Downloading

doc.download() returns the complete PDF as bytes — including any annotation or metadata edits that have landed on the document.

download(opts?: { mode?: PdfSaveMode }): AbortablePromise<Uint8Array>;

Downloading bytes#

const bytes = await doc.download();
 
// Browser: trigger a save dialog
const blob = new Blob([bytes], { type: 'application/pdf' });
const url = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
const a = document.createElement('a');
a.href = url;
a.download = 'document.pdf';
a.click();
URL.revokeObjectURL(url);

// Node: write to disk
import { writeFile } from 'node:fs/promises';
await writeFile('document.pdf', await doc.download());

Save modes#

mode controls how the PDF is serialized:

Mode	Behavior
`'incremental'` (default)	Appends changes as an incremental update, preserving the original bytes and the document’s revision history. Faster; smaller diffs.
`'rewrite'`	Rewrites the whole file from scratch. Produces a clean, compact PDF without the incremental-update trail.

const compact = await doc.download({ mode: 'rewrite' });

‘incremental’ is the default because it’s cheaper and keeps the original file intact. Reach for ‘rewrite’ when you want the smallest possible output or a file without prior revisions.

Cancellation and errors#

Like every engine call, download() is an AbortablePromise and rejects with a typed EngineError:

const pending = doc.download({ mode: 'rewrite' });
// pending.abort() to cancel
 
try {
  const bytes = await pending;
} catch (err) {
  if (EngineError.is(err, EngineErrorCode.Forbidden)) {
    // caller's scope doesn't permit download
  }
}

Downloading the original bytes is gated by the caller’s scope on the cloud. If the token doesn’t grant it, download() rejects with Forbidden — check doc.security.effectiveScope before showing a download button.