Helvetica",
"font_size_in_pt": 11,
"color": "#334155",
"line_height": 1.5,
},
"headline": {
"font_family": "Helvetica",
"font_size_in_pt": 28,
"color": "#0F172A",
"font_weight": "bold",
},
"table": {
"header": {
"background_color": "#E2E8F0",
"text_color": "#0F172A",
"font_size_in_pt": 10,
"font_weight": "bold",
},
"body": {
"background_color": "#FFFFFF",
"text_color": "#334155",
"font_size_in_pt": 10,
},
},
},
"content": [
{
"type": "headline",
"level": "h1",
"text": "Series A Board Pack",
},
{
"type": "paragraph",
"markdown": "**Q4 revenue:** USD 4.8M | **Gross margin:** 78% | **Net retention:** 123%",
},
{
"type": "separator",
},
{
"type": "headline",
"level": "h2",
"text": "Operating Highlights",
},
{
"type": "list",
"variant": "unordered",
"items": [
{"text": "Opened Frankfurt region with 14 enterprise accounts"},
{"text": "Reduced median document extraction latency to 1.9 seconds"},
{"text": "Launched deterministic OG image generation for every public page"},
],
},
{
"type": "headline",
"level": "h2",
"text": "Regional Revenue",
},
{
"type": "table",
"column_widths_in_percent": [34, 22, 18, 26],
"header": {
"cells": [
{"text": "Region"},
{"text": "Revenue"},
{"text": "Growth"},
{"text": "Gross Margin"},
]
},
"rows": [
{"cells": [{"text": "North America"}, {"text": "USD 2.1M"}, {"text": "+31%"}, {"text": "81%"}]},
{"cells": [{"text": "Europe"}, {"text": "USD 1.7M"}, {"text": "+26%"}, {"text": "77%"}]},
{"cells": [{"text": "APAC"}, {"text": "USD 1.0M"}, {"text": "+18%"}, {"text": "73%"}]},
],
},
{
"type": "paragraph",
"markdown": "Next quarter focus: enterprise onboarding, deeper spreadsheet generation adoption, and margin expansion.",
},
],
},
){
"success": true,
"data": {
"buffer": "JVBERi0xLjcKMSAwIG9iago8...",
"mime_type": "application/pdf"
}
}import il "github.com/iterationlayer/sdk-go"
client := il.NewClient("YOUR_API_KEY")
result, err := client.GenerateDocument(
il.GenerateDocumentRequest{
Format: "pdf",
Document: il.DocumentDefinition{
Metadata: il.DocumentMetadata{
Title: "Series A Board Pack",
},
Page: il.DocumentPage{
Size: il.DocPageSize{
Preset: "A4",
},
Margins: il.DocMargins{
TopInPt: 48,
RightInPt: 48,
BottomInPt: 54,
LeftInPt: 48,
},
},
Styles: il.DocumentStyles{
Text: il.TextStyle{
FontFamily: "Helvetica",
FontSizeInPt: 11,
Color: "#334155",
LineHeight: 1.5,
},
Headline: il.HeadlineStyle{
FontFamily: "Helvetica",
FontSizeInPt: 28,
Color: "#0F172A",
},
},
Content: []il.ContentBlock{
il.NewHeadlineBlock("h1", "Series A Board Pack"),
il.ParagraphBlock{
Type: "paragraph",
Markdown: "**Q4 revenue:** USD 4.8M | **Gross margin:** 78% | **Net retention:** 123%",
},
il.NewSeparatorBlock(),
il.NewHeadlineBlock("h2", "Operating Highlights"),
il.ListBlock{Type: "list", Variant: "unordered", Items: []il.ListItem{
{Text: "Opened Frankfurt region with 14 enterprise accounts"},
{Text: "Reduced median document extraction latency to 1.9 seconds"},
{Text: "Launched deterministic OG image generation for every public page"},
}},
il.NewHeadlineBlock("h2", "Regional Revenue"),
il.NewTableBlock([]il.TableRow{
{Cells: []il.TableCell{{Text: "North America"}, {Text: "USD 2.1M"}, {Text: "+31%"}, {Text: "81%"}}},
{Cells: []il.TableCell{{Text: "Europe"}, {Text: "USD 1.7M"}, {Text: "+26%"}, {Text: "77%"}}},
{Cells: []il.TableCell{{Text: "APAC"}, {Text: "USD 1.0M"}, {Text: "+18%"}, {Text: "73%"}}},
}),
il.ParagraphBlock{Type: "paragraph", Markdown: "Next quarter focus: enterprise onboarding, deeper spreadsheet generation adoption, and margin expansion."},
},
},
},
){
"success": true,
"data": {
"buffer": "JVBERi0xLjcKMSAwIG9iago8...",
"mime_type": "application/pdf"
}
}Use the same workflow from code, agents, or n8n
When an automation moves from prototype to production, you should not have to rebuild it for every environment. Iteration Layer lets scripts, agents, and n8n workflows call the same European AI workflow runtime.
EU AI workflow runtime
Run document, image, and file steps through one EU-hosted workflow layer with shared API conventions and billing.
Agent-ready by design
Expose the same document and image actions to MCP tools and Claude Code skills, then reuse the API contract when workflows graduate into scripts or automations.
Verified n8n node
Install the verified Iteration Layer node in n8n, then route documents and generated files through the same provider from visual workflows.
Three steps to your first document
Define your document
Describe metadata, page size, fonts, and styles. Choose from 19 page size presets (A0-A6, B0-B6, Letter, Legal, Tabloid, Executive, Statement) or set custom dimensions.
Add content blocks
Build your document from 12 block types: paragraphs with rich text, headlines (h1-h6), images, tables, 12-column grids, ordered and unordered lists, table of contents, separators, QR codes, and barcodes.
