PDFgen
PDFgen creates PDFs from reusable templates, HTML, Markdown, or natural-language prompts and manages account templates and usage logs.
Verdict
Common use cases
- Generate client proposals from chat threads
- Turn meeting notes into formatted reports
- Audit PDF generation costs before month-end
- Maintain branded invoice templates for billing
- Prototype document layouts with AI prompts
Integration
- Vendor
- PDFgen
- Category
- docs
- Auth
- API_KEY
- Tools
- 8
- Composio slug
pdfgen
Tools
- Create Template
Create a reusable HTML template for later PDF generation.
- Delete Templatedestructive
Permanently delete one saved template owned by the connected account.
- Generate PDF
Generate a PDF from exactly one saved template, HTML document, Markdown document, or AI prompt and return a temporary download URL.
- Get Account
Return the connected PDFgen account, organization, plan, and current credit usage.
- Get Template
Get one saved PDFgen template, including its complete HTML content.
- List Templates
List saved PDF templates owned by the connected account and return one page with a continuation cursor.
- List Usage Logs
List recent PDFgen API calls for auditing, billing inspection, and generation troubleshooting. Returns one page with a continuation cursor. Usage logs are eventually consistent, so a just-completed call may be absent; retry after a short de
- Update Template
Partially update a saved template's name, HTML content, or rendering engine without replacing omitted fields.
Setup
Setup guide
- 11. In Switchy, open your workspace settings and navigate to the Integrations tab. 2. Search for PDFgen and click Connect. 3. You'll be prompted to paste an API key—grab yours from the PDFgen dashboard under Account > API Keys. 4. Paste the key into Switchy and click Authorize. 5. Switchy confirms the connection by fetching your account details. 6. Open any Project and type '@PDFgen get account' to verify the integration returns your plan and credit balance. 7. To test generation, create a simple template with '@PDFgen create template' or generate a one-off PDF from Markdown using '@PDFgen generate PDF'. 8. The MCP returns a temporary download URL—click it to confirm the file renders correctly. 9. You're ready to invoke any of the eight tools by @mentioning PDFgen in a message.
What teammates see: by default, memories from PDFgen are scoped to the Project (PROJECT visibility) - you can mark any memory PRIVATE or share it ORG-wide.
Works well with
Top models
Compatibility data appears once enough Projects have used this MCP together with a given model.
How Switchy teams use it
Starter prompts
Create Invoice Template
@PDFgen create a template named 'Standard Invoice' with HTML that includes a header for our company logo, line items table, subtotal and tax rows, and a payment terms footer.
Generate Proposal PDF
@PDFgen generate a PDF from this Markdown: three sections covering project scope, timeline, and pricing, then return the download link.
List All Templates
@PDFgen list all templates in our account and show me the name and ID for each one.
Check Credit Usage
@PDFgen get our account details and tell me how many credits we've used this billing cycle.
Audit Recent Generations
@PDFgen list the last 20 usage logs and highlight any failed generations or unusual credit charges.
Example outputs
Illustrative - representative of the model's voice and quality, not literal recordings.
@PDFgen list all my saved templates and show me which ones were used in the last 30 days
Found 12 saved templates in your account. Here are the most recently used: • "Monthly Invoice" (ID: tpl_8x9k) – last used 2 days ago • "Customer Onboarding Packet" (ID: tpl_4m2n) – last used 5 days ago • "Quarterly Report" (ID: tpl_7p1q) – last used 18 days ago 4 templates haven't been used in the past 30 days: "Legacy Contract", "Old Proposal Format", "Test Template A", "Draft Welcome Letter". The remaining 5 templates were used within the month. Your current plan allows 500 generations/month and you've used 287 credits so far.
This example pairs the List Templates tool with List Usage Logs to show template inventory and activity patterns. Requires read access to both templates and usage logs. Usage logs are eventually consistent, so very recent generations may not appear immediately. Useful for template cleanup and understanding which documents your team actually relies on.
@PDFgen generate a PDF from my "Monthly Invoice" template using the data from the last Stripe charge, then give me the download link
Generated a 2-page PDF from your "Monthly Invoice" template (tpl_8x9k) using the Stripe charge data for $1,240.00 from March 15, 2025. Download link (valid for 24 hours): https://api.pdfgen.com/v1/downloads/pdf_9k3m2n8x... The PDF includes the customer name, itemized charges, payment method, and your company footer. This generation consumed 1 credit from your monthly allowance (286 remaining). The download URL expires tomorrow at 3:42 PM UTC.
