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Enterprise PDF for Ruby

The enterprise PDF library
Ruby doesn't have.

Generate archival PDF/A, sign documents with PAdES, encrypt with AES-256 and produce accessible PDF/UA from idiomatic Ruby. One memory-safe core, the same behavior as every other binding, running entirely on your servers: no per-document SaaS fees, no data leaving your network, no AGPL strings.

Install from RubyGems. Platform gems bundle the native core, nothing to compile. 
gem install rustpdf
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Validated by independent tools: veraPDFpdfsigopenssl cmsqpdfmutool

Why Ruby teams pick rust-pdf

Rails apps generate invoices, statements and contracts every day, but the usual toolkit stops short of compliance. Prawn draws beautifully yet has no PDF/A, no qualified signatures and no PDF/UA, so teams fall back to wkhtmltopdf or headless Chrome, or pay a per-document SaaS that uploads their documents.

rust-pdf is a gem with the native core bundled in a platform-specific build, loaded through Ruby's Fiddle (no native build step), with every feature free.

  • Standards-grade, not just pretty: real PDF/A, PAdES and PDF/UA on top of clean drawing.
  • Runs on your servers: documents never leave your network and nothing phones home, ideal for LGPD/GDPR, fintech and health.
  • No AGPL trap: MIT licensed, never the AGPL of iText or the per-server billing of Aspose.
  • Deterministic output: the same input always produces the same bytes, so you can diff and audit it.
  • Free to build with: every feature is free forever.

Every feature is free.

Prototype and ship everyday PDFs for free. PDF/A, signatures, encryption and accessibility are all included in Ruby and every other binding.

Core free

  • Pages & vector graphics
  • Embedded/subset fonts, Unicode shaping
  • Justified paragraphs & tables
  • Images (JPEG/PNG/alpha/16-bit)
  • Merge / split / rotate
  • Text extraction & optimize

Advanced free

  • PDF/A: 1b / 2b / 2a / 3b / 3a / 4 / 4e / 4f archival
  • Digital signatures: PKCS#7, visible & multiple
  • PAdES: B-B / B-LT / B-LTA + RFC 3161 timestamps
  • Encryption: RC4 / AES-128 / AES-256 (R6)
  • Accessibility: Tagged PDF / PDF/UA-1
  • AcroForm: fields with generated appearances
  • Validate & convert: verify signatures, PDF→PDF/A, ZUGFeRD/Factur-X
  • Process: redaction, image extraction, form fill/flatten, page→PNG

Every feature is free.

rust-pdf is MIT licensed — PDF/A, digital signatures, encryption, accessibility and page rendering are all included. No key, no account, no card.

Author a tagged PDF/A in a few lines of Ruby

# gem install rustpdf
doc = RustPdf::Document.new
doc.pdfa(RustPdf::Pdfa::A2A).tagged.info(title: "Q3 Report")
f = doc.add_font_file("Roboto-Regular.ttf")
doc.add_page
   .show_text(f, 26, 72, 760, "Annual report", heading_level: 1)
data = doc.to_bytes               # archival-grade, accessible PDF

The full Ruby reference (fonts, images, forms, manipulation, encryption and signatures) lives in the Ruby docs.

Fits Rails, Sinatra and Sidekiq

to_bytes returns a binary string, so a Rails controller serves it with send_data bytes, type: "application/pdf", and Sinatra does the same with a content_type header. Generate invoices, statements and contracts inline, or push the work to a Sidekiq or GoodJob background job and store the result.

gem install rustpdf installs a platform gem with the native core bundled and loaded through Ruby's Fiddle, so there is no native build step and no C extension to compile. It drops into an existing Prawn codebase wherever you need PDF/A, signatures or PDF/UA. 

# Rails: send a PDF/A from a controller action
def invoice
  doc = RustPdf::Document.new
  doc.pdfa(RustPdf::Pdfa::A2B)
  f = doc.add_font_file("Roboto-Regular.ttf")
  doc.add_page.show_text(f, 18, 72, 760, "Invoice #1024")
  send_data doc.to_bytes, type: "application/pdf", disposition: "inline"
end

Common PDF tasks in Ruby

Focused, copy-paste guides in Ruby, all backed by the same Rust core. Each one uses the same Document / EditableDoc API.

Start building in Ruby

gem install rustpdf and ship your first archival PDF today. Every feature is free.

Start free · Ruby Read the docs
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Ruby PDF library FAQ

Does installing the gem compile a C extension?

No. gem install rustpdf installs a platform gem with the native core already built, loaded at run time through Ruby's Fiddle. There is no make, no compiler toolchain and no system PDF tool required.

How do I return the PDF from Rails?

to_bytes returns a binary string, so use send_data doc.to_bytes, type: "application/pdf" with disposition: "inline" to preview or "attachment" to download. For heavy reports, build it in a Sidekiq job and store or email the result.

Can I keep using Prawn?

Yes. Many teams keep Prawn for existing layouts and reach for rust-pdf exactly where Prawn stops: PDF/A archival, PAdES signatures, AES-256 encryption and tagged PDF/UA. They coexist in the same app.