Choose your format
Get back a base64-encoded document in PDF, DOCX, EPUB, or PPTX. Headers, footers, and page numbers are supported. For PPTX, each page break creates a new slide.
Templates As Code
12 content block types — paragraphs, tables, grids, lists, QR codes, barcodes — defined as JSON. No template engine, no typesetting language, no browser.
One API, Four Formats
Generate PDF, DOCX, EPUB, and PPTX from the same document definition. EPUB and PPTX are rare capabilities most document APIs don't offer. Switch the format field — the content and styles carry over.
Two-Layer Styles
Set document-wide defaults for fonts, colors, and spacing, then override per block. Custom TTF, OTF, WOFF, and WOFF2 fonts with weight and style variants, 19 page size presets.
Real-world pipelines, ready to ship
Each recipe chains multiple APIs into a complete workflow. Pick one, tweak it, and deploy — or use it as a starting point for your own pipeline.
Generate a Compliance Audit Document
Generate a formatted PDF compliance audit document with findings, risk ratings, remediation recommendations, and sign-off sections.
Generate DOCX Contract
Generate an editable DOCX service agreement with parties, terms, and payment schedule.
Generate Employee Offer Letter
Generate a professional offer letter PDF with role, compensation, start date, and company details.
Generate EPUB Book
Generate a complete EPUB e-book with chapters, table of contents, and rich text formatting.
Generate NDA
Generate a non-disclosure agreement PDF with party names, effective date, and standard confidentiality terms.
Generate Packing Slip
Generate a packing slip PDF with order details, item list, and shipping address.
Generate PDF Certificate
Generate a professional achievement certificate with recipient name, course details, date, and a QR code for formal download or print.
Generate PDF Invoice
Generate a professional PDF invoice with company branding, line items, and totals.
Generate PDF Manuscript
Generate a print-ready PDF manuscript with title page, table of contents, and chapters at 6x9 inch trim size.
Generate PDF Report
Generate a professional PDF report with title, executive summary, data table, and footer.
Generate Product Datasheet
Generate a professional product specification sheet with images, feature tables, technical specs, and contact information.
Generate Quarterly Report
Create a structured quarterly business report with table of contents, data tables, and page numbers.
Generate Restaurant Menu
Generate a branded restaurant menu PDF with sections, items, prices, and descriptions.
Generate Shipping Label
Generate a compact PDF shipping label with sender and recipient addresses, barcode, and tracking number.
Generate Slide Deck
Build a PowerPoint slide deck with title slide, content slides, and call-to-action page.
Generate a White-Label PDF Report
Generate a branded PDF report with custom client logo placeholder, colors, and content sections for white-label agency delivery.
Convert Markdown to Styled PDF
Generate a professionally styled PDF document from Markdown content with custom fonts, headers, and page numbers.
European by design
Your data is processed on EU-hosted infrastructure and never stored beyond temporary logs. Zero data retention, GDPR-compliant workflows, and a Data Processing Agreement are available for every customer. Learn more about our security practices .
EU-hosted core processing
Application and processing infrastructure runs in Europe, with provider-scope ISO 27001 and BSI C5 evidence documented for procurement reviews.
Zero data retention
Customer files and processing results are not stored after the request. Usage logs are retained for 90 days and automatically deleted.
Clear answers for security teams
Give reviewers the answers they need up front: where files are processed, what is retained, which subprocessors are involved, and how AI inputs, outputs, review gates, and audit records move through each workflow.
Pricing
Start usage-based. Switch to a subscription when your volume becomes predictable.
Usage-based
Graduated pricing. Your effective rate decreases automatically as monthly usage grows.
- No monthly commitment
- Pay only for credits used
- Automatic volume discounts as usage grows
Predictable volume
Fixed recurring credit packs with lower effective credit prices for steady usage.
- Lower effective per-credit prices
- Fixed recurring credit packs
- Predictable monthly budget
Try Iteration Layer with 100 credits
Start with one shared trial pool before choosing subscription or pay-as-you-go billing.
Still evaluating?
Compare Iteration Layer against the biggest alternatives at a glance, then open the full head-to-head pages when you want the details.
| Feature | Iteration Layer | Carbone | DocRaptor | Puppeteer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Output formats |
4 formats
PDF, DOCX, EPUB, and PPTX from the same content definition
|
PDF
Primarily PDF output via LibreOffice rendering from DOCX/ODT templates
|
PDF, XLS
PDF and XLS output via Prince XML rendering engine
|
PDF only
Generates PDF output only
|
| Template model |
JSON blocks
Content defined as JSON block arrays — versionable and diffable
|
Binary files
Templates are DOCX or ODT binary files that cannot be diffed or reviewed in version control
|
HTML/CSS
Uses HTML and CSS Paged Media specification, which is separate from standard browser CSS
|
HTML/JS
HTML and CSS rendered through a full Chromium browser engine
|
| Custom fonts |
Yes
Upload and use custom fonts in any document
|
Limited
Fonts must be installed in the LibreOffice environment before they can be used
|
Yes
Fonts referenced via CSS @font-face declarations pointing to hosted font files
|
System fonts
Uses fonts installed on the system or loaded via CSS @font-face
|
| Infrastructure required |
None
Fully managed API with no deployment or infrastructure to manage
|
Self-hosted
Requires self-hosting or using Carbone Cloud
|
None
Fully managed SaaS platform with no infrastructure to manage
|
Chromium
Requires Node.js and a Chromium instance consuming 200-300 MB per concurrent render
|
Frequently asked questions
What output formats are supported?
How does the style system work?
Can I use custom fonts?
What content blocks are available?
How do PPTX slides work?
Can I add headers and footers?
Build your first workflow in minutes
Chain our APIs into a workflow you can test with your own data during the 7-day trial.