PDF Export API - PinchTab

Overview

The PDF API exports web pages to PDF format with customizable options for:

Page size and orientation
Margins
Headers and footers
Page ranges
Accessibility features

Export to PDF

GET /tabs/{id}/pdf
POST /tabs/{id}/pdf

curl "http://localhost:9867/tabs/tab_abc123/pdf" > output.pdf

Query Parameters (GET)

landscape

boolean

default:"false"

Landscape orientation

scale

number

default:"1.0"

Print scaling factor (0.1-2.0)

paperWidth

number

default:"8.5"

Paper width in inches

paperHeight

number

default:"11"

Paper height in inches

marginTop

number

default:"0"

Top margin in inches

marginBottom

number

default:"0"

Bottom margin in inches

marginLeft

number

default:"0"

Left margin in inches

marginRight

number

default:"0"

Right margin in inches

pageRanges

string

Page ranges to print (e.g., “1-3,5,8-10”)

displayHeaderFooter

boolean

default:"false"

Show header and footer

headerTemplate

string

HTML template for header

footerTemplate

string

HTML template for footer

generateTaggedPDF

boolean

default:"false"

Generate accessible/tagged PDF

generateDocumentOutline

boolean

default:"false"

Generate document outline (bookmarks)

output

string

Set to json for base64-encoded PDF or file to save to disk

Request Body (POST)

Same parameters as query params, but sent as JSON:

{
  "landscape": true,
  "paperWidth": 11,
  "paperHeight": 8.5,
  "marginTop": 0.5,
  "marginBottom": 0.5,
  "marginLeft": 0.5,
  "marginRight": 0.5,
  "scale": 0.9,
  "displayHeaderFooter": true,
  "headerTemplate": "<div style='font-size:10px;text-align:center;width:100%'>Page <span class='pageNumber'></span></div>",
  "footerTemplate": "<div style='font-size:10px;text-align:center;width:100%'><span class='url'></span></div>"
}

Response

Returns PDF binary data with Content-Type: application/pdf header.

Paper Sizes

Common paper sizes in inches:

Size	Width × Height	Use Case
Letter	8.5 × 11	US standard
Legal	8.5 × 14	US legal documents
A4	8.27 × 11.69	International standard
A3	11.69 × 16.54	Large format
Tabloid	11 × 17	Posters, large prints

Examples

# Letter (default)
curl "http://localhost:9867/tabs/tab_abc123/pdf" > letter.pdf

# A4
curl "http://localhost:9867/tabs/tab_abc123/pdf?paperWidth=8.27&paperHeight=11.69" > a4.pdf

# Legal
curl "http://localhost:9867/tabs/tab_abc123/pdf?paperWidth=8.5&paperHeight=14" > legal.pdf

Headers and Footers

Add custom headers and footers with HTML templates:

import requests

resp = requests.post(
    "http://localhost:9867/tabs/tab_abc123/pdf",
    json={
        "displayHeaderFooter": True,
        "marginTop": 1,
        "marginBottom": 1,
        "headerTemplate": """
            <div style='font-size:10px; text-align:center; width:100%;'>
                <span class='title'></span> - Page <span class='pageNumber'></span> of <span class='totalPages'></span>
            </div>
        """,
        "footerTemplate": """
            <div style='font-size:9px; text-align:center; width:100%;'>
                <span class='url'></span> | Generated on <span class='date'></span>
            </div>
        """
    }
)

with open("output.pdf", "wb") as f:
    f.write(resp.content)

Template Variables

Variable	Description
`<span class='title'></span>`	Document title
`<span class='url'></span>`	Page URL
`<span class='date'></span>`	Print date
`<span class='pageNumber'></span>`	Current page number
`<span class='totalPages'></span>`	Total pages

Page Ranges

Export specific pages only:

# Pages 1-3
curl "http://localhost:9867/tabs/tab_abc123/pdf?pageRanges=1-3" > pages-1-3.pdf

# Pages 1, 3, and 5-7
curl "http://localhost:9867/tabs/tab_abc123/pdf?pageRanges=1,3,5-7" > selected-pages.pdf

# First page only
curl "http://localhost:9867/tabs/tab_abc123/pdf?pageRanges=1" > first-page.pdf

Base64 Output

Get PDF as base64-encoded JSON:

curl "http://localhost:9867/tabs/tab_abc123/pdf?output=json" | jq .

