Build a Next.js PDF viewer with Apryse WebViewer SDK

This guide shows how to build a Next.js PDF viewer using the Apryse WebViewer SDK. You'll learn how to integrate the SDK into a Next.js application to render, view, and interact with PDF documents using the WebViewer UI. This guide uses JavaScript examples. TypeScript projects will require minor adjustments.

You can also download a ready-to-use GitHub sample to get started quickly, or explore the interactive Showcase demo to see WebViewer's full capabilities in action.

Prerequisites

This guide assumes basic familiarity with Next.js development. Before you start:

• Install Node.js and npm. See the Next.js documentation for version details.
• Install Visual Studio Code or another code editor to develop and debug your code.
• Get your Apryse trial key.

1. Create a Next.js project

In this section, you’ll create a new Next.js application using npm. This project provides the foundation for integrating Apryse WebViewer. If you already have a Next.js app, skip this and continue to Install WebViewer.

1. In your terminal, go to the directory where you want to create the project.
2. Create a new webviewer-nextjs project using a minimal setup:

Shell

npx --yes create-next-app@latest webviewer-nextjs --js --no-eslint --no-react-compiler --no-tailwind --no-src-dir --app --yes

Info

Flags are used to skip prompts during project configuration. The setup uses JavaScript, skips ESLint configuration, disables React Compiler, excludes Tailwind CSS, omits the src/ directory, enables App Router, and accepts other defaults. Select different options if preferred.

1. Navigate to your new Next.js project directory and install dependencies:

Shell

cd webviewer-nextjs
npm install

2. Install WebViewer

Next, install the Apryse WebViewer SDK using npm. This command adds the WebViewer package to your project, allowing you to integrate the PDF viewer and editor into your Next.js application.

After navigating to your webviewer-nextjs project directory, run the following command to install WebViewer:

Shell

npm i @pdftron/webviewer

3. Copy WebViewer assets

WebViewer needs access to its static assets at runtime, including WebAssembly modules, HTML, and CSS files. In a Next.js project, you must copy these assets into the public directory so they can be served correctly. For more, see Copying WebViewer static assets.

1. From your project root, create the public/lib/webviewer directory if it doesn't already exist:

Shell

npx --yes shx mkdir -p public/lib/webviewer

1. Copy all WebViewer static assets from node_modules/@pdftron/webviewer/public into the new public/lib/webviewer directory:

Shell

npx --yes cpy-cli "node_modules/@pdftron/webviewer/public/**/*" public/lib/webviewer

Your project should now include a similar structure:

webviewer-nextjs/
├── .next/
├── app/
├── node_modules/
├── public/
│   ├── file.svg
│   └── lib/
│       └── webviewer/
│           ├── core/
│           └── ui/
└── ...

Info

The path option used when initializing WebViewer must point to this directory (for example, /lib/webviewer). If the path is incorrect, WebViewer will fail to load.

4. Create the PDF viewer

In this section, you'll add WebViewer to your Next.js app by creating a component and initializing the viewer. This mounts the WebViewer UI and loads a document in your application.

1. Create a components folder in your project's root:

Shell

npx --yes mkdirp components

1. Create a webviewer.js file in the components folder:

Shell

npx --yes shx touch components/webviewer.js

1. In Visual Studio Code, add this code to the webviewer.js file and save:

// Runs only on the client
'use client';

// Import React hooks
import { useEffect, useRef } from 'react';

export default function WebViewer() {
  // Create a ref to hold div where WebViewer is mounted
  const viewer = useRef(null);

  // Run once after the component is mounted
  useEffect(() => {
    // Dynamically import WebViewer to avoid SSR issues
    import('@pdftron/webviewer').then((module) => {
      // Access the default export from the module
      const WebViewer = module.default;

      // Initialize WebViewer
      WebViewer(
        { 
          // Path to the WebViewer lib assets
          path: '/lib/webviewer',
          // Replace with your Apryse license key
          licenseKey: 'YOUR_LICENSE_KEY',
          // Initial document to load into the viewer
          initialDoc: 'https://apryse.s3.amazonaws.com/public/files/samples/WebviewerDemoDoc.pdf',
        },
        // DOM element where WebViewer will be rendered
        viewer.current,
      ).then((instance) => {
        // Destructure the documentViewer from the Core API
        const { documentViewer } = instance.Core;

      // WebViewer APIs can now be used here
      // Example: documentViewer.addEventListener(...)
      });
    });

  // Empty dependency array ensures this runs once
  }, []);

  // Render the container that WebViewer mounts into
  return (
    <div
      className='webviewer'
      ref={viewer}
      style={{ width: '100%', height: '100vh', margin: '0 auto' }}
    />
  );
}

Info

If you're signed in with an Apryse account, your license key is automatically prepopulated in all code snippets.

1. Replace the contents of the app/page.js file with the following and save:

JavaScript

app/page.js

import WebViewer from '../components/webviewer';

export default function Page() {
  return (
    <div>
      <WebViewer />
    </div>
  );
}

5. Verify your output

You can now load and display a PDF document in the WebViewer UI. Run your Next.js application to launch WebViewer and see the PDF in your browser.

1. From your project directory, run the following command to start the application:

Shell

npm run dev

A successful output looks similar to:

Shell

> webviewer-nextjs@0.1.0 dev
> next dev

▲ Next.js 16.2.7 (Turbopack)
- Local:         http://localhost:3000
✓ Ready in 413ms

1. Open the localhost URL from your terminal to view the WebViewer UI and PDF document.

Info

You may see a React hydration warning in the console when running the app locally. This is often caused by browser extensions modifying the page before React loads, not by your code. This warning is safe to ignore and doesn't affect WebViewer or PDF rendering. It will not appear in production.

You can suppress hydration warnings during development by overriding console.error — but we don’t recommend this unless you're absolutely sure hydration warnings are harmless.

Get started video

In this 4-minute video, learn how to install and integrate the Apryse WebViewer SDK into a Next.js project using TypeScript. You’ll set up the PDF viewer, enable content editing, and explore the DOCX and Spreadsheet Editors.

Integrate WebViewer in a Next.js project with PDF editing, DOCX Editor, and Spreadsheet Editor.

Troubleshooting

This section helps you resolve specific build errors when integrating WebViewer into a Next.js application.

The viewer renders as an empty box

If the page loads but the viewer area stays empty with no visible error, WebViewer can't load its static assets. Check the browser console for an error such as:

Failed to load WebViewer Core script from <URL>

The path option doesn't point to your local copy of the WebViewer assets. Set it to the directory you created in the Copy WebViewer assets section (for this guide, it is the /lib/webviewer) directory). Don't point it at an external CDN or the npm package path.

Build fails with a Server Component error

If the build fails with an error such as:

You're importing a module that depends on `useRef` into a React Server Component module.
This API is only available in Client Components.
To fix, mark the file (or its parent) with the `"use client"` directive.

WebViewer must run in a Client Component because it relies on browser APIs. Add the 'use client' directive as the first line of the file that initializes WebViewer, as shown in the webviewer.js file example in the Create the PDF viewer section.

Build fails with an ssr: false error

If the build fails with an error such as:

`ssr: false` is not allowed with `next/dynamic` in Server Components. Please move it into a Client Component.

The WebViewer import was moved into app/page.js using next/dynamic. Instead, load WebViewer with the native import('@pdftron/webviewer') call inside the useEffect hook in webviewer.js, as shown in the Create the PDF viewer section. The useEffect hook runs only in the browser, so no ssr: false workaround is needed.

Next steps

UsageGuidesSamplesAPI docs