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Using IronPDF to Create PDF Files on AWS Lambda

ByChaknith Bin

January 25, 2023

Updated  June 1, 2025

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1. Create AWS Lambda with a Container Template (.NET 5)

Please refer to the first part of this official document from AWS: .NET 5 AWS Lambda Support with Container Images.

2. Add Package Dependencies

These dependencies are required for Chrome in this AWS environment.

Please modify the Docker file according to these instructions:

AWS Lambda with .NET 5

# Sample Dockerfile -- .NET 5
FROM public.ecr.aws/lambda/dotnet:5.0

# Copy function code
COPY "bin/Release/net5.0/linux-x64/publish" /var/task

# Add required packages for Chrome
RUN yum install -y atk cups-libs libXcomposite libXcursor libXdamage libXext \
    libXi libXtst pango alsa-lib at-spi2-atk gtk3 libdrm libgbm

AWS Lambda with .NET 7

# Sample Dockerfile -- .NET 7
FROM public.ecr.aws/lambda/dotnet:7.0

# Copy function code
COPY "bin/Release/net7.0/linux-x64/publish" /var/task

# Add required packages for Chrome
RUN yum install -y atk cups-libs libXcomposite libXcursor libXdamage libXext \
    libXi libXtst pango alsa-lib at-spi2-atk gtk3 libdrm libgbm

AWS Lambda with .NET 8

# Sample Dockerfile -- .NET 8
FROM public.ecr.aws/lambda/dotnet:8.0

# Copy function code
COPY "bin/Release/net8.0/linux-x64/publish" /var/task

# Add required packages for Chrome
RUN yum install -y atk cups-libs libXcomposite libXcursor libXdamage libXext \
    libXi libXtst pango alsa-lib at-spi2-atk gtk3 libdrm libgbm

3. Add the IronPDF (Linux) NuGet Package

Install IronPdf.Linux

1. In Solution Explorer, right-click References, Manage NuGet Packages
2. Select Browse and search for IronPdf.Linux
3. Select the package and install it.

4. Modify FunctionHandler Code

The following example will create a PDF file from a webpage (IronPDF website) and save it to /tmp. To view this PDF, you must upload it to another service such as S3.

It is necessary to configure the temporary folder when using IronPDF on AWS Lambda. Please use the TempFolderPath and CustomDeploymentDirectory properties to do this.

using System;
using Amazon.Lambda.Core;
using IronPdf;

// Handler function to render a webpage as PDF and save it
public Casing FunctionHandler(string input, ILambdaContext context)
{
    try
    {
        context.Logger.LogLine($"START FunctionHandler RequestId: {context.AwsRequestId} Input: {input}");

        // AWS temporary storage path
        var awsTmpPath = @"/tmp/";

        // Optional logging configuration for debugging
        // IronPdf.Logging.Logger.EnableDebugging = true;
        // IronPdf.Logging.Logger.LogFilePath = awsTmpPath;
        // IronPdf.Logging.Logger.LoggingMode = IronPdf.Logging.Logger.LoggingModes.All;

        // Set your IronPDF license key
        IronPdf.License.LicenseKey = "YOUR_LICENSE_KEY";

        // Disable GPU usage in Chrome engine for AWS compatibility
        IronPdf.Installation.ChromeGpuMode = IronPdf.Engines.Chrome.ChromeGpuModes.Disabled;

        // Configure temporary paths for IronPDF
        IronPdf.Installation.TempFolderPath = awsTmpPath;
        IronPdf.Installation.CustomDeploymentDirectory = awsTmpPath;

        // Automatically configure necessary Linux and Docker dependencies
        IronPdf.Installation.LinuxAndDockerDependenciesAutoConfig = true;

        context.Logger.LogLine($"Creating IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer");
        var renderer = new IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer();

        context.Logger.LogLine($"Rendering PDF from URL");
        using var pdfDoc = renderer.RenderUrlAsPdf("https://ironpdf.com/");

        var guid = Guid.NewGuid();
        var fileName = $"/tmp/{input}_{guid}.pdf"; // Save file to /tmp

        context.Logger.LogLine($"Saving PDF as: {fileName}");
        pdfDoc.SaveAs(fileName);

        // You can upload the saved PDF file to any location like S3.

        context.Logger.LogLine($"COMPLETE!");
    }
    catch (Exception e)
    {
        context.Logger.LogLine($"[ERROR] FunctionHandler : {e.Message}");
    }

    // Return a casing object with both lower and upper version of input
    return new Casing(input?.ToLower(), input?.ToUpper());
}

using System;
using Amazon.Lambda.Core;
using IronPdf;

// Handler function to render a webpage as PDF and save it
public Casing FunctionHandler(string input, ILambdaContext context)
{
    try
    {
        context.Logger.LogLine($"START FunctionHandler RequestId: {context.AwsRequestId} Input: {input}");

        // AWS temporary storage path
        var awsTmpPath = @"/tmp/";

