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POST
/
transformations
Compress PDF
curl --request POST \
  --url https://api.gonitro.dev/transformations \
  --header 'Authorization: Bearer <token>' \
  --header 'Content-Type: multipart/form-data' \
  --form method=compress \
  --form 'params={}' \
  --form 'file=<string>' \
  --form file.0='@example-file'
{
  "file": {
    "URL": "<string>",
    "contentType": "application/json",
    "metadata": {
      "fileSizeBytes": 123,
      "pageCount": 123
    }
  }
}
The Compress method of the Transformations endpoint lets you reduce the file size of a PDF by applying different levels of compression to the PDF file.

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Compression Levels

The endpoint supports three compression levels with different trade-offs between file size and quality.

Level 0: Minimal Compression

Applies only structural optimizations without modifying image content or quality. The effect on file size is very small and there’s no visual quality loss.
  • Removes internal PDF overhead and redundancies
  • Preserves all image dimensions and resolutions
  • Maintains image interpolation settings (smooth rendering)

Level 1: Medium Compression

Applies moderate optimization to balance file size reduction while preserving quality. Effect on file size: 5-20%.
  • Optimizes internal PDF structure
  • Applies moderate JPEG compression (~25% smaller images)
  • Preserves image dimensions and resolution
  • Maintains image interpolation for smooth rendering

Level 2: Maximum Compression

Applies aggressive compression to achieve maximum file size reduction. This compression level has visible quality trade-offs. Effect on file size: 20-50%.
  • Downsamples images to lower resolutions
  • Reduces image dimensions (typically 50% scale)
  • Applies aggressive JPEG compression
  • Disables image interpolation

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Output File Format

The endpoint can return output either as JSON or as a binary file. The format depends on the Accept header (details below), which defaults to application/json.

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Processing

When requesting JSON, you can run the operation synchronously or asynchronously. This is determined by the Prefer header (details below).
  • In sync mode, the response includes a URL pointing to the processed file.
  • In async mode, the request creates a Job, and the response contains the Job ID and status so you can track progress.
Binary (octet-stream) responses are only available for synchronous operations.

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Custom File Delivery

The endpoint supports custom file-delivery destinations through the optional delivery parameter. You can provide an upload target, such as your own PUT endpoint or a pre-signed S3 URL, and Nitro will upload the resulting file there. This works for both synchronous and asynchronous processing.

  • ​
    Sync delivery

    In synchronous calls, the delivery parameter lets you direct Nitro to upload the output file to a custom URL endpoint or a pre-signed URL (e.g S3), by providing an upload url in the uploadResultTo or uploadResultsTo properties.

    ​
    Custom endpoint

    If implementing the upload endpoint by yourself, make sure your code or middleware configuration accepts requests without content-type headers.

    ​
    S3 delivery

    If you are using S3 to manage delivery uploads, follow this AWS documentation to generate a pre-signed PUT URL.
    If using the AWS provided Python script, omit the Content-Type in Params to get the pre-signed url. For example:
     
        url = generate_presigned_url(
        s3_client,
        "put_object",
        { 
            "Bucket": args.bucket, 
            "Key": args.key,
            # Content-Type: "application/octet-stream" => Omit!
        },
    1000)

  • ​
    Async delivery

    In asynchronous flows, you can also provide a custom URL or pre-signed S3 object via uploadResultTo or uploadResultsTo, to upload your file(s) once the Job is done processing.

    ​
    Callback

    For asynchronous processing, you can also include a callback URL within the delivery parameter. This callback is a POST endpoint that Nitro will call once the Job is created and running, providing details about the file-processing job. Example of Nitro’s callback request body: 
    {
    "jobID": "babe2aa7-9b5d-4eb2-a679-5fc12cf0a490",
    "location": "https://api.gonitro.dev/jobs/babe2aa7-9b5d-4eb2-a679-5fc12cf0a490"
}

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Response behavior Matrix

This matrix shows the expected response behavior based on content type, sync/async mode, and custom file-delivery settings.
JSON (application/json)Binary (application/octet-stream)
SynchronousReturns a JSON object with a file(s) URL(s).Returns the processed file directly as binary.
Asynchronous (respond-async)Returns a JSON object with a Job ID and status.Async preference ignored, returns sync binary.
Synchronous deliveryFile delivered to custom endpoint / Bucket, returns success confirmation.N/A
Asynchronous deliveryReturns a JSON object with a Job ID and status. The file(s) will be uploaded to the provided PUT endpoint / S3 Bucket at the end of process. If callback url is provided, Nitro will notify the endpoint with a JOB ID and location.N/A

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Limits

The Platform API has the following limits:
  • File size: Maximum of 100 MB per request. This applies to single-file and multi-file requests.
  • Page count: Maximum of 500 pages per individual document. This applies to single-file and multi-file requests. Multiple documents may exceed 500 pages in total.
  • Retention time: Inputs and outputs are deleted approximately 15 minutes after the operation completes.

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Request

Authorizations

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Authorization
string
header
required

Bearer authentication header of the form Bearer <token>, where <token> is your auth token.

Headers

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Accept
enum<string>
default:*/*

Controls response format and behavior. See endpoint description above for detailed response combinations.

  • application/json: Returns JSON response with operation result
  • application/octet-stream: Returns binary file content
  • */*: Defaults to JSON response
Available options:
application/json,
application/octet-stream,
*/*
​
Prefer
enum<string>

Controls synchronous vs asynchronous operation. See endpoint description above for behavior details.

  • respond-async: Makes request asynchronous, returns job status for polling
  • No value: Synchronous response
Available options:
respond-async

Body

multipart/form-data
​
method
enum<string>
default:compress
required

The Transformations' endpoint method: compress

Available options:
compress
​
params
Compress · object
required

Provide the compression level for the PDF file processing:

  • Level 0: Minimum compression
  • Level 1: Medium compression
  • Level 2: Aggressive commpression
​
file
required

The file to process. It can be provided as a binary upload or as a JSON remote file reference.

​
delivery
object

This endpoint lets you supply your own URL to receive the single-file output. The URL may point to a custom API endpoint or a pre-signed S3 URL.

The HTTP method defaults to PUT, but you can change it based on your implementation needs via the verb parameter. You can also provide custom headers, such as authentication headers or any others required by your endpoint.

Response

Returns either JSON or binary output depending on the Accept header (defaults to JSON). JSON responses include a file URL for synchronous tasks or a job status for asynchronous tasks.

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file
object