API Documentation

API Reference

For complete API specifications and interactive testing, visit the Swagger Documentation

Rate Limits

The API is rate limited to 20 requests per minute per user. If you exceed this limit, you'll receive a 429 Too Many Requests error.

Current Limitation

The API currently handles only single LaTeX files. Multi-file projects with includes or custom packages are not yet supported.

Step 1: Generate an API Key

To use the compile API, you'll need to generate an API key first.

Navigate to the API Keys page
Click the "Create Api Key" button
Enter a name for your API key (minimum 5 characters)
Click "Submit" to generate the key
Copy the generated API key and store it securely - it won't be shown again

Security Note: Treat your API key like a password. Never commit it to version control or share it publicly.

Step 2: Using the Compile API

The API provides two endpoints for compiling LaTeX documents to PDF.

Option 1: Compile from JSON

Send LaTeX content directly as JSON.

POST /api/latex/compile

curl -X POST https://your-domain.com/api/latex/compile \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-API-KEY: your-api-key-here" \
  -d '{
    "content": "\\documentclass{article}\n\\begin{document}\nHello World!\n\\end{document}"
  }' \
  --output document.pdf

Option 2: Compile from File

Upload a .tex file directly.

POST /api/latex/compile/file

curl -X POST https://your-domain.com/api/latex/compile/file \
  -H "X-API-KEY: your-api-key-here" \
  -F "file=@document.tex" \
  --output document.pdf

Authentication

All API requests must include your API key in the request headers.

Header	Value	Required
X-API-KEY	Your API key	Yes
Content-Type	application/json (for JSON endpoint)	Yes (for JSON)

Response

On success, the API returns the compiled PDF file with appropriate headers.

Status: 200 OK

Content-Type: application/pdf

Body: PDF binary data

Error Handling

If compilation fails or authentication is invalid, you'll receive an error response.

Status Code	Description
401	Unauthorized - Invalid or missing API key
400	Bad Request - Invalid LaTeX syntax or missing content
429	Too Many Requests - Rate limit exceeded (20 requests per minute)
500	Internal Server Error - Compilation failed

Code Examples

Python

import requests

api_key = "your-api-key-here"
base_url = "https://your-domain.com"

# Option 1: Compile from JSON
latex_content = r"""
\documentclass{article}
\begin{document}
Hello World!
\end{document}
"""

response = requests.post(
    f"{base_url}/api/latex/compile",
    headers={
        "X-API-KEY": api_key,
        "Content-Type": "application/json"
    },
    json={
        "content": latex_content
    }
)

if response.status_code == 200:
    with open("output.pdf", "wb") as f:
        f.write(response.content)
    print("PDF compiled successfully!")
else:
    print(f"Error: {response.status_code} - {response.text}")

# Option 2: Compile from file
with open("document.tex", "rb") as f:
    files = {
        "file": ("document.tex", f, "text/x-tex")
    }
    response = requests.post(
        f"{base_url}/api/latex/compile/file",
        headers={
            "X-API-KEY": api_key
        },
        files=files
    )

if response.status_code == 200:
    with open("output.pdf", "wb") as f:
        f.write(response.content)
    print("PDF compiled successfully!")
else:
    print(f"Error: {response.status_code} - {response.text}")

JavaScript (Node.js)

const fs = require('fs');
const FormData = require('form-data');
const axios = require('axios');

const apiKey = 'your-api-key-here';
const baseUrl = 'https://your-domain.com';

// Option 1: Compile from JSON
const latexContent = `\\documentclass{article}
\\begin{document}
Hello World!
\\end{document}`;

axios.post(`${baseUrl}/api/latex/compile`, {
    content: latexContent
}, {
    headers: {
        'X-API-KEY': apiKey,
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    },
    responseType: 'arraybuffer'
})
.then(response => {
    fs.writeFileSync('output.pdf', response.data);
    console.log('PDF compiled successfully!');
})
.catch(error => {
    console.error('Error:', error.response?.status, error.message);
});

// Option 2: Compile from file
const formData = new FormData();
formData.append('file', fs.createReadStream('document.tex'));

axios.post(`${baseUrl}/api/latex/compile/file`, formData, {
    headers: {
        'X-API-KEY': apiKey,
        ...formData.getHeaders()
    },
    responseType: 'arraybuffer'
})
.then(response => {
    fs.writeFileSync('output.pdf', response.data);
    console.log('PDF compiled successfully!');
})
.catch(error => {
    console.error('Error:', error.response?.status, error.message);
});