aws-lambda-libreoffice

Utility to work with Docker version of LibreOffice in Lambda

Install

$ pnpm add @shelf/aws-lambda-libreoffice

Features

ESM Module Support: Native ESM package with full TypeScript support
Includes CJK and X11 fonts bundled in the base Docker image!
Relies on the latest LibreOffice 7.6 version which is not stripped down from features
Requires Node.js 22 or higher (x86_64)

Requirements

Lambda Docker Image

First, you need to create a Docker image for your Lambda function. See the example at libreoffice-lambda-base-image repo.

Example:

FROM public.ecr.aws/shelf/lambda-libreoffice-base:7.6-node20-x86_64

COPY ./ ${LAMBDA_TASK_ROOT}/

RUN pnpm install

CMD [ "handler.handler" ]

Lambda Configuration

At least 3008 MB of RAM is recommended
At least 45 seconds of Lambda timeout is necessary
For larger files support, you can extend Lambda's /tmp space using the ephemeral-storage parameter
Set environment variable HOME to /tmp

Usage (ESM)

This package is now a native ESM module. If you're using CommonJS, you'll need to use dynamic imports or update your project to use ESM.

ESM Usage (Recommended)

import {convertTo, canBeConvertedToPDF} from '@shelf/aws-lambda-libreoffice';

export const handler = async () => {
  // assuming there is a document.docx file inside /tmp dir
  // original file will be deleted afterwards

  // it is optional to invoke this function, you can skip it if you're sure about file format
  if (!canBeConvertedToPDF('document.docx')) {
    return false;
  }

  return convertTo('document.docx', 'pdf'); // returns /tmp/document.pdf
};

CommonJS Usage (via dynamic import)

module.exports.handler = async () => {
  const {convertTo, canBeConvertedToPDF} = await import('@shelf/aws-lambda-libreoffice');

  if (!canBeConvertedToPDF('document.docx')) {
    return false;
  }

  return convertTo('document.docx', 'pdf'); // returns /tmp/document.pdf
};

Troubleshooting

Please allocate at least 3008 MB of RAM for your Lambda function.
If some file fails to be converted to PDF, try converting it to PDF on your computer first. This might be an issue with LibreOffice itself
- If you want to include some fonts/plugins to the libreoffice, contribute to the libreoffice-lambda-base-image instead

Test

The repository now ships two Jest suites and a standalone Lambda harness.

Jest suites

pnpm test:unit (or pnpm test) – runs unit tests in tests/unit
pnpm test:integration – spins up the Lambda container through Jest; automatically skips if Podman or the base image is unavailable
pnpm test:e2e – alias for the current integration suite

Lambda harness

Use pnpm test:lambda to exercise the runtime end-to-end. The script bundles the handler, builds a disposable image on top of libreoffice-lambda-base:local, starts the Lambda runtime with Podman, invokes it once, and streams the conversion summary plus the temp output directory.

Requirements:

podman installed locally
A base image tagged libreoffice-lambda-base:local (override with LIBREOFFICE_LAMBDA_BASE_IMAGE)
pnpm build completed beforehand (generates lib/index.js consumed by the bundler)

Handy workflow:

pnpm build
pnpm test:lambda -- --cleanup

--cleanup deletes the generated fixture output once you are done inspecting it. Additional flags like --bundle, --fixtures, and --port are available for custom runs; see scripts/run-lambda-integration.mjs for the full list.

Publish

$ git checkout master
$ yarn version
$ yarn publish
$ git push origin master --tags

License

MIT © Shelf

v9.0.0

Highlights

Adopt LibreOffice 25.2 in the Lambda runtime (convertTo now shells out to libreoffice25.2) to stay aligned with the latest Shelf base image and benefit from upstream fixes.
Replace the bespoke shell harness with a Podman-backed Lambda workflow. Use pnpm test:integration and pnpm test:lambda to exercise conversions end to end.
Add reusable build scripts (scripts/build-lambda.mjs and helpers under scripts/utils/) to bundle the handler, manage containers, and surface conversion summaries.
Improve failure diagnostics: convertTo now preserves LibreOffice stderr/stdout in the thrown error cause for easier debugging.

Breaking changes

Requires a base image that provides the libreoffice25.2 binary (e.g. public.ecr.aws/shelf/lambda-libreoffice-base:25.2-node22-x86_64).
Removes the legacy test/ harness; Podman-backed tests are now the supported E2E workflow.

Testing

pnpm test:unit
pnpm test:integration
pnpm test:lambda -- --cleanup

v5.0.0

Requires LibreOffice 7.4, instead of 7.3 previously

Package detail

@shelf/aws-lambda-libreoffice

readme