Axel
13 articles by Axel
Chrome Headless Shell vs full Chromium for PDF generation
Chrome 132 removed the old headless mode. chrome-headless-shell is the lean replacement. Here is when to migrate for PDF rendering, and when to stay.
pdf-lib vs jsPDF vs PDFKit: JavaScript PDF libraries compared
Honest comparison of the three main JavaScript PDF libraries: pdf-lib for manipulation, jsPDF for client-side rendering, PDFKit for server-side streaming. Feature matrix, code samples, and when to pick each.
MCP 2026 roadmap explained: what server builders should do now
The Model Context Protocol 2026 roadmap names four priorities. Here is what changes for MCP server builders, and which patterns to adopt today.
Anthropic Agent Skills explained, with a PDF generation example
What Agent Skills are, how they differ from MCP servers and system prompts, and a worked example of shipping a Skill that generates PDFs from prompts.
CVE-2026-23869: a developer's guide to the Next.js RSC DoS
CVE-2026-23869 (CVSS 7.5) lets a single HTTP request burn a minute of CPU on any Next.js App Router endpoint. Detect, patch, and harden your PDF pipeline.
CVE-2026-5287: a developer's guide to the Chromium PDF use-after-free
CVE-2026-5287 is a high-severity use-after-free in Chromium's PDF engine, fixed in Chrome 146.0.7680.178. Detect, patch, and harden Puppeteer, Playwright, Docker, and Lambda.
CVE-2026-34621: Adobe Acrobat zero-day exploited via crafted PDFs
CVE-2026-34621 is a prototype pollution zero-day in Adobe Acrobat and Reader, exploited in the wild since December 2025. CISA KEV deadline was April 27, 2026. Patch, mitigations, and what server-side PDF pipelines should change today.
Playwright vs WeasyPrint: PDF generation in Python (2026 comparison)
Playwright vs WeasyPrint for Python PDF generation: real performance numbers, CSS coverage, JavaScript support, and how to pick for Django, Flask, or FastAPI in 2026.
PDF/A explained: versions, requirements, and how to create archival files
PDF/A is the ISO 19005 standard for long-term PDF archival. Covers PDF/A-1, -2, and -3 differences, technical restrictions, and how to create and validate compliant files.
iLovePDF vs Smallpdf vs PDF4.dev: which free PDF tool is best in 2026?
Compare iLovePDF, Smallpdf, and PDF4.dev on privacy, limits, tools, and developer features. Find the best free PDF tool for your use case in 2026.
Best PDF generation APIs in 2026: a developer comparison
Compare the best PDF generation APIs in 2026: PDF4.dev, PDFMonkey, DocRaptor, Gotenberg, and wkhtmltopdf. Pricing, features, and code examples.
Playwright vs Puppeteer for PDF generation: a practical comparison (2026)
Playwright vs Puppeteer for PDF generation: API differences, CSS support, performance benchmarks, and when to use a managed PDF API instead.
HTML to PDF benchmark 2026 (Playwright vs Puppeteer vs WeasyPrint)
Playwright vs Puppeteer vs WeasyPrint: real HTML-to-PDF latency and file size, Node.js and Python usage, macOS and Linux, plus the production gotchas inside.