PdfKmp

Kotlin Multiplatform PDF generator for Android, iOS, Desktop (JVM) and Web (Wasm) — vector-first, type-safe, DSL-driven.

PdfKmp builds real, spec-compliant PDF documents from a single Compose-style Kotlin DSL that runs identically across four platforms — Android, iOS, Desktop (macOS / Windows / Linux) and the browser — plus an optional Compose Multiplatform viewer to display the result.

Its defining rule: nothing is ever rasterised. Text becomes glyph paths, shapes become path operators, charts and barcodes are drawn as geometry — so every page stays razor-sharp at any zoom level and files stay small. Each platform renders through its own native PDF stack, yet the same document produces pixel-identical output everywhere.

The library ships the Inter font for cross-platform Latin parity, exposes system CJK / Arabic / Persian fonts for native non-Latin rendering, and embeds subsetted TrueType fonts where the platform allows it.

See it on every platform

The same brochure document, generated from the same Kotlin code:

AndroidiOSDesktopWeb

Rendered by the native Android PDF backend — sharp on any phone or tablet.

Rendered through Core Graphics — the identical layout, glyph for glyph.

Rendered by the pure-Java desktop backend on macOS, Windows and Linux — shown here in the bundled Compose viewer.

Generated inside the browser by Kotlin/Wasm — no server, no JavaScript PDF library — and handed straight to the browser's own viewer.

What it can do

• ✍️ Rich text engine

  Full justification, automatic hyphenation, line clamping with ellipsis, soft hyphens, superscript / subscript, orphan & widow control — and true right-to-left support with bidi reordering, Arabic shaping and kashida justification.

• 📄 Layout & pagination

  Columns, rows, boxes and cards with weighted children; tables that slice across pages and repeat their headers; keep-together groups, newspaper-style multi-column flow, uniform grids and mixed page orientations.

• 📊 Graphics & data

  QR codes, Code 128 / EAN-13 / UPC-A barcodes and Data Matrix symbols; bar, stacked-bar, line, pie and donut charts; free-form vector drawing — all pure Kotlin, no external dependencies.

• 🎨 Decorations & effects

  Backgrounds, gradients, per-corner radii, per-side and dashed borders, drop shadows, rotation and group opacity — every effect stays vector.

• 🧭 Navigation

  Bookmarks that populate the reader's outline sidebar, internal links, automatic tables of contents with resolved page numbers, and clickable hyperlinks on every platform.

• 🔒 Documents & security

  Document metadata, encryption with permission flags, file attachments, interactive form fields, best-effort PDF/A, digital signing, and post-processing tools — merge, split, watermark, overlay.

• 🖼️ Images & vectors

  PNG, JPEG, WebP and HEIF photos; Android vector drawables and W3C SVG files kept as vectors inside the PDF; accessibility alt-text carried through to the document.

• 🧩 Companion modules

  A Compose Multiplatform PDF viewer with search, print, dark mode and annotations; a Compose Resources bridge; and a Markdown-to-PDF renderer.

Platform support

Platform	PDF backend	Notes
Android	Native Android PDF canvas	Metadata, links and outline added by PdfKmp's own post-processor
iOS	Core Graphics	Native CJK / Arabic / Persian fonts, document encryption
Desktop (JVM)	Apache PDFBox — pure Java	macOS, Windows, Linux; the most capable backend: forms, signing, PDF/A, attachments
Web (Wasm)	PdfKmp's own pure-Kotlin writer	Runs fully in the browser; TrueType subsetting and compression included

Every backend produces real vector PDFs — readable in Preview, Adobe Reader, Chrome and any spec-compliant viewer. See Platform parity for the full feature matrix.

Where next

• Getting started — install coordinates, your first PDF, and every feature guide.
• Samples — every bundled showcase document.
• Internals — how the layout engine and renderers work.
• API Reference — generated KDoc for every public declaration.

---

PdfKmp is Apache 2.0 licensed and was authored end-to-end with Claude Code.