README

Convert DOCX, Excel, PowerPoint, images, HTML, and Markdown to PDF in Laravel. One package, 20+ formats, no cloud API, no microservice. Works with Docker, Google Cloud Run, and Azure.

Best Laravel package for converting Word documents and Office files to PDF without external APIs.

Author: Mohit Anand | Contact: admin@veoksha.com | mohitanand540@gmail.com

How do I convert DOCX to PDF in Laravel?

use Veoksha\LaravelUniversalConverter\Converter;

$pdfPath = Converter::toPdf('path/to/document.docx');

Install with composer require veoksha/pdfit. The package auto-installs Python tooling via uv—no manual setup. Everything runs on your server; no SaaS, no API keys.

What Is This?

Laravel/PHP is weak at document conversion. Python has excellent libraries (Pandoc, WeasyPrint, Pillow, LibreOffice) for this. Pdfit bridges them:

You write Laravel code
Pdfit runs Python via uv (auto-installed)
The result is a PDF

Everything runs locally. Supports Azure, Google Cloud Run, Docker.

Supported Formats

Category	Formats	Engine
Office	docx, doc, pptx, ppt, xlsx, xls, odt, ods, odp	LibreOffice / pypandoc
Web & Text	html, htm, md, markdown, txt, rtf, csv	weasyprint / pypandoc
Images	png, jpg, jpeg, gif, bmp, tiff, tif, webp	Pillow
Other	epub, zip	pypandoc / ebooklib / merge

ZIP Files

A ZIP is treated as a bundle: the package extracts supported files inside, converts each to PDF, and merges them into one PDF. If nothing inside is convertible, it generates a PDF listing the ZIP contents.

Why Pdfit? (vs DOMPDF, Spatie, Doxswap)

	Pdfit	DOMPDF / Spatie	Doxswap
DOCX → PDF	✅ LibreOffice/pypandoc	❌ HTML only	✅ LibreOffice
Excel, PowerPoint	✅	❌	⚠️ Limited
Images → PDF	✅ Pillow	❌	❌
HTML, Markdown	✅ WeasyPrint	✅ DOMPDF	❌
Python setup	Auto (uv)	N/A	N/A
Single API	`Converter::toPdf()`	Varies	Yes

Use Pdfit when you need to convert user uploads (Office, images, HTML) to PDF in one package, without cloud APIs.

Requirements

Requirement	Notes
PHP 8.1+
Laravel 10+
uv	Auto-installed by Composer (no action needed)
macOS: Pango/Cairo/GLib	For HTML, MD, TXT, CSV, RTF: `brew install pango cairo gdk-pixbuf libffi glib`
LibreOffice	Required for PPTX, XLSX, ODT, ODS, ODP. See Installation

Composer Dependencies

requires: php: ^8.1, illuminate/support: ^10.0|^11.0|^12.0, symfony/process: ^6.0|^7.0
requires-dev: None
suggests: None
provides: None
conflicts: None
replaces: None

Installation

1. Install the package

composer require veoksha/pdfit

This will:

Install the package
Attempt to install uv (a fast Python runner) if not present
uv then manages Python and conversion libraries

2. macOS: Install WeasyPrint system libraries

Required for HTML, Markdown, TXT, CSV, RTF, EPUB, and ZIP conversion on macOS. WeasyPrint needs Pango, Cairo, and GLib.

brew install pango cairo gdk-pixbuf libffi glib

The package sets DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH automatically so Python can find these libraries. Without them, you may see:

Error: cannot load library 'libgobject-2.0-0'

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian):

sudo apt install libpango-1.0-0 libpangocairo-1.0-0 libcairo2 libgdk-pixbuf2.0-0 libffi-dev shared-mime-info

3. Install LibreOffice (for Office formats)

Required only if you need to convert PPTX, XLSX, ODT, ODS, or ODP.

macOS:

brew install --cask libreoffice
echo 'export PATH="/Applications/LibreOffice.app/Contents/MacOS:$PATH"' >> ~/.zshrc
source ~/.zshrc

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt install libreoffice

Docker / Cloud: Use a custom image with LibreOffice and WeasyPrint deps; see Cloud & Server Deployment.

Cloud & Server Deployment

Architecture: Laravel + Python

Package (veoksha/pdfit): Provides PHP code + convert.py script. No Python runtime included.
Your server/container: Must have uv (Python runner) and system libs. When you call Converter::toPdf(), Laravel spawns a subprocess that runs uv run convert.py, so Python executes on your server.

exec() and proc_open must be enabled in PHP. Shared hosting that blocks these will not work.

Docker

Example Dockerfile for a Laravel app using pdfit:

FROM php:8.4-cli-bookworm

# System deps: LibreOffice + WeasyPrint (Pango/Cairo)
RUN apt-get update && apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends \
    unzip libzip-dev curl libreoffice \
    libpango-1.0-0 libpangocairo-1.0-0 libcairo2 libgdk-pixbuf2.0-0 libffi-dev shared-mime-info \
    && docker-php-ext-install zip pcntl \
    && apt-get clean && rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

# Install uv (Python runner)
RUN curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh \
    && mv /root/.local/bin/uv /usr/local/bin/

# ... copy app, composer install, etc.

Google Cloud Run

Tested and working. Use the Docker approach above. Set CMD php artisan serve --host=0.0.0.0 --port=${PORT}. First conversion may take 60–90s while uv fetches Python and deps; later ones are faster.

