n8n-nodes-pdfmonkey

This is an n8n community node. It lets you use PDFMonkey in your n8n workflows.

PDFMonkey is a service that allows you to generate PDFs from HTML templates with dynamic data.

n8n is a fair-code licensed workflow automation platform.

Installation
Operations
Credentials
Compatibility
Usage
Resources

Installation

Follow the installation guide in the n8n community nodes documentation.

Operations

PDFMonkey Node

The PDFMonkey node provides the following operations:

• Generate Document: Create a new PDF document using a template and dynamic data
  • Supports custom metadata including filename customization via the _filename property
  • Optional auto-polling for document completion (controlled by "Wait For Completion" option)
  • Uses a simple 2-second interval between status checks when polling
  • Downloads the PDF automatically if generation is successful and auto-polling is enabled
• Get Document: Get document details and check its generation status
• Download PDF: Download a generated PDF document and save it as a binary file
• Delete Document: Delete a previously generated PDF document from PDFMonkey

PDFMonkey Trigger Node

The PDFMonkey Trigger node listens for webhooks from PDFMonkey and processes them:

• Webhook Receiver: Triggers when PDFMonkey sends a webhook notification
• Automatic PDF Download: Automatically downloads the PDF when the document generation is successful
• Intelligent Filename Handling: Extracts the filename from metadata
• Complete Response Data: Returns all document properties from the PDFMonkey API in the JSON output

Credentials

To use the PDFMonkey nodes, you need to have a PDFMonkey account and API key.

1. Sign up for PDFMonkey at https://www.pdfmonkey.io/
2. In your PDFMonkey dashboard, navigate to the API section
3. Copy your API key
4. In n8n, create new credentials of type 'PDFMonkey API' and paste your API key

Compatibility

This node has been tested with n8n version 1.0.0 and later.

Usage

Flexible Payload Input

The Generate Document operation supports two methods for providing template data:

1. JSON Format:

   • Enter your entire payload as a JSON object
   • Ideal for complex data structures or when copying from another source
   • Example:

     {
       "invoiceNumber": "INV-2023-001",
       "customerName": "Acme Inc.",
       "items": [
         {"name": "Widget", "quantity": 5, "price": 10.99},
         {"name": "Gadget", "quantity": 2, "price": 24.99}
       ],
       "total": 104.93
     }
     

2. Key-Value Pairs:

   • Add fields individually with key-value pairs
   • More visual and easier to manage for simple templates
   • Supports complex data structures:
     • JSON objects/arrays: Values starting with { or [ are automatically parsed as JSON
     • Arrays from other nodes: The node automatically handles n8n's special array format [Array: [...]]
     • Direct objects: When passing data from other nodes that return objects, they are used directly

Enhanced Object Handling

The node intelligently processes different value types in key-value pairs:

• Direct Objects: Objects passed directly from other nodes are preserved intact
• JSON Strings: Strings that look like JSON (starting with { or [) are parsed automatically
• Special Array Format: The n8n array format [Array: [...]] is detected and parsed
• Regular Values: Simple strings, numbers, and booleans are handled appropriately

This makes it easy to pass complex data from other nodes to PDFMonkey without manual conversion.

Example: Processing Arrays from n8n

When you map data from other nodes (like Function or HTTP Request nodes), arrays often come in this special format:

[Array: [{"name":"Mouse","quantity":3,"price":88.92},{"name":"Headphones","quantity":5,"price":14.99},{"name":"Keyboard","quantity":3,"price":48.28}]]

The PDFMonkey node will automatically detect this format, extract the array content, and properly parse it as a JSON array. This is especially useful for templating tables or lists in your PDFs where you need to pass complex structured data.

Generate Document with Auto-Polling

The Generate Document operation includes a "Wait For Completion" option that controls whether the node waits for the document to finish generating before continuing the workflow:

1. When enabled (default):

   • The node checks the document status every 2 seconds until it reaches a final state (success or failure)
   • If successful, it automatically downloads the PDF and returns it as a binary file
   • Simple, straightforward polling mechanism with minimal overhead
   • Progress is logged with status updates during polling

2. When disabled:

   • The node returns immediately after creating the document
   • The response includes the document ID and initial pending status
   • You can later use the Get Document or Download PDF operations to check status and retrieve the document

This feature is especially useful for smaller documents that generate quickly, providing a simpler workflow without needing separate Get Document and Download PDF steps. For larger documents that take longer to generate, you may want to disable this option and use a separate Get Document or Download PDF operation later.

Custom Filenames

You can set a custom filename for your generated PDFs using the Meta field in the Generate Document operation:

1. In the Meta (JSON) field, include the _filename property:

{
  "_filename": "invoice-2023-001.pdf"
}

2. When downloading the PDF (either via the Download PDF operation or through the trigger node), this filename will be used instead of the default "document.pdf".

3. Note: The _filename property in the metadata is the only way to set a custom filename for your PDFs, as the system will exclusively use this property to determine the filename when downloading documents.

4. You can also include other metadata that will be stored with the document and can be retrieved later.

Resources

• n8n community nodes documentation
• PDFMonkey API Documentation