For a new report, invoice, or other document, build a PDF-specific React tree with @react-pdf/renderer. Its Document, Page, View, and Text components describe PDF content rather than ordinary browser DOM. If you need to capture an existing HTML/CSS page, use a browser-based PDF workflow instead. React’s server-rendering APIs produce HTML, not a PDF.
Choose the right PDF approach
| Your goal | Approach to consider | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Create a report, invoice, certificate, or other document layout | @react-pdf/renderer |
Build a PDF-specific component tree with document primitives and styles; a regular DOM component may need a separate layout. React-pdf v4 documentation |
| Preview a PDF inside a web page | PDFViewer from @react-pdf/renderer |
The v4 quick start shows rendering the document in the browser with this component. React-pdf v4 quick start |
| Save a PDF file or render it on a server | @react-pdf/renderer |
The v4 quick start documents saving a file and rendering to a stream; check the examples against your runtime and installed package version. React-pdf v4 quick start |
| Render an existing page’s HTML and CSS | A browser-based PDF workflow, such as Puppeteer | Evaluate the current tool documentation and test your page’s output; the available documentation does not establish a general CSS-fidelity guarantee. Puppeteer PDF generation guide |
| Render React on a server as HTML | react-dom/server |
These APIs render React to HTML or streams. Add a separate PDF-producing step if a PDF file is the required result. React server APIs |
Build a PDF-specific React document
Install the renderer using the command in its current quick start, then define a document component using the renderer’s primitives. The following is a structural example, not a complete report layout:
import { Document, Page, Text, View } from '@react-pdf/renderer';
function ReportPdf() {
return (
<Document title="Quarterly report">
<Page>
<View>
<Text>Quarterly report</Text>
</View>
</Page>
</Document>
);
}Document is the root of the renderer tree, and its children should be Page components. Compose each page with supported document primitives and the renderer’s styling system rather than assuming ordinary DOM elements or browser CSS will transfer unchanged. See the Document API and the v4 quick start for the current usage details.
Render in the browser or on a server
React-pdf’s v4 documentation supports both web and server rendering. Choose where to render based on how the PDF will be delivered, and follow the example for your runtime in the official quick start.
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- Browser preview: wrap the document component in
PDFViewerto display it in the DOM. - File output: use the quick-start file-saving example when the browser or server should produce a saved PDF.
- Server stream: use the documented stream approach when your server needs to send or process the generated output.
Do not substitute react-dom/server and expect a PDF: React’s server APIs render HTML, including through stream APIs. HTML rendering and PDF generation are separate steps.
Handle metadata and document requirements
The Document API lists metadata properties such as title, author, subject, and keywords, along with settings for PDF version, language, creation and modification dates, password, and permissions. Check the current API and your delivery requirements before setting these properties.
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The same documentation describes PDF/A options for PDF/A-1 (based on PDF 1.4) and PDF/A-2 and PDF/A-3 (based on PDF 1.7). It says the renderer adds XMP conformance metadata and an sRGB OutputIntent, supports b-level visual conformance, and requires embedded fonts for validation; built-in standard 14 fonts will not fully validate. These are package documentation statements, not a guarantee that a particular generated file complies with PDF/A. Validate the actual output against the requirements that apply to your use case.
Check pagination and scale before choosing a workflow
For a PDF-specific document, consider how pages, breaks, repeated headers or footers, and navigation should work. For an existing web page, test the browser-based workflow on the real page and inspect the resulting PDF rather than assuming the page will print as intended.
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An older v3 advanced guide discusses page breaks, fixed elements, Express streaming, and warns that browser rendering documents of 30 pages or more can occupy the main thread. It is legacy documentation, not a current v4 guarantee; verify any example or performance assumption against your installed version. The v4 quick start says v3 is no longer maintained. Legacy v3 advanced guide
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Evaluate alternatives without assuming they are interchangeable
Puppeteer, jsPDF, and html2canvas are other avenues to evaluate when your needs do not fit the PDF-specific React approach. Their documentation should be checked directly for your requirements; a tool name alone does not establish HTML/CSS fidelity, pagination behavior, or suitability for a particular deployment. This article does not rank them or claim a feature-by-feature comparison.
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