        // Optional logging configuration for debugging
        // IronPdf.Logging.Logger.EnableDebugging = true;
        // IronPdf.Logging.Logger.LogFilePath = awsTmpPath;
        // IronPdf.Logging.Logger.LoggingMode = IronPdf.Logging.Logger.LoggingModes.All;

        // Set your IronPDF license key
        IronPdf.License.LicenseKey = "YOUR_LICENSE_KEY";

        // Disable GPU usage in Chrome engine for AWS compatibility
        IronPdf.Installation.ChromeGpuMode = IronPdf.Engines.Chrome.ChromeGpuModes.Disabled;

        // Configure temporary paths for IronPDF
        IronPdf.Installation.TempFolderPath = awsTmpPath;
        IronPdf.Installation.CustomDeploymentDirectory = awsTmpPath;

        // Automatically configure necessary Linux and Docker dependencies
        IronPdf.Installation.LinuxAndDockerDependenciesAutoConfig = true;

        context.Logger.LogLine($"Creating IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer");
        var renderer = new IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer();

        context.Logger.LogLine($"Rendering PDF from URL");
        using var pdfDoc = renderer.RenderUrlAsPdf("https://ironpdf.com/");

        var guid = Guid.NewGuid();
        var fileName = $"/tmp/{input}_{guid}.pdf"; // Save file to /tmp

        context.Logger.LogLine($"Saving PDF as: {fileName}");
        pdfDoc.SaveAs(fileName);

        // You can upload the saved PDF file to any location like S3.

        context.Logger.LogLine($"COMPLETE!");
    }
    catch (Exception e)
    {
        context.Logger.LogLine($"[ERROR] FunctionHandler : {e.Message}");
    }

    // Return a casing object with both lower and upper version of input
    return new Casing(input?.ToLower(), input?.ToUpper());
}

Imports System
Imports Amazon.Lambda.Core
Imports IronPdf

' Handler function to render a webpage as PDF and save it
Public Function FunctionHandler(ByVal input As String, ByVal context As ILambdaContext) As Casing
	Try
		context.Logger.LogLine($"START FunctionHandler RequestId: {context.AwsRequestId} Input: {input}")

		' AWS temporary storage path
		Dim awsTmpPath = "/tmp/"

		' Optional logging configuration for debugging
		' IronPdf.Logging.Logger.EnableDebugging = true;
		' IronPdf.Logging.Logger.LogFilePath = awsTmpPath;
		' IronPdf.Logging.Logger.LoggingMode = IronPdf.Logging.Logger.LoggingModes.All;

		' Set your IronPDF license key
		IronPdf.License.LicenseKey = "YOUR_LICENSE_KEY"

		' Disable GPU usage in Chrome engine for AWS compatibility
		IronPdf.Installation.ChromeGpuMode = IronPdf.Engines.Chrome.ChromeGpuModes.Disabled

		' Configure temporary paths for IronPDF
		IronPdf.Installation.TempFolderPath = awsTmpPath
		IronPdf.Installation.CustomDeploymentDirectory = awsTmpPath

		' Automatically configure necessary Linux and Docker dependencies
		IronPdf.Installation.LinuxAndDockerDependenciesAutoConfig = True

		context.Logger.LogLine($"Creating IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer")
		Dim renderer = New IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer()

		context.Logger.LogLine($"Rendering PDF from URL")
		Dim pdfDoc = renderer.RenderUrlAsPdf("https://ironpdf.com/")

		Dim guid As System.Guid = System.Guid.NewGuid()
		Dim fileName = $"/tmp/{input}_{guid}.pdf" ' Save file to /tmp

		context.Logger.LogLine($"Saving PDF as: {fileName}")
		pdfDoc.SaveAs(fileName)

		' You can upload the saved PDF file to any location like S3.

		context.Logger.LogLine($"COMPLETE!")
	Catch e As Exception
		context.Logger.LogLine($"[ERROR] FunctionHandler : {e.Message}")
	End Try

	' Return a casing object with both lower and upper version of input
	Return New Casing(input?.ToLower(), input?.ToUpper())
End Function

5. Increase Memory and Timeout

IronPDF requires more time and memory than the default value of Lambda. You can configure it in aws-lambda-tools-defaults.json. Please adjust these to match your function. In this example, we will set it to 512 MB and 330 seconds.

{
    "function-memory-size": 512,
    "function-timeout": 330
}

You also can update this configuration using the Lambda console. Navigate to the AWS Lambda Memory Configuration Guide article for more information.

6. Publish

Please follow the instructions in the latter part of the '.NET 5 AWS Lambda Support with Container Images' document to publish and test your Lambda function.

7. Try it Out!

You can activate the Lambda function using the AWS Lambda Console or via Visual Studio by using the AWS Toolkit for Visual Studio.

Chaknith Bin

  Chat with engineering team now

Software Engineer

Chaknith works on IronXL and IronBarcode. He has deep expertise in C# and .NET, helping improve the software and support customers. His insights from user interactions contribute to better products, documentation, and overall experience.