FAQ
Frequently asked questions about pdfstork.
General
What is pdfstork?
pdfstork is a service that lets you generate PDF documents from templates via a REST API. You design your templates using our visual editor or HTML/Twig, then call the API with your data to produce a PDF.
What can I use pdfstork for?
Common use cases include:
- Invoices, quotes, and receipts
- Contracts and agreements
- Reports and dashboards
- Certificates and diplomas
- Shipping labels and packing slips
What is the difference between the WYSIWYG and HTML editors?
The WYSIWYG editor is a visual drag-and-drop editor where you place elements on a canvas. It's the fastest way to create simple templates. The HTML editor lets you write HTML with Twig templating syntax for full control over layout, conditional logic, and multi-page documents.
API
What output formats are supported?
You can receive the generated PDF in three formats:
- base64: base64-encoded string in a JSON response (default)
- url: a temporary signed URL valid for up to 24 hours
- binary: raw PDF bytes
What are the rate limits?
The API allows 60 requests per minute per team, shared by all the team's tokens and members. See Rate Limits & Quotas for details.
Can I use the API without a subscription?
Yes. The Discovery plan gives you 100 PDFs per month and 1 template at no cost. You can upgrade anytime if you need more.
Templates
Can I upload my own PDF as a base?
Yes, on the Pro plan. You can upload an existing PDF and overlay dynamic fields on top of it. This is ideal for pre-printed forms, contracts, and branded documents.
How many templates can I have?
Discovery: 1 template. Basic: up to 10. Pro: unlimited. See Plans & Billing for the full comparison.
Is there version history?
On the Pro plan, each template keeps up to 10 previous versions. You can view and restore any saved version.
Teams
Do team members need their own subscription?
No. Team members work under the plan of the team's owner. Only the owner needs a Pro plan, which is required to invite members and to create more teams. If the owner leaves Pro, members stay but become read-only.
How is the API quota shared?
The plan, the monthly PDF quota and the prepaid credits belong to the owner's account. All the teams it owns share them, and every generation by any member counts.
Can I leave a team, or delete one?
A member or an admin can leave a team from Settings → Team. The owner can delete a team they own, except their last one; its templates, webhooks and API keys are deleted with it. See Team management.
Billing
How are credits counted?
One PDF costs one credit, whether it comes from a template or from raw HTML. A merge of N documents costs N credits. Previews and exports from the editors are free. A request refused with an error (for example a Twig error in the template) consumes nothing.
What happens if I exceed my monthly quota?
Generation carries on with prepaid credits. On a Basic or Pro plan, the first time you cross the quota you get a one-off welcome pack of 1,000 PDFs. Credit packs of 1,000 PDFs cost $5 and never expire. Once the quota and the credits are both used up, the API answers 402 until you buy a pack or the next month starts.
Can I change or cancel my plan?
Yes, from Settings → Billing, Manage subscription. Switching between Basic and Pro, monthly or annual, is prorated. A cancellation takes effect at the end of the period you paid for, and you can resume until then. See Plans.
What if a payment fails?
Stripe emails you and retries the card. Your plan holds for 7 days, and a banner in the app says until when. After that the plan is suspended until the invoice is paid from Manage subscription.
Are payments refundable?
Payments already made are not refunded, except where the law requires it; we look at requests case by case. Prepaid credits never expire, but they are not refunded and are lost if you delete your account.
Is there a yearly discount?
Yes. Yearly billing costs the equivalent of ten months: Basic is $240/yr instead of $288, Pro is $790/yr instead of $948.
Security
How are API tokens secured?
Tokens are hashed before storage and cannot be viewed after creation. A token belongs to the team it was created in; there are no per-token permissions, so use one token per environment, give it an expiry if you can, and revoke any token you no longer need. We recommend storing tokens as environment variables.
How are webhooks secured?
Every webhook request is signed with an HMAC-SHA256 signature using your webhook's unique secret. You should verify this signature before processing the payload. See Webhooks for implementation examples.
Where are generated PDFs stored?
When using the url output format, PDFs are temporarily stored on secure cloud storage. Temporary URLs expire after the specified duration (default: 60 minutes, max: 24 hours). With base64 or binary output, the PDF is returned directly and is not stored on our servers, unless a webhook is subscribed to the event: the PDF is then kept for 24 hours so the webhook's pdf_url can be downloaded.
I lost my phone and my recovery codes. How do I sign in?
Write to support@pdfstork.com from the address of the account. We check that the request really comes from you (for example by asking details only the account holder knows, such as recent invoices) before turning two-factor authentication off. Then sign in and turn it on again with a new set of codes.
How do I export or delete my data?
Settings → Team, Export templates (JSON) downloads the templates of a team with their versions and webhooks. Settings → Profile deletes your account and everything in it, at once. For any other request about your data, write to support@pdfstork.com; we answer within 30 days. See the privacy policy.
How do I reach support?
Write to support@pdfstork.com, or simply reply to any email we send you. We aim to answer within 2 business days.
What data do you keep about my generations?
Each generation is logged with its template, output format, size and date. The data you sent (the payload) is kept for 7 days, so you can look into a recent generation, and is then erased.