This example demonstrates PDF generation from a saved template with dynamic data injection. The MCP creates the PDF and returns a temporary download URL—it does NOT return the PDF file itself in the chat. You'll need to click the link or pass it to another tool. Template must exist in your account before generation. Each generation consumes account credits based on your plan.
@PDFgen create a new template called "Project Proposal" from this HTML structure, then generate a sample PDF so I can preview the layout
Created template "Project Proposal" (ID: tpl_5n7k) with your HTML structure. The template includes: • Header section with logo placeholder • Executive summary block • 3-column pricing table • Footer with terms and signature line Generated a sample PDF to preview the layout: https://api.pdfgen.com/v1/downloads/pdf_2m8x4k... The preview uses placeholder content ("Lorem ipsum" text, sample pricing). When you're ready to generate real proposals, reference this template ID and pass actual project data. You can update the template's HTML anytime with the Update Template tool without changing the ID.
This example shows template creation followed immediately by test generation—a common workflow when designing new document layouts. The MCP performs two operations: Create Template stores the HTML, then Generate PDF produces a preview. This consumes one generation credit. Template HTML must be valid; the MCP will reject malformed markup. Preview links expire in 24 hours like all generated PDFs.
Use-case deep-dives
When PDFgen wins for repeatable client deliverables
A 6-person creative agency sends 15-20 proposals a month, each with the same structure but different client names, scope tables, and pricing. PDFgen's template system is the right call here. One person builds the HTML template once with placeholders for project details, then anyone on the team can generate a branded PDF by filling in variables through the MCP. The 8-tool scope means you can list existing templates, update them when the brand guide changes, and audit usage logs to see who generated what. The threshold: if your proposals need conditional logic beyond simple variable swaps, you'll hit the template engine's limits and need a heavier tool. For straightforward variable substitution at this volume, PDFgen keeps proposal turnaround under 5 minutes without designer bottlenecks.
PDFgen handles scheduled metric snapshots well
A 3-person ops team at a B2B SaaS company sends weekly performance reports to 40 enterprise customers. Each report pulls the same metrics from their database but filtered per customer. They use PDFgen to generate from Markdown: the MCP fetches customer data, formats it as Markdown with tables and charts, then calls Generate PDF to produce the attachment. The API key auth means they can run this in a scheduled workflow without OAuth friction. The Get Account tool lets them monitor credit burn so they don't hit limits mid-batch. The edge case: if report layouts need per-customer branding, the single-template-per-generation model gets clunky and they'd need to maintain 40 templates. For uniform layouts with variable data, PDFgen turns a 2-hour manual task into a 10-minute automated run.
When PDFgen is overkill for ticket exports
A 10-person support team needs to archive resolved tickets as PDFs for SOC 2 audit trails. PDFgen can do this—generate from HTML or Markdown, store the URL, done—but it's probably the wrong tool. The team already has a ticketing system with native export, and PDFgen's 8 tools are built for template reuse, not one-off conversions. You'd burn API credits on tickets that never get regenerated, and the List Usage Logs tool is redundant when your ticketing system already tracks exports. The exception: if you need to merge ticket threads with external context (Slack messages, call transcripts) into a single formatted PDF, then PDFgen's template system justifies the overhead. For straight ticket-to-PDF with no custom formatting, use your help desk's built-in export and skip the MCP layer.
Frequently asked
What does the PDFgen MCP let me do in Switchy?
It lets your AI agents create, manage, and generate PDFs from templates or raw HTML. Agents can save reusable templates, generate PDFs on demand from Markdown or prompts, and audit your account's credit usage. Useful for automating reports, invoices, or any document workflow that ends in a PDF.
Do I need admin access to connect PDFgen?
You need a PDFgen API key, which any account holder can generate from their dashboard. The key grants full access to templates and generation for that account, so treat it like a password. If you're on a team plan, coordinate with whoever manages your PDFgen subscription.
Can the MCP generate PDFs from a URL or existing file?
No. It only generates from HTML you provide directly, Markdown content, a saved template, or an AI prompt that PDFgen renders. If you have a URL or existing PDF, you'll need to fetch the content first or use a different tool to convert it to HTML.
How is this different from just calling the PDFgen API myself?
Your AI agents can now decide when to generate a PDF mid-conversation, without you writing integration code. They pick the right template, inject data, and handle errors. You skip the boilerplate and get PDFs as a natural part of your workflow instead of a separate script.
Does PDF generation count against my Switchy plan limits?
No. PDF generation consumes credits in your PDFgen account, not Switchy. Check your PDFgen plan for credit limits. The MCP includes a Get Account tool so agents can warn you when you're running low before a generation fails.