boxpdf-html MCP server

@boxpdf/html-reader

Readable HTML-to-PDF rendering built on @boxpdf/writer. It is for invoices, receipts, reports, emails, and other authored document HTML where a useful static PDF matters more than browser pixel emulation.

npm install @boxpdf/html-reader @boxpdf/writer pdf-lib

The original boxpdf-html package and boxpdf-html command remain supported. They are published from the same build and at the same version as @boxpdf/html-reader. New projects should use the scoped package; existing projects do not need to change.

CLI

Render an HTML file directly:

npx @boxpdf/html-reader invoice.html invoice.pdf

The scoped package also provides html-reader as a shorter command name.

With generated Tailwind CSS:

npx tailwindcss -i ./tailwind.css -o ./dist/tailwind.css --minify
npx @boxpdf/html-reader invoice.html invoice.pdf --css ./dist/tailwind.css

For very large inputs, add --stream:

npx @boxpdf/html-reader archive.html archive.pdf --stream
type archive.html | npx @boxpdf/html-reader - archive.pdf --stream

Streaming makes two bounded passes over the HTML: one for CSS, fonts, and images, then one for incremental layout and PDF output. Stdin is spooled to a temporary file so it can be reopened. The output replaces its destination only after a successful conversion. This path requires boxpdf 1.12.0 or newer.

With PDF 2.0 AES-256 password encryption:

BOXPDF_PASSWORD='open me' \
  npx @boxpdf/html-reader invoice.html invoice.pdf --password-env BOXPDF_PASSWORD

--password-env accepts an environment-variable name. The variable must be set to a non-empty password. The password value is never accepted as a command argument, which keeps it out of the command line and process listing.

With custom fonts and local images:

npx @boxpdf/html-reader invoice.html invoice.pdf \
  --font ./Inter-Regular.ttf \
  --bold-font ./Inter-Bold.ttf \
  --font-family 'Inter=normal:Inter-Regular.ttf,bold:Inter-Bold.ttf'

Useful flags:

html-reader <input.html> <output.pdf>
html-reader - <output.pdf>                  # read HTML from stdin
html-reader input.html output.pdf --css app.css
html-reader input.html output.pdf --base-url ./public
html-reader input.html output.pdf --password-env BOXPDF_PASSWORD
html-reader input.html output.pdf --debug
html-reader input.html output.pdf --unsupported-css
html-reader input.html output.pdf --profile
html-reader input.html output.pdf --stream

The CLI defaults to pdf-lib's built-in Helvetica family. Use real embedded fonts for production output when brand matching, unicode coverage, or exact metrics matter.

MCP server

boxpdf-html mcp is a stdio MCP server for AI agents. It's batteries-included: an htmltopdf tool plus the full boxpdf library docs, so an agent never has to add a second server.

claude mcp add boxpdf-html -- npx -y @boxpdf/html-reader mcp

Tools

• htmltopdf — render an HTML string (and optional css) to a PDF. Writes to outputPath, or returns the PDF inline as a base64 resource. Always returns warnings and unsupportedCss diagnostics so the agent can fix its input.
• Args: html (required), css, outputPath, size (Letter/A4/Legal/Tabloid, default Letter), margin (default 40), baseUrl, fonts: { regular, bold, italic, boldItalic } (TTF/OTF paths), allowRemote (default false — http(s) image fetches are blocked unless enabled), debug.
• boxpdf_docs — focused guidance for building PDFs with the libraries directly. topic: quickstart (default), fonts, themes, tables, pagination, streaming, html-api, cloudflare.

Resources: boxpdf-html://guide, boxpdf-html://readme, boxpdf://readme, and the five boxpdf://templates/ sources (receipt, boarding-pass, resume, order-confirmation, certificate).

Shortened. The full README is on GitHub.