How to Use IronPdfEngine
IronPdfEngine is a gRPC server crafted to oversee a range of IronPDF tasks, encompassing the creation, editing, and reading of PDF documents.
How to Use IronPdfEngine in Node.js
- Install the Node.js library to utilize IronPdfEngine
- Include the library by installing it using npm
- Get the Chrome binary via the same installation
- Check the version need by accessing the ironPdfEngineVersion property
- Use the IronPdfEngine to render HTML to PDF with an identical to Chrome renderer
Get started with IronPDF
Start using IronPDF in your project today with a free trial.
IronPdf Node.js and IronPdfEngine
IronPdf for Node.js require IronPdfEngine to run. The Node.js code is just a API mask over IronPdfEngine gRPC. So when you call any method in IronPdf for Node.js the magic will happen inside IronPdfEngine!
By default IronPdf for Node.js will spawn IronPdfEngine as a subprocess and talk to it until your application was shutdown.
Please note
IronPdf for Node.js with Local IronPdfEngine
Option 1 download IronPdfEngine in the runtime
By default, after you install IronPdf in your Java project, on the first run, IronPdf will detect your platform (e.g., Windows x64) and download the correct IronPdfEngine binaries from the internet.
npm i @ironsoftware/ironpdf
Pros
- Your application package will be small.
- Can deploy on many platforms
Cons
- Internet access is needed on the first runs
- Slow start up time
Option 2 (recommended) install IronPdfEngine as a dependency
IronPdf Node.js allows you to add IronPdfEngine as a dependency. These IronPdfEngine dependencies bundle IronPdfEngine to a .zip file and will extract and use automatically.
You may choose to install one or multiple of these IronPdfEngine dependencies.
Please note
ironpdf
and ironpdf-engine-xxx-xxx
dependency version must be the same.ironpdf-engine-xxx-xxx
dependency version does not refer to the version of IronPdfEngine inside.
For Windows x64
npm install @ironsoftware/ironpdf-engine-windows-x64
For Windows x86
npm install @ironsoftware/ironpdf-engine-windows-x86
For Linux x64
npm install @ironsoftware/ironpdf-engine-linux-x64
For macOS x64
npm install @ironsoftware/ironpdf-engine-macos-x64
For macOS arm
npm install @ironsoftware/ironpdf-engine-macos-arm64
Please note
Pros
- Faster start up time.
- Internet access is not needed after the dependency was installed.
Cons
- Your application package will be large.
- Need to specific the target platforms.
IronPdf for Node.js with Remote IronPdfEngine
To use remote IronPdfEngine a specific version of IronPdfEngine is needed. For example, if the IronPdf for Node.js version 2024.2.2 requires IronPdfEngine version 2024.2.2. Do not use IronPdfEngine version 2024.2.1. Access the ironPdfEngineVersion
property to check for the version needed.
const ironPdfEngineVersion = IronPdfGlobalConfig.ironPdfEngineVersion;
How to connect
Assume that IronPdfEngine run remotely at 123.456.7.8:33350
Please note
You just need to tell IronPdf where IronPdfEngine is (please make sure that address is accessible, not blocked by firewall). Add this code at the initial stage of your application (or just before calling any IronPdf method).
IronPdfGlobalConfig.setConfig({
ironPdfEngineDockerAddress:"123.456.7.8:33350"
});
Simple as that! After this your application will be connected Remote IronPdfEngine!
For remote IronPdfEngine, installing IronPdfEngine as a dependency is not needed. You can skip the section titled "Option 2 (recommended) install IronPdfEngine as a dependency."