weasyprint

TLDR

Convert HTML to PDF

$ weasyprint [input.html] [output.pdf]

Convert from URL

$ weasyprint [https://example.com] [output.pdf]

Convert HTML to PNG

$ weasyprint [input.html] [output.png]

Specify stylesheet

$ weasyprint -s [style.css] [input.html] [output.pdf]

Set base URL for resources

$ weasyprint -u [https://example.com/] [input.html] [output.pdf]

Render at specific resolution

$ weasyprint -r [150] [input.html] [output.png]

Multiple stylesheets

$ weasyprint -s [base.css] -s [print.css] [input.html] [output.pdf]

SYNOPSIS

weasyprint [-s stylesheet] [-u baseurl] [-r resolution] [options] input output_

WeasyPrint renders HTML/CSS to PDF and PNG. It's designed for creating printable documents from web content, supporting CSS for paged media.
The tool processes HTML with full CSS support including modern features: flexbox, grid, CSS variables, and media queries. Print-specific CSS (page breaks, margins, headers/footers) works correctly.
CSS Paged Media enables sophisticated print layouts: multi-column, page numbers, running headers, cross-references, and footnotes. The @page rule controls page size and margins.
PDF output includes internal links, bookmarks from headings, and optional file attachments. PDF/A variants ensure archival quality for long-term storage.
Input can be files, URLs, or stdin. External stylesheets override or extend document styles. The base URL resolves relative resource paths.
Image optimization reduces file size without quality loss. Font embedding ensures consistent rendering regardless of system fonts.

PARAMETERS

-s, --stylesheet FILE

Add CSS stylesheet.

-u, --base-url URL

Base URL for relative resources.

-m, --media-type TYPE

Media type (default: print).

-r, --resolution DPI

Resolution for PNG output.

-a, --attachment FILE

Attach file to PDF.

-p, --presentational-hints

Follow HTML presentational hints.

--pdf-identifier ID

PDF document identifier.

--pdf-variant VARIANT

PDF variant: pdf/a-1b, pdf/a-2b, pdf/a-3b, pdf/ua-1.

--pdf-version VERSION

PDF version: 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 2.0.

--pdf-forms

Enable PDF forms.

--optimize-images

Losslessly optimize images.

--hinting

Enable font hinting.

-e, --encoding ENCODING

Input encoding.

-v, --verbose

Verbose output.

CAVEATS

Large documents may use significant memory. Some complex CSS may not render identically to browsers. JavaScript not supported - static HTML only. PDF form support is basic. Some font rendering differences from browsers.

HISTORY

WeasyPrint was created by Kozea (Simon Sapin and others) around 2011. It was designed as an alternative to wkhtmltopdf, using native Python libraries instead of a headless browser. The focus on CSS Paged Media makes it particularly suitable for document generation.