Skip to main content

Single Generation

Generate one document at a time — either from the UI or via the API.

From the UI​

  1. Open any template from the Templates page.
  2. Go to the Single Generate tab.
  3. Fill in the token values using the form.
  4. Select your output format: PDF, DOCX, or Both.
  5. Click Generate — the document is ready in seconds.
  6. Click Download to save it.

Form Mode vs JSON Mode​

The Generate tab has two input modes.

Form Mode​

Presents each token as a labelled input field. Best for quick, manual generation.

  • Text tokens → text input
  • Date tokens → date picker
  • List tokens → a repeatable row editor
  • Image tokens → URL input

JSON Mode​

Paste raw JSON directly into the input box. Best for:

  • Templates with complex nested arrays
  • Copying data from another system
  • Testing API payloads before automating
{
  "client_name": "Acme Corp",
  "invoice_number": "INV-001",
  "due_date": "2024-03-01",
  "line_items": [
    { "name": "Consulting",  "qty": 10, "unit_price": 100, "total": 1000 },
    { "name": "Support",     "qty": 5,  "unit_price": 50,  "total": 250  }
  ]
}

Via the API​

Generate a Document​

curl -X POST "https://api.docgenlab.com/api/v1/documents/" \
  -H "X-API-Key: dgl_your_key_here" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "template_id": "your-template-uuid",
    "input_json": {
      "client_name": "Acme Corp",
      "invoice_number": "INV-001",
      "line_items": [
        { "name": "Consulting", "qty": 10, "unit_price": 100 }
      ]
    },
    "output_format": "pdf"
  }'

Response:

{
  "id": "doc-uuid-here",
  "template_id": "your-template-uuid",
  "status": "queued",
  "created_at": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"
}

output_format accepts "pdf", "docx", or "both".

Poll for Status​

curl "https://api.docgenlab.com/api/v1/documents/DOC_ID" \
  -H "X-API-Key: dgl_your_key_here"

Possible status values: queued → rendering → ready (or failed).

Download the File​

curl "https://api.docgenlab.com/api/v1/documents/DOC_ID/download?format=pdf" \
  -H "X-API-Key: dgl_your_key_here" \
  -o output.pdf

Use ?format=docx for the DOCX file when you generated with "output_format": "both".

Idempotency​

Pass an X-Idempotency-Key header to avoid creating duplicate documents if your request is retried:

curl -X POST "https://api.docgenlab.com/api/v1/documents/" \
  -H "X-API-Key: dgl_your_key_here" \
  -H "X-Idempotency-Key: invoice-INV-001-acme" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "template_id": "...", "input_json": {...}, "output_format": "pdf" }'

Sending the same key again returns the existing document instead of generating a new one. See API Keys → Idempotency for details.

Generation History​

Every generated document is saved to the History tab of the template. From there you can:

  • View the input data that was used
  • Re-download the output file
  • See the timestamp and status of each generation

Tips​

  • Use JSON mode when your template has list tokens — the form editor for nested arrays can be tedious for large datasets.
  • If generation fails, check the error_message field on the document via GET /documents/{id}. Common causes are in the Troubleshooting guide.
  • For large batches (10+ documents with the same template), use Bulk Generation instead.