Get Started with TemplateFox in 5 Minutes
This is the common first step for every TemplateFox user — whether you will use the API directly or drive generation from a no-code tool. Design a template, preview it, and generate your first PDF.
A Welcome template is automatically added to your dashboard when you sign up, so you can experiment right away. You can also duplicate any template from our library — invoices, packing slips, certificates, reports — as a starting point.
1. Design your template
Section titled “1. Design your template”Open a template in the editor and start building. A template contains one or more pages, each independently Fixed or Infinite — see Pages for the difference.

- Give your template a name at the top of the editor.
- Toggle header and footer zones in the left panel if you need content that repeats on every page.
- Set safe margins in the right panel when a page is selected.
- Customize default typography and background from the top toolbar and right panel.
- Add sections on Infinite pages to group content — Fixed pages place elements directly.
- Add elements: text, image, table, barcode, QR code, line, circle, rectangle.
- Switch to the Preview tab to see the rendered PDF (covered in the next step).
Templates are saved automatically as you work. Go deeper in the Template Designer docs.
2. Insert dynamic variables
Section titled “2. Insert dynamic variables”Variables are placeholders that get replaced with real data when you generate a PDF. Use the {{variable_name}} syntax inside:
- Text — Type
{{customer_name}}directly inside a text element. - Images, QR codes, barcodes, shapes — Set the source to
{{image_url}}or{{item.barcode}}in the Content field in the right panel.

For advanced use — expressions, filters, aggregates, system variables — see the Data Binding and Expressions guides.
3. Preview with test data
Section titled “3. Preview with test data”Switch to Preview mode from the top bar. The preview renders your template with sample data so you can verify the output before calling the API.

- The rendered PDF appears on the left. Use Refresh Preview to update after changes, or Generate PDF to download the result.
- The right panel contains the JSON data used to populate the template. Edit values directly or click Add missing key to auto-generate placeholders for every variable in your template.
4. Grab your API key and Template ID
Section titled “4. Grab your API key and Template ID”Two things are needed to generate PDFs programmatically:
- API key — Create one in the API key section of your dashboard. Keys start with
sk_. - Template ID — A 12-character identifier unique to each template. You can copy it from the My Templates page.
The template dashboard also exposes a ready-made API button that gives you a working curl snippet with your template ID and a sample payload already filled in.

Driving this from a no-code tool? You’re basically done — jump to For No-Code Users and pick Zapier, Make, n8n, or Airtable. These apps authenticate with your API key and fetch your templates automatically, so you don’t even need to copy the Template ID — just pick it from a dropdown.
5. Make your first API call
Section titled “5. Make your first API call”Send a POST request to /v1/pdf/create. Three things are required:
x-api-keyheader — your API key from step 4.template_id— the 12-character ID of your template.data— an object whose keys match your template variables.
curl -X POST https://api.templatefox.com/v1/pdf/create \
-H "x-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"template_id": "YOUR_TEMPLATE_ID",
"data": {
"customer_name": "John Doe",
"invoice_number": "INV-001",
"amount": "$1,234.56"
}
}' Or use one of our official SDKs — installation and full examples for TypeScript, Python, Go, PHP, Ruby, Java, and C#.
The response contains a signed URL to the generated PDF, valid for 24h by default.
There is much more you can do — binary responses, custom filenames, S3 upload, PDF/A compliance, URL expiration. See Create PDF for every parameter, or the full API Reference for all endpoints.
What’s next
Section titled “What’s next”Now that you have generated your first PDF, continue along the path that fits your use case:
- For Developers — REST API, SDKs for 7 languages, webhooks, MCP
- For No-Code Users — Zapier, n8n, Make, Airtable, MCP
- Template Designer — master the editor
- API Reference — full endpoint reference
- Postman Collection — test every endpoint interactively