n8n reads PDFs out of the box but doesn’t create or edit them. The built-in Extract From File node has an Extract From PDF operation, while its counterpart Convert to File writes CSV, HTML, ICS, JSON, ODS, RTF, text, XLS and XLSX, but not PDF. To generate, merge, split, convert or OCR PDFs, you install a community node. This guide covers the built-in option (from n8n’s documentation) and the PDF community packages on our hub (from the descriptions and READMEs their authors publish on npm, and our own download data).
What do you need?
| You want to | Look at |
|---|---|
| Get the text out of a PDF | The built-in Extract From File node |
| Turn images into a PDF | n8n-nodes-pdfkit |
| Generate PDFs from HTML or templates, such as invoices and reports | n8n-nodes-htmlcsstopdf, n8n-nodes-pdforge, @pdfrender-dev/n8n-nodes-pdfrender |
| Merge, split, convert, compress or OCR PDFs | n8n-nodes-pdfco, n8n-nodes-pdf4me, or n8n-nodes-stirling-pdf on your own server |
| Extract structured data from PDFs with AI | n8n-nodes-pdfvector, or the AI Invoice Parser in n8n-nodes-pdfco |
PDF community nodes
Our PDF hub lists 107 packages that pass our quality rule, with 150,520 npm downloads a week between them. The most downloaded, with the description each author gives on npm (weekly npm downloads as of 28 October 2026):
| Package | Weekly downloads | Latest version | Author’s description |
|---|---|---|---|
| n8n-nodes-pdfkit | 89,577 | 0.1.2 (14 May 2023) | Uses PDFKit to turn images into a PDF |
| n8n-nodes-pdfco | 46,751 | 1.0.16 (26 October 2026) | Extract, convert, generate and edit PDFs with OCR and AI document tools |
| n8n-nodes-htmlcsstopdf | 4,176 | 3.2.9 (17 August 2026) | Convert HTML and CSS to PDF with the PdfMunk API, for invoices, reports and certificates |
| n8n-nodes-pdforge | 2,128 | 2.3.3 (3 December 2025) | pdf noodle (previously pdforge): PDF generation from templates |
| n8n-nodes-pdfvector | 935 | 2.1.6 (11 June 2026) | Parse PDF, Word, Excel and image documents, extract structured data with JSON Schema, ask AI questions |
| @pdfrender-dev/n8n-nodes-pdfrender | 884 | 1.0.10 (25 October 2026) | HTML and CSS to PDF with WeasyPrint, page headers, footers and page numbers, no headless browser |
| n8n-nodes-pdf4me | 427 | 2.4.6 (28 July 2026) | PDF4me API integration |
| n8n-nodes-stirling-pdf | 373 | 0.2.0 (22 October 2026) | Stirling PDF processing API |
Versions and dates come from the npm registry.
n8n-nodes-pdfkit
The most downloaded PDF package, with one job: its README says it converts all the images on an item into a single PDF, once per item. Its only release dates from May 2023.
n8n-nodes-pdfco
Its repository is in the pdfdotco GitHub organization and it needs a PDF.co API key. Its README lists 12 groups of operations: an AI invoice parser, URL, HTML and HTML template to PDF, merging, splitting (by page number, search text or barcode), documents, spreadsheets, images and emails to PDF, PDF to CSV, HTML, images, JSON, text or Excel, editing, optimization, search and text operations, barcodes, OCR to make scanned PDFs searchable, and file management.
Generating PDFs from HTML or templates
- n8n-nodes-htmlcsstopdf: sends your HTML and CSS to the PdfMunk API; its README lists PDF creation, manipulation, security and extraction, and you need a PdfMunk API key.
- n8n-nodes-pdforge: from pdf noodle (previously pdforge), which generates PDFs from templates you design in its builder.
- @pdfrender-dev/n8n-nodes-pdfrender: HTML and CSS to PDF with WeasyPrint, with page headers, footers and page numbers; its description says it uses no headless browser and is hosted in Germany.
To render a page in a real browser and print it, see Puppeteer and Playwright in n8n.
n8n-nodes-pdf4me
Its repository is in the pdf4me GitHub organization; it connects n8n to the PDF4me API with a PDF4me API key.
n8n-nodes-stirling-pdf
For Stirling PDF, which you can run on your own server: the credential takes your instance’s base URL and an API key. Its README lists conversions to PDF (files through LibreOffice, HTML, Markdown, images, eBooks and emails) and from PDF (CSV, HTML, images), plus security, forms, general and analysis operations. It notes that some features depend on the instance, OCR for example needs Tesseract language packs, and that URL to PDF is left out because the upstream endpoint is unreliable in API mode.
n8n-nodes-pdfvector
Parses PDF, Word, Excel and image documents with the PDF Vector API and extracts structured data against a JSON Schema. Its README has operations for documents, identity documents, invoices, bank statements and academic paper search, and lists n8n 1.0 or newer.
Check each node page here for the latest release and, where it has one, its GitHub repository for open issues before you build on a package.
How to choose
- Read the text of a PDF: the built-in Extract From File node first; no install needed.
- Combine images into a PDF: n8n-nodes-pdfkit.
- Invoices, reports or certificates from HTML: n8n-nodes-htmlcsstopdf or @pdfrender-dev/n8n-nodes-pdfrender; from designed templates, n8n-nodes-pdforge.
- Many PDF operations through one hosted service: n8n-nodes-pdfco or n8n-nodes-pdf4me.
- Documents that must stay on your own server: n8n-nodes-stirling-pdf with a self-hosted Stirling PDF.
To install a package on a self-hosted instance, an owner or admin enters its npm name in Settings > Community Nodes; full steps are in How to Install n8n Community Nodes. On n8n Cloud only verified community nodes can be installed, see Verified vs Unverified n8n Community Nodes.
FAQ
Can n8n read a PDF without a community node?
Yes. The built-in Extract From File node has an Extract From PDF operation that reads a PDF from a binary field, for example a file from an HTTP Request or Webhook node.
Can n8n create a PDF without a community node?
Not with Convert to File, which writes CSV, HTML, ICS, JSON, ODS, RTF, text, XLS and XLSX but not PDF. For PDFs, use a community node or call a PDF service’s API with the HTTP Request node.
How do I convert HTML to PDF in n8n?
With a community node such as n8n-nodes-htmlcsstopdf, @pdfrender-dev/n8n-nodes-pdfrender or the HTML to PDF operation of n8n-nodes-pdfco, each of which calls a PDF service, or n8n-nodes-stirling-pdf with your own Stirling PDF server.
What is the most used PDF community node?
n8n-nodes-pdfkit, with 89,577 weekly npm downloads on 28 October 2026.
