Forum Discussion
PDF generation in Azure App Service
I'm looking for a solid option for PDF generation that is compatible with running within the constraints of Azure App Service or Azure Functions. I know of several options but am curious what others are using and having solid reliable success with?
3 Replies
We've worked on several cloud-native document generation projects at Damco Solutions, and for Azure App Service and Azure Functions environments, reliability and scalability are usually the key considerations. We've had good success with libraries such as QuestPDF and IronPDF for .NET-based applications, depending on the complexity of the PDF output and formatting requirements.
For high-volume enterprise workloads, it's also worth considering a microservices-based approach where PDF generation is handled separately and triggered through Azure Functions. This helps improve performance and makes scaling easier during peak demand. The best choice often depends on whether you need simple reports, complex layouts, dynamic templates, or compliance-driven document generation.
I'd be interested to know what your primary use case is—reports, invoices, contracts, or something else—as that can significantly influence the recommended solution.
https://www.damcogroup.com/azure-cloud-services/azure-migration
Try https://alfareport.com – command-line tool for generating PDF documents from JavaScript scripts. No runtime, no frameworks, no dependencies — just a single binary.
- Frank Migacz
Microsoft
Just now seeing this! The problem is the deep OS-dependencies that PDF generation requires, and which is unavailable in the App Service sandbox. See this description is the Kudu service wiki: https://github.com/projectkudu/kudu/wiki/Azure-Web-App-sandbox
But if you have HTML source, here is a blog article that considers several options and lands on one: https://whuysentruit.medium.com/generate-html-based-pdf-reports-from-azure-app-service-a2c63838abb3
