A free, cross-platform C library for generating PDF files with support for text, images, fonts, encryption, and CJK encoding.
Haru Free PDF Library is an open-source C library for generating PDF documents programmatically. It provides a comprehensive set of features for creating PDFs with text, images, fonts, annotations, and encryption, without requiring deep knowledge of the PDF specification. The library is cross-platform and designed for performance, making it suitable for integrating PDF generation into various applications.
C and C++ developers who need to add PDF generation capabilities to their applications, particularly those working on cross-platform projects or requiring support for CJK fonts and encryption.
Developers choose Haru because it offers a free, open-source alternative to commercial PDF libraries, with a simple API that abstracts PDF complexity, strong cross-platform support, and bindings for multiple languages like Ruby, Delphi, and C#.
libharu - free PDF library
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Works on Windows and UNIX-like systems with various compilers like GCC, VC++, and Borland C++, as detailed in the supporting platforms section.
The library is 4-15 times faster than previous versions, offering significant speed improvements for PDF generation tasks.
Supports embedding CJK fonts and various character sets like ISO8859-1~16, making it ideal for international text handling in PDFs.
Can be built as static or shared library, with static builds requiring no runtime dependencies, simplifying deployment.
The new version has a completely different, incompatible API from previous versions, forcing developers to rewrite code for upgrades.
Official bindings are only available for Ruby, Delphi, and C#, restricting accessibility for developers using other popular languages.
Requires ZLIB and PNGLIB for compression and PNG image support, adding setup complexity on some platforms.
libharu is an open-source alternative to the following products:
A software development kit that enables developers to create applications and plugins that integrate with Adobe Acrobat and PDF functionality.
iText (proprietary version) is a commercial PDF library based on the open-source iText, offering additional features, support, and licensing for enterprise use.