PDF.js

PDF.js is a powerful HTML5-based PDF viewer developed by Mozilla. Our mission is to provide a robust, web standards-based platform for parsing and rendering PDF documents. It is community-driven and supported by Mozilla.

Table of Contents

• Contributing
• Getting Started
  • Online Demo
  • Browser Extensions
  • Getting the Code
• Building PDF.js
• Using PDF.js in a Web Application
• Including via a CDN
• Learning Resources
• Questions

Contributing

PDF.js thrives on community contributions! If you're interested in getting involved, check out the following resources:

• Issue Reporting Guide
• Code Contribution Guide
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Good Beginner Bugs
• Projects

Join our Matrix room for questions or support!

Getting Started

Online Demo

To explore PDF.js functionality, visit:

• Modern Browsers: Demo
• Older Browsers: Legacy Demo

Browser Extensions

• Firefox: Integrated into Firefox 19 and above.
• Chrome:
  • Install the official extension from the Chrome Web Store (maintained by @Rob--W).
  • Build Your Own: Clone the repo and run npx gulp chromium. Load the unpacked extension from the build/chromium directory in Chrome.

Getting the Code

To clone the repository:

$ git clone https://github.com/mozilla/pdf.js.git
$ cd pdf.js

Install Node.js from the official site or via nvm. Then, install dependencies:

$ npm install

Note

On macOS with Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, etc.), you may face node-gyp-related errors during npm install. Ensure you have the necessary native dependencies for canvas installed via Homebrew. For instructions, visit node-canvas Compilation.

Start a local web server:

$ npx gulp server

Access the viewer at:

• http://localhost:8888/web/viewer.html

You can also view test PDFs here:

• http://localhost:8888/test/pdfs/?frame

Building PDF.js

To bundle source files and build the generic viewer, run:

$ npx gulp generic

For older browser support, run:

$ npx gulp generic-legacy

Generated files will be located in the build/generic/build/ and build/generic-legacy/build/ directories. Include pdf.js in your project; pdf.worker.js will load automatically.

Using PDF.js in a Web Application

You can integrate PDF.js into your web application using a pre-built version or by building from source. Pre-built versions are available as pdfjs-dist. More details and examples can be found in our setup guide.

Including via a CDN

PDF.js is available on several CDNs:

• jsDelivr
• cdnjs
• unpkg

Learning Resources

Experiment with the PDF.js API through live demos:

• Interactive Examples

Additional examples are available in the examples folder. To build and install the pdfjs-dist package, use:

$ npx gulp dist-install

For an introduction to PDF.js code, check out this presentation by contributor Julian Viereck: Watch Presentation.

More learning resources can be found at:

• Additional Learning Resources

API documentation is available at:

• PDF.js API Documentation

Questions?

Check our FAQs for common inquiries, join the discussion on Matrix, or file an issue here.