Missing Dependencies in IronPDF Lambda Deployment

Updated:July 5, 2026

IronPDF fails to initialize when deployed to AWS Lambda, producing errors similar to:

IronPDF failed to start: required native binaries not found at the expected path.
Unable to load shared library or one of its dependencies.
Error: Required IronPDF native dependencies were not found in the deployment package.

Missing native dependencies in Lambda deployments are caused by one or more of the following:

Missing permissions: the Lambda execution role or file system path lacks Read/Write/Execute permissions required by IronPDF.
Absent native binaries: native IronPDF libraries were not included in the deployment package.
Incorrect Dockerfile: the Dockerfile does not install the correct OS-level dependencies for the Lambda base image.

Solution

Switch to the IronPdf.Slim NuGet package. With IronPdf.Installation.AutomaticallyDownloadNativeBinaries set to true, IronPdf.Slim downloads the correct native binaries for the detected base image at runtime, eliminating the need to bundle platform-specific binaries manually. This requires outbound internet/NuGet access from the Lambda environment; without the flag enabled the same missing-binary error can persist:

// NuGet: IronPdf.Slim
// Enable runtime download of the appropriate native runtime
// for the Lambda execution environment.
IronPdf.Installation.AutomaticallyDownloadNativeBinaries = true;
IronPdf.License.LicenseKey = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("IRONPDF_LICENSE_KEY");

var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
var pdf = await renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdfAsync("<h1>Hello from Lambda</h1>");
pdf.SaveAs("/tmp/output.pdf");

// NuGet: IronPdf.Slim
// Enable runtime download of the appropriate native runtime
// for the Lambda execution environment.
IronPdf.Installation.AutomaticallyDownloadNativeBinaries = true;
IronPdf.License.LicenseKey = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("IRONPDF_LICENSE_KEY");

var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
var pdf = await renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdfAsync("<h1>Hello from Lambda</h1>");
pdf.SaveAs("/tmp/output.pdf");

' NuGet: IronPdf.Slim
' Enable runtime download of the appropriate native runtime
' for the Lambda execution environment.
IronPdf.Installation.AutomaticallyDownloadNativeBinaries = True
IronPdf.License.LicenseKey = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("IRONPDF_LICENSE_KEY")

Dim renderer As New ChromePdfRenderer()
Dim pdf = Await renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdfAsync("<h1>Hello from Lambda</h1>")
pdf.SaveAs("/tmp/output.pdf")

$vbLabelText $csharpLabel

Test directly in Lambda: do not rely on local testing to verify native dependency resolution. Running the project locally downloads Windows-compatible or host-OS-compatible binaries instead of the Lambda-compatible ones, producing a false pass.

Retrieve log files from AWS for diagnostic details when the issue persists after switching to IronPdf.Slim. Enable logging before the first IronPDF call:

IronPdf.Logging.Logger.EnableDebugging = true;
IronPdf.Logging.Logger.LogFilePath = "/tmp/ironpdf.log";
IronPdf.Logging.Logger.LoggingMode = IronPdf.Logging.Logger.LoggingModes.All;

IronPdf.Logging.Logger.EnableDebugging = true;
IronPdf.Logging.Logger.LogFilePath = "/tmp/ironpdf.log";
IronPdf.Logging.Logger.LoggingMode = IronPdf.Logging.Logger.LoggingModes.All;

Imports IronPdf.Logging

Logger.EnableDebugging = True
Logger.LogFilePath = "/tmp/ironpdf.log"
Logger.LoggingMode = Logger.LoggingModes.All

$vbLabelText $csharpLabel

Attach /tmp/ironpdf.log and the Lambda CloudWatch log output to your support request. See also: deploying IronPDF to AWS Lambda with Docker and how to get IronPDF log files in AWS.

Curtis Chau

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Technical Writer

Curtis Chau holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science (Carleton University) and specializes in front-end development with expertise in Node.js, TypeScript, JavaScript, and React. Passionate about crafting intuitive and aesthetically pleasing user interfaces, Curtis enjoys working with modern frameworks and creating well-structured, visually appealing manuals.

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