Response:

{
  "format": "pdf",
  "base64": "JVBERi0xLjQKJeLjz9MKMyAwIG9iago8PC9UeXBlL..."
}

Decode in Python:

import base64

resp = requests.get(
    "http://localhost:9867/tabs/tab_abc123/pdf?output=json"
)
pdf_data = base64.b64decode(resp.json()["base64"])

with open("output.pdf", "wb") as f:
    f.write(pdf_data)

Save to File

Save PDF directly to disk:

curl "http://localhost:9867/tabs/tab_abc123/pdf?output=file"

Response:

{
  "path": "/path/to/pdfs/output-20260303-123456.pdf",
  "size": 125678,
  "format": "pdf",
  "timestamp": "20260303-123456"
}

Complete Example

import requests
import time

BASE = "http://localhost:9867"

# Start instance
inst = requests.post(f"{BASE}/instances/start",
    json={"mode": "headed"}).json()

# Open tab
tab = requests.post(f"{BASE}/instances/{inst['id']}/tabs/open",
    json={"url": "https://example.com"}).json()

tab_id = tab["tabId"]

# Wait for page load
time.sleep(2)

# Export to PDF with custom options
resp = requests.post(f"{BASE}/tabs/{tab_id}/pdf", json={
    "landscape": False,
    "paperWidth": 8.5,
    "paperHeight": 11,
    "marginTop": 0.5,
    "marginBottom": 0.5,
    "marginLeft": 0.5,
    "marginRight": 0.5,
    "scale": 1.0,
    "displayHeaderFooter": True,
    "headerTemplate": "<div style='font-size:10px;text-align:center;width:100%;'>Example Domain</div>",
    "footerTemplate": "<div style='font-size:10px;text-align:center;width:100%;'>Page <span class='pageNumber'></span></div>",
    "generateTaggedPDF": True,
    "generateDocumentOutline": True
})

# Save PDF
with open("example.pdf", "wb") as f:
    f.write(resp.content)

print(f"PDF saved: {len(resp.content)} bytes")

# Cleanup
requests.post(f"{BASE}/instances/{inst['id']}/stop")

Batch Export Example

#!/bin/bash

BASE="http://localhost:9867"
TAB="tab_abc123"

URLS=(
  "https://example.com"
  "https://google.com"
  "https://github.com"
)

for url in "${URLS[@]}"; do
  # Navigate
  curl -s -X POST "$BASE/tabs/$TAB/navigate" \
    -d "{\"url\":\"$url\",\"waitFor\":\"networkidle\"}"
  
  sleep 3
  
  # Export to PDF
  NAME=$(echo $url | sed 's/https:\/\///' | sed 's/\//_/g')
  curl -s "$BASE/tabs/$TAB/pdf?landscape=true&marginTop=0.5" \
    > "${NAME}.pdf"
  
  echo "Saved ${NAME}.pdf"
done

Error Handling

Tab Not Found (404)

curl "http://localhost:9867/tabs/nonexistent/pdf"

Response:

{
  "error": "tab not found",
  "statusCode": 404
}

Invalid Parameters (400)

curl "http://localhost:9867/tabs/tab_abc123/pdf?scale=5.0"

Response:

{
  "error": "scale must be between 0.1 and 2.0",
  "statusCode": 400
}

Best Practices

Wait for Page Load

# Navigate with wait
requests.post(f"{BASE}/tabs/{tab_id}/navigate",
    json={"url": "https://example.com", "waitFor": "networkidle"})

# Then export
resp = requests.get(f"{BASE}/tabs/{tab_id}/pdf")

Use Margins for Readability

{
  "marginTop": 0.5,
  "marginBottom": 0.5,
  "marginLeft": 0.75,
  "marginRight": 0.75
}

Enable Accessibility

{
  "generateTaggedPDF": true,
  "generateDocumentOutline": true
}

Adjust Scale for Fit

# If content is cut off, reduce scale
resp = requests.post(f"{BASE}/tabs/{tab_id}/pdf",
    json={"scale": 0.8})

Next Steps

Screenshots

Capture visual snapshots

Screencast

Stream live tab content

Navigation

Navigate pages before export

Snapshot

Get structured page data

Documentation Index

​Overview

​Export to PDF

​Query Parameters (GET)

​Request Body (POST)

​Response

​Paper Sizes

​Examples

​Headers and Footers

​Template Variables

​Page Ranges

​Base64 Output

​Save to File

​Complete Example

​Batch Export Example

​Error Handling

​Tab Not Found (404)

​Invalid Parameters (400)

​Best Practices

​Wait for Page Load

​Use Margins for Readability

​Enable Accessibility

​Adjust Scale for Fit

​Next Steps

Screenshots

Screencast

Navigation

Snapshot

Overview

Export to PDF

Query Parameters (GET)

Request Body (POST)

Response

Paper Sizes

Examples

Headers and Footers

Template Variables

Page Ranges

Base64 Output

Save to File

Complete Example

Batch Export Example

Error Handling

Tab Not Found (404)

Invalid Parameters (400)

Best Practices

Wait for Page Load

Use Margins for Readability

Enable Accessibility

Adjust Scale for Fit

Next Steps