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Generating a PDF with Microlink API requires two parameters: the target url and pdf.
Use pdf: true for the default behavior, or pass an object when you need PDF-specific options such as format, margin, scale, or pageRanges.

The following examples show how to use the Microlink API with CLI, cURL, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP & Golang, targeting 'https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications' URL with 'pdf' API parameter:

CLI Microlink API example

microlink https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications&pdf

cURL Microlink API example

curl -G "https://api.microlink.io" \
  -d "url=https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications" \
  -d "pdf=true"

JavaScript Microlink API example

import mql from '@microlink/mql'

const { data } = await mql('https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications', {
  pdf: true
})

Python Microlink API example

import requests

url = "https://api.microlink.io/"

querystring = {
    "url": "https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications",
    "pdf": "true"
}

response = requests.get(url, params=querystring)

print(response.json())

Ruby Microlink API example

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

base_url = "https://api.microlink.io/"

params = {
  url: "https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications",
  pdf: "true"
}

uri = URI(base_url)
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form(params)

http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
response = http.request(request)

puts response.body

PHP Microlink API example

<?php

$baseUrl = "https://api.microlink.io/";

$params = [
    "url" => "https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications",
    "pdf" => "true"
];

$query = http_build_query($params);
$url = $baseUrl . '?' . $query;

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, [
    CURLOPT_URL => $url,
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
    CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
    CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
    CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
    CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
    CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "GET"
]);

$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);

curl_close($curl);

if ($err) {
    echo "cURL Error #: " . $err;
} else {
    echo $response;
}

Golang Microlink API example

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "net/http"
    "net/url"
    "io"
)

func main() {
    baseURL := "https://api.microlink.io"

    u, err := url.Parse(baseURL)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    q := u.Query()
    q.Set("url", "https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications")
    q.Set("pdf", "true")
    u.RawQuery = q.Encode()

    req, err := http.NewRequest("GET", u.String(), nil)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    client := &http.Client{}
    resp, err := client.Do(req)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    defer resp.Body.Close()

    body, err := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    fmt.Println(string(body))
}
Run the request and look for the generated asset under data.pdf.url.
Microlink renders the page in a headless browser, prints it to PDF, stores the result on the CDN, and returns the PDF asset metadata in the response.

MQL installation

To run the JavaScript examples with MQL, install @microlink/mql:
npm install @microlink/mql --save
It works in Node.js, Edge runtimes, and the browser. See the MQL installation guide for the environment-specific setup.
If you are using another language, you do not need to install MQL to follow this guide. You can use the terminal examples or call the API directly from any HTTP client.

How PDF options work

As soon as you want to customize paper size, margins, or scale, switch from true to a pdf object:
{
  url: 'https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications',
  pdf: {
    format: 'A4',
    margin: '1cm',
    scale: 0.8
  },
  meta: false
}
This guide uses the nested object form consistently because it keeps PDF-specific options grouped together. In raw query strings, the same options are expressed with dot notation such as pdf.format=A4.

The response

The pdf field in the response contains the generated asset you will usually reuse:
{
  "status": "success",
  "data": {
    "pdf": {
      "url": "https://microlink-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/pdf/...",
      "type": "pdf",
      "size": 1357350,
      "size_pretty": "1.36 MB"
    }
  }
}
Most application workflows use data.pdf.url directly. It is a CDN-hosted PDF URL you can store, cache, download, or embed elsewhere.

Choose a delivery mode

You have two main ways to consume generated PDFs:
NeedBest optionWhy
You want JSON plus PDF metadataDefault responseYou get data.pdf.url, type, and size
You want the API URL itself to return the PDF fileembed: 'pdf.url'The API URL behaves like a direct PDF download or preview URL
If you already know you want a direct download link or embedded PDF preview, skip to delivery and embedding.

Skip metadata for faster responses

By default, the API also extracts metadata from the target page. If you only need the PDF, disable it:

The following examples show how to use the Microlink API with CLI, cURL, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP & Golang, targeting 'https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications' URL with 'pdf' & 'meta' API parameters:

CLI Microlink API example

microlink https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications&pdf

cURL Microlink API example

curl -G "https://api.microlink.io" \
  -d "url=https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications" \
  -d "pdf=true" \
  -d "meta=false"

JavaScript Microlink API example

import mql from '@microlink/mql'

const { data } = await mql('https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications', {
  pdf: true,
  meta: false
})

Python Microlink API example

import requests

url = "https://api.microlink.io/"

querystring = {
    "url": "https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications",
    "pdf": "true",
    "meta": "false"
}

response = requests.get(url, params=querystring)

print(response.json())

Ruby Microlink API example

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

base_url = "https://api.microlink.io/"

params = {
  url: "https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications",
  pdf: "true",
  meta: "false"
}

uri = URI(base_url)
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form(params)

http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
response = http.request(request)

puts response.body

PHP Microlink API example

<?php

$baseUrl = "https://api.microlink.io/";

$params = [
    "url" => "https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications",
    "pdf" => "true",
    "meta" => "false"
];

$query = http_build_query($params);
$url = $baseUrl . '?' . $query;

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, [
    CURLOPT_URL => $url,
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
    CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
    CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
    CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
    CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
    CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "GET"
]);

$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);

curl_close($curl);

if ($err) {
    echo "cURL Error #: " . $err;
} else {
    echo $response;
}

Golang Microlink API example

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "net/http"
    "net/url"
    "io"
)

func main() {
    baseURL := "https://api.microlink.io"

    u, err := url.Parse(baseURL)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    q := u.Query()
    q.Set("url", "https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications")
    q.Set("pdf", "true")
    q.Set("meta", "false")
    u.RawQuery = q.Encode()

    req, err := http.NewRequest("GET", u.String(), nil)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    client := &http.Client{}
    resp, err := client.Do(req)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    defer resp.Body.Close()

    body, err := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    fmt.Println(string(body))
}
Setting meta: false skips metadata extraction and is usually the biggest speedup for PDF-only requests.
If you still need a few metadata fields, meta also accepts an object for selective extraction. See the meta reference.

