Document JSON Overview

The document JSON is the core data structure used by the Render endpoint (POST /render) and Bulk Render endpoint (POST /bulk-render) to generate PDF, DOCX, and ODT documents.

Top-level structure

A document JSON object has the following top-level keys:

{
  "document": { ... },
  "stylePresetId": "system:executive-annual-report",
  "sections": [ ... ],
  "variables": { ... },
  "abbreviations": { ... },
  "citations": [ ... ],
  "footnotes": [ ... ],
  "defaults": { ... }
}

Property	Type	Required	Description
`document`	object	Yes	Page settings: output format, size, margins, orientation, and metadata.
`stylePresetId`	string	No	Workspace style UUID or immutable built-in `system:<id>` to resolve before rendering. The same references work for temporary renders and persistent documents. Inline `defaults` remain supported and override the preset.
`sections`	array	Yes	Array of content sections. Each section contains an array of elements. Min: 0, Max: 500.
`variables`	object	No	Template variables for `{{varName}}` text substitution and `variableRef` elements.
`abbreviations`	object	No	Map of abbreviation short forms to their full text (e.g., `"API": "Application Programming Interface"`).
`citations`	array	No	Array of citation entries in CSL-JSON format for bibliography generation. Max: 1000.
`footnotes`	array	No	Footnote definitions referenced with `[^id]`. IDs are unique; max 500 definitions.
`defaults`	object	No	Global styling defaults: fonts, colors, spacing, element styles, header/footer, citation style, and more.

Style presets

For API and MCP workflows, you can reference an organization-wide style preset instead of embedding a large defaults object in every request:

{
  "document": { "type": "pdf", "size": "A4" },
  "stylePresetId": "system:executive-annual-report",
  "sections": [
    {
      "type": "flow",
      "content": [
        { "type": "heading", "level": 1, "content": "Quarterly Report" }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Style presets are resolved server-side. If both stylePresetId and inline defaults are provided, Autype merges them and lets inline defaults win. Built-in references never create database style rows; use the explicit Customize action when you need an editable workspace copy. This keeps JSON and Markdown requests compact while preserving the full JSON schema for advanced clients.

Strict validation mode

The render endpoints (POST /render and POST /render/markdown) support an optional ?strict=true query parameter that enables strict validation. In strict mode, the API performs additional checks that go beyond schema validation:

Broken internal references — references to non-existent anchors (e.g., [see here](#missing-anchor)) cause an error
Undefined citations — @[citeKey] references to citation IDs not present in the citations array cause an error
Undefined abbreviations — ~ABK~ references to abbreviation keys not present in the abbreviations object cause an error
Undefined footnotes — every [^id] reference must have exactly one non-empty definition in footnotes
Duplicate anchors — multiple elements defining the same anchor ID cause an error (this is always checked, even without strict mode)

Without strict mode, broken references, undefined citations, and undefined abbreviations are treated as warnings and do not block rendering. With strict mode enabled, they become errors and the render request is rejected with a 400 Bad Request response containing the list of validation errors.

Strict mode is recommended for production workflows to catch issues early. In the Autype editor, these same checks are shown as warnings in the sidebar.

Document settings

The document object configures the page layout and document metadata.

{
  "document": {
    "type": "pdf",
    "filename": "invoice-2024",
    "title": "Invoice #1234",
    "author": "Acme Inc",
    "language": "en-US",
    "subject": "Monthly Invoice",
    "keywords": ["invoice", "billing"],
    "size": "A4",
    "orientation": "portrait",
    "marginTop": 2.5,
    "marginRight": 2.5,
    "marginBottom": 2,
    "marginLeft": 2.5
  }
}

Properties

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`type`	string	Yes	—	Output format: `"pdf"`, `"docx"`, or `"odt"`
`filename`	string	No	—	Output filename without extension. Only `a-z`, `A-Z`, `0-9`, `_`, `-` allowed. Max: 100 chars.
`title`	string	No	—	Document title (PDF/DOCX metadata). Max: 200 chars.
`author`	string	No	—	Document author (PDF/DOCX metadata). Max: 100 chars.
`language`	string	No	—	BCP 47 document language, for example `en-US` or `de-DE`. Required for a ready export-readiness report.
`subject`	string	No	—	Document subject (PDF/DOCX metadata). Max: 200 chars.
`keywords`	string[]	No	—	Document keywords for metadata. Max: 10 items, 50 chars each.
`size`	string	No	`"A4"`	Page size: `"A4"`, `"A3"`, `"A5"`, `"Letter"`, `"Legal"`
`orientation`	string	No	`"portrait"`	Page orientation: `"portrait"` or `"landscape"`
`marginTop`	number	No	—	Top margin in cm (0–10)
`marginRight`	number	No	—	Right margin in cm (0–10)
`marginBottom`	number	No	—	Bottom margin in cm (0–10)
`marginLeft`	number	No	—	Left margin in cm (0–10)

Sections

Sections are the content containers of your document. There are two types:

Flow section

Flowing content that spans multiple pages automatically. This is the most common section type.

