The untold story behind the popular open-source PDF library—react-pdf
In the ever-evolving world of front-end development, few tools have resonated with developers as profoundly as React-PDF. In a recent conversation with Joyfill co-founder John, we had the pleasure of diving into the story behind the library with its creator, Diego Muracciole—a developer whose blend of curiosity, experimentation, and open-source spirit helped turn a side project into a widely used solution across the React ecosystem.
The Birth of React-PDF: From Terminal to Print
Diego’s journey began far from Silicon Valley, in Uruguay, where he worked at a software agency. With a deep interest in front-end technologies and a keen eye on React’s evolution, Diego explored its potential beyond the browser. He had already built react-log, a quirky yet technically impressive library for rendering React components in the terminal, when he started thinking about new use cases.
The idea for React-PDF came as he was preparing for a local meetup. “I was just looking for something fun to build,” he says. What began as a proof of concept quickly grew into a serious project. The key idea? Use React not just for rendering DOM or native views—but for generating clean, structured, and reusable PDF documents.
“React is perfect for that because of JSX,” Diego explains, “which is basically HTML syntax, allowing nesting elements, creating components, and reusing them.”
This alignment with React’s core philosophy—learn once, write anywhere—meant developers could bring their existing skills to generate documents for invoices, reports, or form submissions with minimal friction. The ability to pull in dynamic data from APIs and still maintain a polished document layout was a game-changer.
Scaling Open Source: Work, Luck, and the Unexpected
While many look to React-PDF today as a robust solution for PDF generation, Diego is candid about the project’s growth: “I always say it was a bit of luck,” he laughs, acknowledging that while luck played a role, consistent effort and community engagement were essential.
The project matured during Diego’s time at Scale AI. Over time, contributions from a growing community of developers helped React-PDF evolve into a go-to tool for modern document generation.
Looking Ahead: AI and Open Source Maintenance
As with every modern developer, the question of AI came up. While Diego hasn’t embedded AI directly into React-PDF, he’s open to using it for maintaining the library, managing issues, and staying responsive to user feedback. “I didn’t use any agents to help me fix issues,” he notes, “but AI might be helpful for keeping up with work and responding to the community.”
This pragmatic view reflects an ongoing challenge for open source maintainers: scaling their time as adoption grows. Tools like GitHub Copilot and AI-based bots are beginning to play a role in easing that burden—something Diego is keeping a close eye on.
A Shoutout to Contributors
Diego also gave credit where credit is due, recognizing several contributors who’ve helped shape the library. Their work and collaboration have helped keep the project alive, stable, and ever-improving.
Final Thoughts
The story of React-PDF is one many developers can relate to: a mix of curiosity, experimentation, and building for the sheer fun of it. But it’s also a reminder of the power of open source—how a side project shared with the world can become a core tool in thousands of products.
As Diego continues to explore new technologies and maybe even brings AI into the fold, React-PDF stands as a testament to what happens when you follow your technical interests and share them freely.
Whether you’re building invoices, reports, or just trying to keep your PDF generation code sane, React-PDF remains a solid choice—and a great example of the open source spirit in action.
Brought to you by Joyfill — a natively embeddable PDF form builder for React developers building PDF experiences inside their Saas applications.
