@formepdf/cli

Dev server and build tool for Forme PDF generation.

Install

npm install -D @formepdf/cli

Commands

forme dev

Live preview dev server with element inspector, component tree, click-to-source, and responsive page size switching.

forme dev invoice.tsx --data invoice-data.json

Open http://localhost:4242 to see your PDF update in real time as you edit.

forme build

Render a PDF to a file.

forme build invoice.tsx --data invoice-data.json -o invoice.pdf

Dev server features

• Live preview with hot reload on file changes
• Element inspector with box model, computed styles, and breadcrumb navigation
• Component tree showing document structure
• Click-to-source opens your editor (VS Code, Cursor, WebStorm, Zed) at the exact line
• Responsive preview with page size switching (Letter, A4, Legal, Tabloid, custom)
• Data editor for live JSON editing when using --data
• Debug overlays for margins, padding, and element bounds

Options

forme dev <template>         Start dev server
  --data <file>              Load JSON data file
  --port <number>            Server port (default: 4242)

forme build <template>       Render PDF
  --data <file>              Load JSON data file
  -o, --output <file>        Output file path

Docs

Full documentation at docs.formepdf.com