Create a .zip file

Create .zip is an API that bundles several files (any type: PDFs, images, spreadsheets…) into a single .zip. Great for packaging a flow's output before emailing it from n8n, Make or Zapier, with no servers to maintain.

How it works

You send a list of files, each with its name and its content in base64, and get back a single .zip with all of them inside. Nothing is stored: it's generated on the fly.

Since it's several files at once, this tool only accepts a JSON body (there's no "paste the raw file" mode).

All you need

Your API key. Create it in your dashboard with "+ Create key". It's shown only once, so copy and save it.
In your automation platform, an "HTTP Request" step (n8n, Make, Zapier, Pipedream… all have one).
Each file converted to base64 before sending it.

How to use it in n8n (step by step)

In the HTTP Request node:

Method: POST
URL: https://api.cofferdock.com/create-zip
Send Headers: on → add two: x-api-key = your key, and Content-Type = application/json
Send Body: on → Body Content Type: JSON → { "files": [{ "name": "invoice.pdf", "content": "<base64>" }, { "name": "photo.jpg", "content": "<base64>" }] }
Under Options → Response → Response Format: choose File (the response is already the .zip)

If a file arrives as binary data from an earlier step, convert it to base64 with a Code node using {{'{{'}}$binary.data.toString('base64'){{'}}'}}, or with the Move Binary Data node.

In Make (HTTP → Make a request module): same method and URL, Body type: Raw, Content type: JSON, with the same files array.

Options (inside the JSON)

Option	Default	What it does
`files`	-	Required. Array of 1 to 50 files, each `{ "name": "...", "content": "<base64>" }`.
`output`	`binary`	Set to `json` to receive the .zip as base64 inside a JSON instead of the raw file.

API overview

Endpoint: POST https://api.cofferdock.com/create-zip
Auth: header x-api-key: YOUR_KEY.
Input: application/json ONLY: { "files": [{ "name", "content" }, ...] }, 1 to 50 files.
Output: by default the binary (application/zip) directly; with "output": "json" it returns JSON with the zip in base64.
Limits: the full JSON body (all base64 files together) is capped at 6 MB, meaning about 4 MB of real combined files. 30 requests/min per IP. 1 zip = 1 credit, no matter how many files it contains.

Options

Option	Default	Description
`files`	-	Required. Array of 1 to 50 `{ name, content }` objects. `name` can't be empty, start with `/`, or contain `..` as a path segment (400 otherwise).
`output`	`binary`	`binary` (raw .zip) or `json` (base64).

Examples

curl (base64-encode two files and build the zip):

B64_1=$(base64 -w0 invoice.pdf)
B64_2=$(base64 -w0 photo.jpg)
curl -X POST "https://api.cofferdock.com/create-zip" \
  -H "x-api-key: YOUR_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d "{\"files\":[{\"name\":\"invoice.pdf\",\"content\":\"$B64_1\"},{\"name\":\"photo.jpg\",\"content\":\"$B64_2\"}]}" \
  -o archive.zip

JavaScript (Node 18+):

const fs = require('fs');
const files = [
  { name: 'invoice.pdf', content: fs.readFileSync('invoice.pdf').toString('base64') },
  { name: 'photo.jpg', content: fs.readFileSync('photo.jpg').toString('base64') },
];
const r = await fetch('https://api.cofferdock.com/create-zip', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: { 'x-api-key': 'YOUR_KEY', 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
  body: JSON.stringify({ files }),
});
fs.writeFileSync('archive.zip', Buffer.from(await r.arrayBuffer()));

Python:

import base64, requests
def as_file(name, path):
    return {'name': name, 'content': base64.b64encode(open(path, 'rb').read()).decode()}

r = requests.post(
    'https://api.cofferdock.com/create-zip',
    headers={'x-api-key': 'YOUR_KEY', 'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
    json={'files': [as_file('invoice.pdf', 'invoice.pdf'), as_file('photo.jpg', 'photo.jpg')]},
)
open('archive.zip', 'wb').write(r.content)

Response with `output=json`

{ "success": true, "zip": "UEsDBBQAAAAIAA…", "mime_type": "application/zip",
    "meta": { "files_zipped": 2, "used": 12, "remaining": 488 } }

What you get back

By default, the .zip file itself, ready to save or send. With "output": "json" you get it as base64 inside a JSON object.