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PDFShift’s current API authentication method is the X-API-Key request header. If your integration still sends the key through the older Basic Auth configuration, update it, then test the same key with PDFShift’s credits endpoint before retrying PDF conversion.
1. Send the API key in the current header
PDFShift says it moved from Basic Auth to the X-API-Key header on 2025-05-06. The value of that header should be your API key. See the PDFShift Help Center authentication guidance.
- Inspect the actual outbound request, not only the credential field saved in your client.
- Add a request header named
X-API-Keyand set its value to your PDFShift API key. - Remove or disable an old Basic Auth setting if that is the only authentication method your request currently sends.
Do not assume a particular key lifecycle or account state is responsible: the provider guidance cited here does not document those as causes of an individual 401.
2. Test authentication independently of conversion
Send a GET request to https://api.pdfshift.io/v3/credits/usage with the same X-API-Key header. PDFShift says an authenticated user receives usage and available-credit data. The provider notes that missing or incorrectly sent authentication can result in either 401 or 403, depending on how the key was sent; it does not give a complete cause-by-status mapping.
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Python diagnostic and conversion
The diagnostic endpoint is described by the Help Center. The conversion request pattern follows PDFShift’s Python requests guide.
import requests
api_key = "YOUR_API_KEY"
headers = {"X-API-Key": api_key}
# Check authentication separately from PDF conversion.
check = requests.get(
"https://api.pdfshift.io/v3/credits/usage",
headers=headers,
timeout=30,
)
print("Credits check:", check.status_code, check.text)
# Retry conversion as a separate request.
response = requests.post(
"https://api.pdfshift.io/v3/convert/pdf",
headers=headers,
json={"source": "https://example.com"},
timeout=90,
)
print("Conversion:", response.status_code, response.headers.get("Content-Type"))
print(response.text if not response.ok else "Conversion request succeeded")Keep the diagnostic and conversion results distinct. A successful credits check confirms authentication for that request; if conversion still fails, inspect the conversion response and request separately rather than treating it as proof that authentication failed.
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Node.js conversion
PDFShift’s NodeFetch guide shows the conversion request with the key in the header:
const apiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY";
const response = await fetch(
"https://api.pdfshift.io/v3/convert/pdf",
{
method: "post",
headers: {
"X-API-Key": apiKey,
"Content-Type": "application/json",
},
body: JSON.stringify({ source: "https://example.com" }),
}
);
console.log("Conversion:", response.status);
if (!response.ok) {
console.error(await response.text());
}This is a conversion example, not a Node implementation of the credits diagnostic.
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cURL authentication check
curl -i "https://api.pdfshift.io/v3/credits/usage"
-H "X-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"With valid authentication, PDFShift says the endpoint returns usage and available-credit data. Check the HTTP status and response body; do not print or share the API key while troubleshooting.
3. Check the request in your client or workflow
n8n
PDFShift’s n8n instructions use an HTTP Request node configured as follows: set the conversion URL to https://api.pdfshift.io/v3/convert/pdf, choose the POST method, leave the authentication selector at None, and add X-API-Key as a request header. See the PDFShift n8n integration guide.
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Other HTTP clients
- Confirm the header is attached to the request being sent, rather than stored in a field the client does not transmit.
- Check spelling and capitalization as
X-API-Key, and ensure the key is the header value. - Check that no old Basic Auth-only configuration remains in place.
- Use the same key and header configuration for the credits check and the conversion retry.
4. Troubleshoot by response
- The credits endpoint returns 401 or 403: recheck that the request includes
X-API-Keywith the intended key value, and verify that the client actually sends the header. PDFShift documents both statuses for missing or incorrectly sent authentication but does not specify a definitive mapping between each cause and status. - The credits endpoint returns usage and available-credit data, but conversion fails: authentication succeeded for the diagnostic call. Examine the conversion status, response body, URL, method, headers, and JSON payload as a separate problem.
- The conversion request still uses Basic Auth: change the request to the current
X-API-Keyheader method and retest. - A workflow request behaves differently from a direct request: compare the actual outbound headers and method. In n8n, PDFShift’s documented setup uses authentication set to None and a manually configured
X-API-Keyrequest header.
5. Or skip the browser setup
If your task is to capture a website as an image or PDF rather than convert a source through PDFShift, ScreenshotNeo provides a separate screenshot API. One GET request can return a screenshot or PDF; the examples below use the requested target URL, https://example.com. See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation.
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://example.com -o shot.webpimport requests
r = requests.get("https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot", params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://example.com"}, timeout=90)
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://example.com' });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);- Cookie banners, popups, and chat widgets are removed before the shot; each cleanup step can be turned off.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does a 401 always mean the PDFShift API key is invalid?
No. PDFShift says missing or incorrectly sent authentication can produce 401 or 403, but does not publish a definitive status-to-cause mapping.
What should a successful credits check return?
PDFShift describes usage and available-credit data for an authenticated request.
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