Missing Dependencies in IronPDF Lambda Deployment

Updated:June 9, 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. Unlike the full IronPDF package, IronPdf.Slim automatically downloads the correct native binaries for the detected base image at runtime, eliminating the need to bundle platform-specific binaries manually:

// NuGet: IronPdf.Slim
// IronPdf.Slim selects and downloads the appropriate native runtime
// for the Lambda execution environment automatically.
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
// IronPdf.Slim selects and downloads the appropriate native runtime
// for the Lambda execution environment automatically.
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
' IronPdf.Slim selects and downloads the appropriate native runtime
' for the Lambda execution environment automatically.
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

Chat with engineering team now

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.

...

Ready to Get Started?

Nuget Downloads 19,345,590 | Version: 2026.6 just released