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Gotenberg

Gotenberg converts files such as HTML and Word documents into PDFs through a service your app calls.

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What do you send when you already have an invoice layout?

For the HTML conversion route, your app sends a page named index.html and any files it uses, such as its styles and a logo. Gotenberg turns that input into a PDF. Its LibreOffice-based route handles supported office documents.

The full container image includes both conversion engines. Check the image you deploy for the input format you need. A conversion service can print a prepared layout. Your app still calculates the total and selects the right invoice.

Who runs the service and what does it cost?

Gotenberg is MIT-licensed software you can run in a Docker container, which packages the service with its dependencies. Budget for the host, processing capacity and maintenance.

Keep the converter private behind your app’s server. Use controlled input files. For any later practice, verify the converter and file destination are isolated and use only a fictional local template with bundled assets. Leave remote resources and sending integrations disconnected. If you cannot confirm the setup, use the paper exercise.

What should you keep after the invoice is converted?

Keep the output PDF and the layout, styles and images needed to produce another copy. Open the file to check the page count, amounts and assets before your app sends or stores it.

Gotenberg 9 also documents PDF processing, including stamping and digital signing operations. A converted invoice or a visible stamp by itself does not establish who approved it. If your process requires inviting someone to sign and tracking their response, plan that separately.

How can you check the input and output on paper?

Draw a fictional invoice page and mark the files it depends on. Use no converter, remote address, account or customer file.

  1. Name the input files
    List the HTML page, its styles and a fictional logo. Draw what the output should look like if all three arrive.
  2. Plan a missing asset check
    Cross out the logo file. Mark the empty spot you would look for in the PDF. Keep the original layout alongside the finished copy.