SmartDocs

Open-source document generation engine with a visual template editor, deterministic PDF rendering, and structured data binding.

Try the Live Demo — no signup, no install. Open the editor and start building templates instantly.

Quick Start

npm install
npx playwright install chromium
npm run editor

Open http://localhost:5177, pick a sample template from the dropdown, and start editing.

Docker

docker compose up --build

Starts the editor + Postgres at http://localhost:5177.

Features

Visual Template Editor

• Drag-and-drop component placement with snap guides
• 11 component types: Text, Long Text, Image, Table, QR Code, Barcode, Chart, Hyperlink, Line, Box, Page Break
• Multi-select, align, distribute tools
• Inline text editing with rich text support
• Reusable blocks (partials)
• Undo/redo (Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Shift+Z)
• Live data preview with page navigation

Rendering Engine

• Deterministic HTML and print-ready PDF output via Playwright
• Data binding with {{field.path}} merge syntax
• Data contracts with validation, transforms (currency, date, trim, etc.)
• Multi-page flow text with column support
• Auto-paginating tables with page-aware placement
• Conditional visibility (visibleIf expressions)
• Repeat modes: all pages, first only, continuation pages, etc.

Components

Component	Description
Text	Static or data-bound text with font/color/alignment controls
Long Text	Multi-page flowing text with column layout
Image	URL or data-bound images with fit modes
Table	Auto-paginating data tables with header repeat
QR Code	Real QR encoding (versions 1-10, all ECC levels)
Barcode	Code 128B with proper encoding and quiet zones
Chart	Bar, line, pie, and doughnut charts (SVG)
Hyperlink	Clickable links in PDF output
Line	Horizontal rules and separators
Box	Rectangles with fill, border, and rounded corners
Page Break	Explicit page break control

Users, Roles & Authentication

• Invite-only user management with bcrypt passwords and JWT sessions
• Four roles: Author, Reviewer, Publisher, Admin
• Login page with auto-redirect, user bar with avatar and role badge
• Admin settings panel for managing team, projects, and approval chains

Projects

• Group templates into projects for scoped access
• Assign team members to specific projects
• Members can only see templates in their projects (Admin sees all)

Multi-Level Approval Workflow

• Configurable approval chains per project (1 to N steps)
• Multiple chains per project — author picks at submit time
• Each step has a label, required role, and assigned approver
• Visual step builder for creating and editing chains
• Approve/reject at each level with comments and reasons
• Auto-publish when final step role is Publisher
• Approval stepper shows live progress (approved, pending, rejected)
• Full audit trail with timestamps, actors, and reasons

Persistence

• Postgres via Prisma with template versioning and audit trail
• Template lifecycle: Draft → Review → Approved → Published → Archived
• Content locking on Approved/Published templates
• REST API when DATABASE_URL is set

CLI

# Validate a template
npm run validate -- --template examples/template.json

# Render to HTML
npm run render -- --template examples/template.json --data examples/data.json --out out/render.html

# Render to PDF
npm run render:pdf -- --template examples/template.json --data examples/data.json --out out/render.pdf

Sample Templates

Template	What it showcases
Invoice Starter	Tables, data binding, QR codes
Credit Card Statement	Multi-page, branded headers, currency formatting
Bank Statement	Long tables, account summaries
Terms & Conditions	Flow text, multi-column layout
Enterprise Cover Package	Full-bleed design, styled boxes
Quarterly Business Report	Charts, barcodes, hyperlinks, images, KPI cards
Conference Event Pass	QR codes, schedules, Wi-Fi QR, venue info

Project Structure

editor/          Visual editor (vanilla JS), login, invite pages
scripts/         Renderer, PDF pipeline, auth, projects, approval, server
schemas/         Template JSON schema
examples/        Sample templates and data
prisma/          Database schema and migrations
salesforce/      Salesforce managed package (LWC, Apex)
landing/         Marketing site and industry use case pages
docs/            Specs and roadmap

Database Setup

cp .env.example .env
npm run db:up
npm run prisma:migrate -- --name init_templates
npm run prisma:generate

The editor exposes APIs when DATABASE_URL is configured:

Auth:
POST       /api/auth/login              Email + password login
POST       /api/auth/logout             Invalidate session
GET        /api/auth/me                 Current user info
POST       /api/auth/accept-invite      Accept invite, set password

Users (Admin):
GET        /api/users                   List tenant users
POST       /api/users/invite            Invite user with role
PATCH      /api/users/:id               Update role/active
DELETE     /api/users/:id               Deactivate user

Projects:
GET/POST   /api/projects                List/create projects
GET/PATCH  /api/projects/:id            Get/update project
POST/DEL   /api/projects/:id/members    Add/remove members
GET/POST   /api/projects/:id/approval-chains  Manage approval chains

Templates:
GET/POST   /api/templates               List/create (supports projectId)
GET/PATCH  /api/templates/:id           Get/update metadata
GET/POST   /api/templates/:id/versions  Version history/save
POST       /api/templates/:id/transition Status transitions
GET        /api/templates/:id/audit     Audit trail

Approval:
POST       /api/templates/:id/submit    Submit for approval (chainId)
POST       /api/templates/:id/approve   Approve current step
POST       /api/templates/:id/reject    Reject with reason
GET        /api/templates/:id/approval  Approval status + steps
GET        /api/approvals/pending       Templates pending your review

Known Limitations

• QR codes: Supports versions 1-10 (max ~271 characters). Very long URLs or payloads may be truncated.
• Charts: SVG-based rendering covers bar, line, pie, doughnut. No legends, axis labels, or tooltips yet.
• Barcodes: Code 128B only. EAN-13, UPC, and other symbologies are not yet implemented.
• Undo/redo: Snapshot-based (50 steps). Large templates may use more memory.
• Browser support: Editor tested in Chromium-based browsers. Firefox and Safari may have minor rendering differences.
• PDF rendering: Requires Playwright/Chromium. No server-side rendering without a headless browser.
• Email notifications: Approval assignments don't send email yet — reviewers check the pending reviews list.

Roadmap

• Email notifications for approval assignments
• Conditional logic rule builder (visual UI for show/hide rules)
• Reusable content library (shared blocks across templates)
• Password reset flow
• HubSpot and ServiceNow native integrations
• Advanced table tooling and richer pagination controls
• Agentic/MCP tool surface for AI-driven document automation

See docs/ROADMAP.md for details.

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md. High-value areas:

• Pagination and page-break controls
• Table authoring improvements
• Governance workflow primitives
• API and integration hardening

License

MIT