Why NextPDF
Built for PHP 8.4, to the spec.
NextPDF is a modern PHP 8.4 engine built to the PDF standards — generation, signing, accessibility, and archival — with strict types and an open-source core.
Standards
The standards NextPDF supports
Every claim names its standard. Formal conformance is the verdict of an external checker, not a NextPDF assertion.
ISO 32000-2
Native PDF 2.0 generation, not a PDF 1.4-era shim.
PDF/UA-2
Tagged structure so documents carry their semantics for assistive tech.
PAdES (ETSI)
Baseline signatures from B-B through B-LTA across the editions.
PDF/A
Archival output (PDF/A-4 in Enterprise) for long-term preservation.
RFC 3161
Trusted timestamping for signature longevity.
ICC v4 colour
Colour-managed output with a halftone subsystem.
Engineering
Built to be trusted
PHPStan Level 10
The strictest static-analysis level, across the whole engine.
Strict types
Typed parameters, returns, and value objects — no silent coercion.
Open-source core
Apache-2.0, auditable, and production-proven before it was opened.
Worker-safe
Designed to run in long-lived workers and at the edge.
Coming from an older PHP PDF library? The documentation includes a migration guide and a drop-in compatibility adapter to ease the move.Read the migration guide ↗