> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://pdfbase.dev/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Compress a PDF

> Compression is available as a parameter on PDF creation and edit endpoints.

Compression is not a standalone endpoint. Instead, pass the `compress` parameter on any endpoint that produces a PDF:

* `POST /v1/pdfs` — `compress: "low" | "medium" | "high"`
* `POST /v1/pdfs/merge` — `compress: "low" | "medium" | "high"`
* `POST /v1/pdfs/watermark` — `compress: "low" | "medium" | "high"`
* `POST /v1/templates/:id/render` — `compress: "low" | "medium" | "high"`
* `POST /v1/convert/office` — `compress: "low" | "medium" | "high"`

See [Create a PDF](/docs/api-reference/pdfs/create) for compression level details:

* `low` — Lossless. Removes unused objects, optimizes streams.
* `medium` — Downsamples images to 150 DPI. Good balance.
* `high` — Downsamples images to 72 DPI, strips metadata. Maximum reduction.