Ghostscript for AWS Lambda as a Layer

February 13, 2026 · View on GitHub

Getting Started

Click on Layers and choose "Add a layer", and "Provide a layer version ARN" and enter the following ARN.

For x86_64 (Intel/AMD) architectures:

arn:aws:lambda:<YOUR REGION>:764866452798:layer:ghostscript:<VERSION>

For ARM64 (Graviton2) architectures:

arn:aws:lambda:<YOUR REGION>:764866452798:layer:ghostscript-arm64:<VERSION>

Note: ARM64 provides better price-performance ratio for Lambda functions. Consider using ARM64 for new projects.

Works with the following AWS Lambda runtimes which run on Amazon Linux 2:

  • nodejs20.x, nodejs18.x, nodejs16.x
  • python3.12, python3.11, python3.10, python3.9, python3.8
  • java21, java17, java11
  • provided.al2, provided.al2023

Version Numbers

Ghostscriptx86_64 VERSIONARM64 VERSIONeu-west-3 x86_64eu-west-3 ARM64
v10.06.0181191
v10.04.017-18-
v10.02.015-16-
v10.0.013-14-
v9.56.112-13-
v9.55.09-10-
v9.52.08-9-
v9.50.06-7-
v9.20.01-1-

Where can I find the Ghostscript binary inside of Lambda after I attach the layer?

You can find it at /opt/bin/gs (/opt is where Lambda unpacks layers).

You can run /opt/bin/gs --version to make sure Ghostscript is up and running.

Update

  1. Change version numbers in the version.sh file (GHOSTSCRIPT_VERSION and GS_TAG)
  2. Run ./build.sh script which will produce ghostscript-x86_64.zip and ghostscript-arm64.zip files in the root of the project
  3. Update the version table in this README with the new layer version numbers
  4. Commit & Create a Pull Request
  5. After merging, a new layer version will be published by the CI automatically

License

MIT © Shelf