Generate receipt PDFs in Python

The simplest way to generate a receipt PDF in Python is to POST a receipt HTML template and your order JSON to the Docweave API — Docweave renders it with Chromium and hands back a PDF, so your script never has to run a headless browser itself.

Receipt template example

Any HTML works as a template. Use {{ placeholders }} for the order id, items, amount paid, payment method, and date:

<article style="font-family: sans-serif; max-width: 480px;">
  <header style="display:flex; justify-content:space-between;">
    <h1>Receipt</h1>
    <div>{{ date }}</div>
  </header>

  <p>Order: {{ order_id }}</p>

  <table style="width:100%; border-collapse:collapse;">
    {{{ items }}}
  </table>

  <p style="text-align:right;"><strong>Amount paid: {{ amount_paid }}</strong></p>
  <p style="text-align:right;">Payment method: {{ payment_method }}</p>
</article>

Generate the PDF with Python

POST the template and data to /api/v1/pdf with requests, then save the raw response bytes to a file:

import requests

template = """
<article style="font-family: sans-serif; max-width: 480px;">
  <header style="display:flex; justify-content:space-between;">
    <h1>Receipt</h1>
    <div>{{ date }}</div>
  </header>

  <p>Order: {{ order_id }}</p>

  <table style="width:100%; border-collapse:collapse;">
    {{{ items }}}
  </table>

  <p style="text-align:right;"><strong>Amount paid: {{ amount_paid }}</strong></p>
  <p style="text-align:right;">Payment method: {{ payment_method }}</p>
</article>
"""

payload = {
    "source": {
        "type": "template",
        "template": template,
        "data": {
            "order_id": "ORD-7731",
            "date": "2026-07-14",
            "items": "<tr><td>Wireless mouse</td><td>$24.00</td></tr>",
            "amount_paid": "$24.00",
            "payment_method": "Visa •••• 4242",
        },
    },
    "idempotencyKey": "receipt-ORD-7731",
}

response = requests.post(
    "https://docweave.dev/api/v1/pdf",
    headers={
        "Authorization": "Bearer dw_live_your_key",
        "Content-Type": "application/json",
        "Accept": "application/pdf",
    },
    json=payload,
)
response.raise_for_status()

with open("receipt.pdf", "wb") as f:
    f.write(response.content)

…or from an AI agent

An AI agent doesn't need the Python script above at all. Install the Docweave MCP server with npx @docweave/mcp and the agent gets a generate_pdf tool that wraps the same orchestration — no HTTP boilerplate:

npx @docweave/mcp

// From an AI agent over MCP — no HTTP plumbing:
generate_pdf({
  source: {
    type: "template",
    template: "<h1>Receipt</h1><p>Order: {{ order_id }}</p><p>Amount paid: {{ amount_paid }}</p>",
    data: { order_id: "ORD-7731", amount_paid: "$24.00" }
  },
  outputPath: "/tmp/receipt-7731.pdf"
})

FAQ

Related

• Receipt PDF generation API
• Generate PDFs in Python
• API docs