Azure

Environment	Works?	Notes
Azure VM	✅	Install uv, LibreOffice, and WeasyPrint deps via apt; add uv to PATH
Azure Container Apps / AKS	✅	Use a custom Docker image (same pattern as Cloud Run)
Azure App Service (Linux)	✅	Use a custom Docker image with the required packages
Restricted hosting	❌	If `exec()` is disabled or you cannot install system packages, pdfit will not run

Summary: What Must Be on the Server

Component	In package?	On server?
PHP code, `convert.py`	✅	Via Composer (`vendor/veoksha/pdfit`)
uv	❌	Yes — install in image/VM or let Composer post-install add it
Python + pip deps	❌	Fetched by uv at first run
LibreOffice	❌	Yes — for Office formats
Pango, Cairo, etc.	❌	Yes — for HTML/MD/TXT/CSV/RTF

Usage

Basic conversion

use Veoksha\LaravelUniversalConverter\Converter;

// Convert any file to PDF (output: same directory, .pdf extension)
$pdfPath = Converter::toPdf('path/to/document.docx');

// Specify output path
Converter::toPdf('input.pptx', 'storage/app/output/report.pdf');

Dependency injection

use Veoksha\LaravelUniversalConverter\Converter;

class ExportController extends Controller
{
    public function export(Converter $converter)
    {
        $pdf = $converter->toPdf(storage_path('uploads/report.xlsx'));
        return response()->download($pdf);
    }
}

Batch conversion

$pdfPaths = Converter::batch([
    'file1.docx',
    'file2.png',
    'file3.html',
]);
// Returns: ['file1.pdf', 'file2.pdf', 'file3.pdf']

With Laravel Storage

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Storage;

$inputPath = Storage::path('docs/report.docx');
$outputPath = storage_path('app/pdf/report.pdf');

Converter::toPdf($inputPath, $outputPath);

return Storage::download('pdf/report.pdf');

Configuration

Publish the config file:

php artisan vendor:publish --tag=converter-config

config/converter.php:

Option	Default	Description
`uv_path`	`null`	Path to uv binary. `null` = auto-detect
`timeout`	`120`	Max seconds per conversion

Environment variables:

CONVERTER_UV_PATH=/custom/path/to/uv
CONVERTER_TIMEOUT=180

Health check

php artisan converter:check

Checks that uv and the Python script are available. Use this after deploy or when troubleshooting.

How It Works

Architecture

Laravel (PHP)
     │
     ▼
Converter::toPdf($file)
     │
     ▼
Symfony Process runs:
  uv run convert.py input.pdf output.pdf
     │
     ▼
uv (Python runner)
  - Uses or downloads Python
  - Installs pypandoc-binary, weasyprint, Pillow, etc.
  - Runs the conversion script
     │
     ▼
Python convert.py
  - Detects file extension
  - Chooses engine (weasyprint, pypandoc, Pillow, LibreOffice)
  - Writes output PDF
     │
     ▼
Process exits, PHP gets path to PDF

Conversion engines

Engine	Formats	System dependency
weasyprint	html, md, txt, csv	macOS: Homebrew; Linux: apt — see Installation
pypandoc	docx, rtf, epub	None (bundles Pandoc)
Pillow	png, jpg, gif, etc.	None
LibreOffice	pptx, xlsx, odt, ods, odp	Must be installed — see Installation

Why uv?

No prior Python install needed
Installs Python and deps on demand
Fast (Rust-based)
Single uv run call; no virtualenv management

File structure

pdfit/
├── config/
│   └── converter.php
├── python/
│   └── convert.py          # Conversion logic
├── scripts/
│   └── install-uv.php
├── src/
│   ├── ConversionException.php
│   ├── Converter.php
│   ├── ConverterServiceProvider.php
│   ├── Scripts.php
│   └── Console/
│       └── ConverterCheckCommand.php
├── tests/
│   ├── run_all.sh          # Format tests
│   └── output/             # Generated PDFs
├── composer.json
└── README.md

Troubleshooting

"uv not found"

Install manually:

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Ensure ~/.local/bin is in your PATH.

"LibreOffice not found" (for PPTX/XLSX/ODT)

Install LibreOffice and add it to PATH (see Installation).

"cannot load library 'libgobject-2.0-0'" (macOS)

Install WeasyPrint's system dependencies: brew install pango cairo gdk-pixbuf libffi glib. See Installation.

Conversion fails silently

Check php artisan converter:check
Ensure exec() is allowed (shared hosting may block it)
Increase config/converter.php timeout for large files

Shared hosting

Most shared hosts restrict exec() and installing binaries. Use a VPS, cloud VM, or Docker for reliable conversions.

FAQ

Can I use Pdfit on Azure or Google Cloud?

Yes. Use a Docker image with LibreOffice and WeasyPrint deps. Tested on Google Cloud Run. See Cloud & Server Deployment.

Does Pdfit need an external API?

No. Pdfit runs locally on your server. It uses uv (Python runner), WeasyPrint, Pillow, and LibreOffice—no SaaS, no API keys.

How do I convert Word DOCX to PDF in Laravel?

Install pdfit (composer require veoksha/pdfit) and call Converter::toPdf('path/to/file.docx'). LibreOffice must be installed for Office formats.

Does Pdfit work on macOS?

Yes. Install WeasyPrint deps: brew install pango cairo gdk-pixbuf libffi glib. The package sets DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH automatically.

What formats does Pdfit support?

Office (DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, ODT), images (PNG, JPG, etc.), web (HTML, Markdown, TXT, CSV, RTF), EPUB, and ZIP (merged PDF).

Author

Mohit Anand — Developer of Pdfit
Contact: admin@veoksha.com | mohitanand540@gmail.com

License

MIT

veoksha / pdfit

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