multi-surface-render

Multi-Surface Rendering with json-render

Define once, render everywhere. A single json-render catalog and spec can produce React web UIs, PDF reports, HTML emails, Remotion demo videos, and OG images — each surface gets its own registry that maps catalog types to platform-native components.

Quick Reference

Category	Rules	Impact	When to Use
Target Selection	1	HIGH	Choosing which renderer for your use case
React Renderer	1	MEDIUM	Web apps, SPAs, dashboards
PDF & Email Renderer	1	HIGH	Reports, documents, notifications
Video & Image Renderer	1	MEDIUM	Demo videos, OG images, social cards
Registry Mapping	1	HIGH	Platform-specific component implementations

Total: 5 rules across 5 categories

How Multi-Surface Rendering Works

1. One catalog — Zod-typed component definitions shared across all surfaces
2. One spec — flat-tree JSON/YAML describing the UI structure
3. Many registries — each surface maps catalog types to its own component implementations
4. Many renderers — each package renders the spec using its registry

The catalog is the contract. The spec is the data. The registry is the platform-specific implementation.

Quick Start — Same Catalog, Different Renderers

Shared Catalog (used by all surfaces)

import { defineCatalog } from '@json-render/core'
import { z } from 'zod'

export const catalog = defineCatalog({
  Heading: {
    props: z.object({
      text: z.string(),
      level: z.enum(['h1', 'h2', 'h3']),
    }),
    children: false,
  },
  Paragraph: {
    props: z.object({ text: z.string() }),
    children: false,
  },
  StatCard: {
    props: z.object({
      label: z.string(),
      value: z.string(),
      trend: z.enum(['up', 'down', 'flat']).optional(),
    }),
    children: false,
  },
})

Render to Web (React)

import { Renderer } from '@json-render/react'
import { catalog } from './catalog'
import { webRegistry } from './registries/web'

export const Dashboard = ({ spec }) => (
  <Renderer spec={spec} catalog={catalog} registry={webRegistry} />
)

Render to PDF

import { renderToBuffer, renderToFile } from '@json-render/react-pdf'
import { catalog } from './catalog'
import { pdfRegistry } from './registries/pdf'

// Buffer for HTTP response
const buffer = await renderToBuffer(spec, { catalog, registry: pdfRegistry })

// Direct file output
await renderToFile(spec, './output/report.pdf', { catalog, registry: pdfRegistry })

Render to Email

import { renderToHtml } from '@json-render/react-email'
import { catalog } from './catalog'
import { emailRegistry } from './registries/email'

const html = await renderToHtml(spec, { catalog, registry: emailRegistry })
await sendEmail({ to: user.email, subject: 'Weekly Report', html })

Render to OG Image (Satori)

import { renderToSvg, renderToPng } from '@json-render/image'
import { catalog } from './catalog'
import { imageRegistry } from './registries/image'

const png = await renderToPng(spec, {
  catalog,
  registry: imageRegistry,
  width: 1200,
  height: 630,
})

Render to Video (Remotion)

import { JsonRenderComposition } from '@json-render/remotion'
import { catalog } from './catalog'
import { remotionRegistry } from './registries/remotion'

export const DemoVideo = () => (
  <JsonRenderComposition
    spec={spec}
    catalog={catalog}
    registry={remotionRegistry}
    fps={30}
    durationInFrames={150}
  />
)

Decision Matrix — When to Use Each Target

Target	Package	When to Use	Output
React	@json-render/react	Web apps, SPAs	JSX
Vue	@json-render/vue	Vue projects	Vue components
Svelte	@json-render/svelte	Svelte projects	Svelte components
React Native	@json-render/react-native	Mobile apps (25+ components)	Native views
PDF	@json-render/react-pdf	Reports, documents	PDF buffer/file
Email	@json-render/react-email	Notifications, digests	HTML string
Remotion	@json-render/remotion	Demo videos, marketing	MP4/WebM
Image	@json-render/image	OG images, social cards	SVG/PNG (Satori)
YAML	@json-render/yaml	Token optimization	YAML string
MCP	@json-render/mcp	Claude/Cursor conversations	Sandboxed iframe
3D	@json-render/react-three-fiber	3D scenes (19 components)	Three.js canvas
Codegen	@json-render/codegen	Source code from specs	TypeScript/JSX

Load rules/target-selection.md for detailed selection criteria and trade-offs.

