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Installation & Setup

Get Scryber.Core installed and configured in your .NET project in minutes.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this article, you’ll be able to:

  • Install Scryber.Core via NuGet
  • Configure your project for PDF generation
  • Verify your installation
  • Set up your IDE for optimal development

Prerequisites

  • .NET 6.0 or later (or .NET Framework 4.6.2+)
  • Visual Studio 2022, VS Code, or Rider
  • Basic C# knowledge

Installation Methods

Method 1: NuGet Package Manager (Visual Studio)

  1. Open your project in Visual Studio
  2. Right-click on your project in Solution Explorer
  3. Select Manage NuGet Packages
  4. Click the Browse tab
  5. Search for Scryber.Core
  6. Click Install

NuGet Package Manager

Method 2: Package Manager Console 

Install-Package Scryber.Core

Method 3: .NET CLI 

dotnet add package Scryber.Core

Method 4: Direct .csproj Edit 

<ItemGroup>
  <PackageReference Include="Scryber.Core" Version="6.*" />
</ItemGroup>

Then restore packages:

dotnet restore

Project Types Supported

Scryber.Core works with various .NET project types:

Project Type Supported Notes
ASP.NET Core ✅ Web applications, APIs
Console App ✅ Batch processing, CLI tools
Windows Forms ✅ Desktop applications
WPF ✅ Desktop applications
Azure Functions ✅ Serverless PDF generation
Blazor Server ✅ Interactive web apps
Blazor WebAssembly ⚠️ Limited (requires server-side generation)
.NET Framework 4.6.2+ ✅ Legacy applications

Verifying Installation

Create a simple test to verify Scryber is installed correctly:

using Scryber.Components;
using System.IO;

namespace ScryberTest
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            // Create a simple HTML document
            string html = @"
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>
<head>
    <title>Installation Test</title>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>Hello, Scryber!</h1>
    <p>If you can see this PDF, Scryber is installed correctly.</p>
</body>
</html>";

            // Parse and generate PDF
            using (var reader = new StringReader(html))
            {
                var doc = Document.ParseDocument(reader, ParseSourceType.DynamicContent);

                using (var stream = new FileStream("test.pdf", FileMode.Create))
                {
                    doc.SaveAsPDF(stream);
                }
            }

            Console.WriteLine("PDF generated successfully: test.pdf");
        }
    }
}

Run the program:

dotnet run

Expected output:

PDF generated successfully: test.pdf

Open test.pdf to verify it contains “Hello, Scryber!”

IDE Setup

Visual Studio

Recommended Extensions:

  • C# IntelliSense (built-in)
  • NuGet Package Manager (built-in)
  • HTML/CSS IntelliSense (built-in)

Project Configuration:

  1. Target Framework: .NET 6.0 or later recommended
  2. Language Version: C# 10.0 or later
  3. Nullable Reference Types: Optional but recommended

VS Code

Required Extensions:

  • C# Dev Kit (Microsoft)
  • HTML CSS Support
  • XML Tools (for XHTML templates)

Create .vscode/launch.json:

{
    "version": "0.2.0",
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": ".NET Core Launch (console)",
            "type": "coreclr",
            "request": "launch",
            "preLaunchTask": "build",
            "program": "${workspaceFolder}/bin/Debug/net6.0/YourProject.dll",
            "args": [],
            "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}",
            "stopAtEntry": false,
            "console": "internalConsole"
        }
    ]
}

Rider

Setup:

  1. Open your solution in Rider
  2. NuGet packages are managed automatically
  3. Rider provides excellent HTML/CSS support out of the box

Project Structure

Recommended folder structure for Scryber projects:

YourProject/
├── Program.cs              # Entry point
├── Templates/              # HTML/XHTML templates
│   ├── invoice.html
│   ├── report.html
│   └── letter.html
├── Styles/                 # External CSS files
│   ├── common.css
│   └── invoice.css
├── Images/                 # Static images
│   ├── logo.png
│   └── background.jpg
├── Fonts/                  # Custom fonts (optional)
│   └── CustomFont.ttf
└── Output/                 # Generated PDFs
    └── .gitkeep

Add to .gitignore:

# Scryber output
Output/*.pdf

# But keep the directory
!Output/.gitkeep

Configuration Options

appsettings.json (ASP.NET Core) 

{
  "Scryber": {
    "TemplateDirectory": "./Templates",
    "ImageDirectory": "./Images",
    "OutputDirectory": "./Output",
    "DefaultFontFamily": "Arial",
    "CacheTemplates": true
  }
}

Dependency Injection Setup (ASP.NET Core) 

using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;

public class Startup
{
    public void ConfigureServices(IServiceCollection services)
    {
        // Add Scryber services (if using ASP.NET Core)
        services.AddScryber();
    }
}

Common Installation Issues

Issue 1: NuGet Package Not Found

Problem: Cannot find Scryber.Core in NuGet

Solution:

  • Ensure NuGet package sources include nuget.org
  • Clear NuGet cache: dotnet nuget locals all --clear
  • Check internet connection

Issue 2: Version Conflicts

Problem: Dependency version conflicts

Solution:

<ItemGroup>
  <PackageReference Include="Scryber.Core" Version="6.*" />
  <!-- Explicitly specify conflicting dependencies if needed -->
</ItemGroup>

Issue 3: .NET Framework Compatibility

Problem: Cannot install on .NET Framework project

Solution:

  • Ensure project targets .NET Framework 4.6.2 or later
  • Update project file: ```xml
net472 

### Issue 4: File Access Permissions

**Problem:** Cannot write PDF files

**Solution:**
- Ensure output directory exists
- Check folder permissions
- Use absolute paths for testing:

```csharp
string outputPath = Path.Combine(
    Environment.GetFolderPath(Environment.SpecialFolder.Desktop),
    "test.pdf"
);

Performance Considerations

For High-Volume Scenarios 

// Use object pooling for better performance
public class PdfService
{
    private readonly ObjectPool<Document> _docPool;

    public PdfService()
    {
        _docPool = new DefaultObjectPool<Document>(
            new DocumentPooledObjectPolicy(),
            maxRetained: 10
        );
    }

    public byte[] GeneratePdf(string template, object data)
    {
        var doc = _docPool.Get();
        try
        {
            // Generate PDF
            using (var ms = new MemoryStream())
            {
                doc.SaveAsPDF(ms);
                return ms.ToArray();
            }
        }
        finally
        {
            _docPool.Return(doc);
        }
    }
}

Next Steps

Now that Scryber is installed and configured:

  1. Create Your First Document - Build a simple PDF from scratch
  2. HTML to PDF - Learn how HTML converts to PDF
  3. Troubleshooting - If you encounter issues

Additional Resources

Ready to create your first PDF? → Your First Document