{
  "type": "flow",
  "newPage": true,
  "columns": { "count": 2, "space": 1.27, "separate": true },
  "content": [
    { "type": "h1", "text": "Introduction" },
    { "type": "text", "text": "This is a paragraph." }
  ]
}

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`type`	string	Yes	—	Must be `"flow"`
`id`	string	No	—	Optional unique identifier. Max: 100 chars.
`newPage`	boolean	No	`true`	Start this section on a new page.
`columns`	object	No	—	Multi-column layout configuration.
`content`	array	Yes	—	Array of content elements. Max: 5000 elements.

Columns

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`count`	number	Yes	—	Number of columns (1–4)
`space`	number	No	`1.27`	Space between columns in cm (0–5)
`separate`	boolean	No	`false`	Show separator line between columns

Page section

A single positioned page — useful for cover pages, title pages, or any content that needs precise vertical positioning.

{
  "type": "page",
  "align": "center",
  "content": [
    { "type": "h1", "text": "My Document", "align": "center" },
    { "type": "text", "text": "A subtitle", "align": "center" }
  ]
}

Property	Type	Required	Default	Description
`type`	string	Yes	—	Must be `"page"`
`id`	string	No	—	Optional unique identifier. Max: 100 chars.
`align`	string	No	`"top"`	Vertical alignment: `"top"`, `"center"`, `"bottom"`
`startY`	number	No	—	Y position in cm from top (0–100). Overrides `align`.
`content`	array	Yes	—	Array of content elements. Max: 200 elements.

Complete example

{
  "document": {
    "type": "pdf",
    "filename": "certificate",
    "title": "Certificate of Completion",
    "size": "A4",
    "orientation": "landscape",
    "marginTop": 2,
    "marginRight": 2.5,
    "marginBottom": 2,
    "marginLeft": 2.5
  },
  "variables": {
    "recipientName": "Max Mustermann",
    "courseName": "Advanced Document Automation",
    "completionDate": "15. Januar 2026"
  },
  "defaults": {
    "fontFamily": "Arial",
    "fontSize": 12,
    "color": "#333333"
  },
  "sections": [
    {
      "type": "flow",
      "content": [
        { "type": "h1", "text": "Certificate of Completion", "align": "center" },
        { "type": "spacer", "height": 2 },
        { "type": "text", "text": "This is to certify that", "align": "center" },
        { "type": "h2", "text": "{{recipientName}}", "align": "center" },
        { "type": "text", "text": "has successfully completed the course", "align": "center" },
        { "type": "h3", "text": "{{courseName}}", "align": "center" },
        { "type": "spacer", "height": 2 },
        { "type": "text", "text": "Date: {{completionDate}}", "align": "center" }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Next steps

Variables

Dynamic content substitution with text, number, image, list, and table variables.

Abbreviations

Define abbreviation short forms and generate abbreviation lists.

Citations

CSL-JSON citations and automatic bibliography generation.

Footnotes

Automatically numbered notes with editable Markdown definitions.

Defaults

Global styling: fonts, colors, spacing, header/footer, and more.

Layout

Flow and page sections, columns, page breaks, and spacers.

Text Elements

Headings, paragraphs, inline formatting, and anchors.

Tables

Tables with headers, rows, widths, alignment, images, form fields, captions, and data binding.

Form Fields

Standalone and table-cell controls with variable binding, styling, and PDF AcroForms.

Lists

Ordered and unordered lists with nested items.

Media & Code

Images, charts, QR codes, code blocks, and math equations.

Indices

Table of contents, list of figures, list of tables.

Overview

Document JSON Syntax

Tools Guides

Images

Rendering

Bulk Rendering

Projects & Documents

Templates

Styles

Reusable Blocks

Records

Tools File Management

Tools PDF Actions

Tools Document Actions

Lens (AI)

Tools Jobs

Document JSON Overview

Top-level structure

Style presets

Strict validation mode

Document settings

Properties

Sections

Flow section

Columns

Page section

Complete example

Next steps

Variables

Abbreviations

Citations

Footnotes

Defaults

Layout

Text Elements

Tables

Form Fields

Lists

Media & Code

Indices

​Top-level structure

​Style presets

​Strict validation mode

​Document settings

​Properties

​Sections

​Flow section

​Columns

​Page section

​Complete example

​Next steps

Variables

Abbreviations

Citations

Footnotes

Defaults

Layout

Text Elements

Tables

Form Fields

Lists

Media & Code

Indices

Top-level structure

Style presets

Strict validation mode

Document settings

Properties

Sections

Flow section

Columns

Page section

Complete example

Next steps