PDF Renderer — Reports and Documents

The @json-render/react-pdf package renders specs to PDF using react-pdf under the hood. Three output modes: buffer, file, and stream.

import { renderToBuffer, renderToFile, renderToStream } from '@json-render/react-pdf'

// In-memory buffer (for HTTP responses, S3 upload)
const buffer = await renderToBuffer(spec, { catalog, registry: pdfRegistry })
res.setHeader('Content-Type', 'application/pdf')
res.send(buffer)

// Direct file write
await renderToFile(spec, './output/report.pdf', { catalog, registry: pdfRegistry })

// Streaming (for large documents)
const stream = await renderToStream(spec, { catalog, registry: pdfRegistry })
stream.pipe(res)

Load rules/pdf-email-renderer.md for PDF registry patterns and email rendering.

Image Renderer — OG Images and Social Cards

The @json-render/image package uses Satori to convert specs to SVG, then optionally to PNG. Designed for server-side generation of social media images.

import { renderToSvg, renderToPng } from '@json-render/image'

// SVG output (smaller, scalable)
const svg = await renderToSvg(spec, {
  catalog,
  registry: imageRegistry,
  width: 1200,
  height: 630,
})

// PNG output (universal compatibility)
const png = await renderToPng(spec, {
  catalog,
  registry: imageRegistry,
  width: 1200,
  height: 630,
})

Load rules/video-image-renderer.md for Satori constraints and Remotion composition patterns.

Registry Mapping — Same Catalog, Platform-Specific Components

Each surface needs its own registry. The registry maps catalog types to platform-specific component implementations while the catalog and spec stay identical.

// Web registry — uses HTML elements
const webRegistry = {
  Heading: ({ text, level }) => {
    const Tag = level // h1, h2, h3
    return <Tag className="font-bold">{text}</Tag>
  },
  StatCard: ({ label, value, trend }) => (
    <div className="rounded border p-4">
      <span className="text-sm text-gray-500">{label}</span>
      <strong className="text-2xl">{value}</strong>
    </div>
  ),
}

// PDF registry — uses react-pdf primitives
import { Text, View } from '@react-pdf/renderer'
const pdfRegistry = {
  Heading: ({ text, level }) => (
    <Text style={{ fontSize: level === 'h1' ? 24 : level === 'h2' ? 18 : 14 }}>
      {text}
    </Text>
  ),
  StatCard: ({ label, value }) => (
    <View style={{ border: '1pt solid #ccc', padding: 8 }}>
      <Text style={{ fontSize: 10, color: '#666' }}>{label}</Text>
      <Text style={{ fontSize: 18, fontWeight: 'bold' }}>{value}</Text>
    </View>
  ),
}

Load rules/registry-mapping.md for registry creation patterns and type safety.

Rule Details

Target Selection

Decision criteria for choosing the right renderer target.

Rule	File	Key Pattern
Target Selection	rules/target-selection.md	Use case mapping, output format constraints

React Renderer

Web rendering with the <Renderer> component.

Rule	File	Key Pattern
React Renderer	rules/react-renderer.md	<Renderer> component, streaming, error boundaries

PDF & Email Renderer

Server-side rendering to PDF buffers/files and HTML email strings.

Rule	File	Key Pattern
PDF & Email	rules/pdf-email-renderer.md	renderToBuffer, renderToFile, renderToHtml

Video & Image Renderer

Remotion compositions and Satori image generation.

Rule	File	Key Pattern
Video & Image	rules/video-image-renderer.md	JsonRenderComposition, renderToPng, renderToSvg

Registry Mapping

Creating platform-specific registries for a shared catalog.

Rule	File	Key Pattern
Registry Mapping	rules/registry-mapping.md	Per-platform registries, type-safe mapping

Key Decisions

Decision	Recommendation
PDF library	Use @json-render/react-pdf (react-pdf), not Puppeteer screenshots
Email rendering	Use @json-render/react-email (react-email), not MJML or custom HTML
OG images	Use @json-render/image (Satori), not Puppeteer or canvas
Video	Use @json-render/remotion (Remotion), not FFmpeg scripts
Registry per platform	Always separate registries; never one registry for all surfaces
Catalog sharing	One catalog definition shared via import across all registries

Common Mistakes

1. Building separate component trees for each surface — defeats the purpose; share the catalog and spec
2. Using Puppeteer to screenshot React for PDF generation — slow, fragile; use native react-pdf rendering
3. One giant registry covering all platforms — impossible since PDF uses <View>/<Text>, web uses <div>/<span>
4. Forgetting Satori limitations — no CSS grid, limited flexbox; design image registries with these constraints
5. Duplicating catalog definitions per surface — one catalog, many registries; the catalog is the contract

Related Skills

• ork:json-render-catalog — Catalog definition patterns with Zod, shadcn components
• ork:demo-producer — Video production pipeline using Remotion
• ork:presentation-builder — Slide deck generation
• ork:mcp-visual-output — Rendering specs in Claude/Cursor via MCP