Build a PDF Generation Engine with Next.js, Puppeteer, and Strapi

The article provides a comprehensive guide on building a PDF generation engine using Next.js, Puppeteer, and Strapi, aimed at users who need to automate PDF creation for documents such as invoices, reports, or certificates. It explains how to set up a Strapi backend with specific content models and a Next.js frontend for rendering pages dynamically, which can then be converted into PDFs using Puppeteer. Key technical aspects include configuring CSS for print optimization, setting up a server-side API for PDF generation, and documenting the API with Swagger and Zod for validation and accessibility. The guide also details the integration and usage of various tools and libraries such as Tailwind CSS, Recharts for data visualization, and Puppeteer for automating Chrome to produce high-quality PDFs. The process is contextualized with the creation of a sample application, demonstrating the full workflow from content management in Strapi to PDF output, and concludes with insights into hosting the application on Strapi Cloud.