Encrypt PDFs
Secure your PDF by setting passwords that control access and permissions.
- User Password: Required to open and view the PDF.
- Owner Password: Required to modify permissions (e.g., printing, copying text, extracting pages).
PDF Engine Dependency
The encryption strength (e.g., AES-256) depends on the configured PDF Engine (QPDF, pdfcpu, or PDFtk).
Check the PDF Engines Configuration to see which engine is active.
POST/forms/pdfengines/encrypt
Headers
Gotenberg-Output-Filenamestring
The filename of the resulting file - Gotenberg automatically appends the file extension. Defaults to a random UUID filename.
Gotenberg-Tracestring
A custom request ID to identify the request in the logs; overrides the default UUID.
Form Fields
userPasswordstringrequired
The password required to open the PDF.
ownerPasswordstring
The password required to change permissions or edit the PDF.
Form Files
filesfile[]required
PDF files to encrypt.
Example Request
cURL
curl \
--request POST http://localhost:3000/forms/pdfengines/encrypt \
--form files=@/path/to/file.pdf \
--form userPassword=open \
--form ownerPassword=manage \
-o my.pdf
Responses
- 200 OK
- 400 Bad Request
- 503 Service Unavailable
The encrypted PDF file.
Content-Disposition: attachment; filename={output-filename.pdf}
Content-Type: {content-type}
Content-Length: {content-length}
Gotenberg-Trace: {trace}
Body: {output-file}
The request had one ore more invalid form fields.
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Gotenberg-Trace: {trace}
Body: {error}
The request did not complete within the configured maximum duration.
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Gotenberg-Trace: {trace}
Body: Service Unavailable