One important default: Print css

When Microlink generates a PDF, the default mediaType is 'print'. That means print stylesheets are applied automatically.
If the page looks better in its normal on-screen layout, switch to mediaType: 'screen' in page preparation.

Using the raw URL

You can call the API directly from your browser address bar or any HTTP client:
https://api.microlink.io?url=https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications&pdf=true&meta=false
That returns JSON. To make the API URL return the PDF file directly instead, use embed=pdf.url in the delivery and embedding guide.

Free tier and API key

The Microlink API works without an API key. You get 50 free requests per day, which is enough to test the full PDF flow and the examples in this guide.
For production usage, you'll usually want a
PRO
plan. It unlocks features such as configurable TTL, stale-while-revalidate caching, custom filenames, custom headers, and proxy.
To authenticate, pass your API key as the x-api-key header:

The following examples show how to use the Microlink API with CLI, cURL, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, PHP & Golang, targeting 'https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications' URL with 'pdf', 'meta' & 'apiKey' API parameters:

CLI Microlink API example

microlink https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications&pdf --api-key YOUR_API_TOKEN

cURL Microlink API example

curl -G "https://api.microlink.io" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -d "url=https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications" \
  -d "pdf=true" \
  -d "meta=false"

JavaScript Microlink API example

import mql from '@microlink/mql'

const { data } = await mql('https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications', {
  pdf: true,
  meta: false,
  apiKey: "YOUR_API_TOKEN"
})

Python Microlink API example

import requests

url = "https://api.microlink.io/"

querystring = {
    "url": "https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications",
    "pdf": "true",
    "meta": "false"
}

headers = {
    "x-api-key": "YOUR_API_TOKEN"
}

response = requests.get(url, params=querystring, headers=headers)

print(response.json())

Ruby Microlink API example

require 'uri'
require 'net/http'

base_url = "https://api.microlink.io/"

params = {
  url: "https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications",
  pdf: "true",
  meta: "false"
}

uri = URI(base_url)
uri.query = URI.encode_www_form(params)

http = Net::HTTP.new(uri.host, uri.port)
http.use_ssl = true

request = Net::HTTP::Get.new(uri)
request['x-api-key'] = "YOUR_API_TOKEN"
response = http.request(request)

puts response.body

PHP Microlink API example

<?php

$baseUrl = "https://api.microlink.io/";

$params = [
    "url" => "https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications",
    "pdf" => "true",
    "meta" => "false"
];

$query = http_build_query($params);
$url = $baseUrl . '?' . $query;

$curl = curl_init();

curl_setopt_array($curl, [
    CURLOPT_URL => $url,
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
    CURLOPT_ENCODING => "",
    CURLOPT_MAXREDIRS => 10,
    CURLOPT_TIMEOUT => 30,
    CURLOPT_HTTP_VERSION => CURL_HTTP_VERSION_1_1,
    CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => "GET",
    CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
        "x-api-key: YOUR_API_TOKEN"
    ]
]);

$response = curl_exec($curl);
$err = curl_error($curl);

curl_close($curl);

if ($err) {
    echo "cURL Error #: " . $err;
} else {
    echo $response;
}

Golang Microlink API example

package main

import (
    "fmt"
    "net/http"
    "net/url"
    "io"
)

func main() {
    baseURL := "https://api.microlink.io"

    u, err := url.Parse(baseURL)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    q := u.Query()
    q.Set("url", "https://rauchg.com/2014/7-principles-of-rich-web-applications")
    q.Set("pdf", "true")
    q.Set("meta", "false")
    u.RawQuery = q.Encode()

    req, err := http.NewRequest("GET", u.String(), nil)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    req.Header.Set("x-api-key", "YOUR_API_TOKEN")

    client := &http.Client{}
    resp, err := client.Do(req)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }
    defer resp.Body.Close()

    body, err := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
    if err != nil {
        panic(err)
    }

    fmt.Println(string(body))
}
You can enter your API key in any interactive example by clicking the key icon in the terminal toolbar.
Throughout this guide, features that require a
PRO
plan are marked inline.
See the authentication and rate limit docs for details.

What's next

Pick the next step based on the result you want:
  • Page size and layout — control paper format, custom dimensions, margins, orientation, scale, and page ranges.
  • Page preparation — choose print or screen CSS, wait for content, click UI elements, and inject CSS before printing.
  • Delivery and embedding — choose between JSON + CDN URLs and direct PDF responses for downloads and previews.
  • Caching and performance — tune freshness, cache behavior, and PDF generation speed.
  • Private pages — generate PDFs from logged-in or header-dependent pages safely.
  • Troubleshooting — fix missing content, wrong layout, timeouts, blocked sites, and plan-related errors.

See also

  • Screenshot — if you need an image of the page instead of a printable document.
  • Metadata — if you need link preview data alongside or instead of a PDF.