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First identify which stage failed: WeasyPrint fetches HTML resources such as stylesheets and images, while Playwright navigates a browser page before printing it. A resource timeout, a failed navigation, an HTTP error response, and a page that has not finished rendering are different problems—and need different fixes. This guide shows how to diagnose each one, make required failures visible, and wait for the content your PDF actually needs.
Identify the renderer and the failing stage
Start by recording the library and version, how the input is supplied (URL, file, or HTML string), the complete exception or warning, and the URL of any failing resource. Then distinguish among these cases:
- WeasyPrint resource fetch: the HTML is being rendered, but a linked stylesheet, image, or font cannot be fetched or takes too long.
- Playwright navigation: the browser cannot reach or finish navigating to the main document, or the navigation timeout expires.
- HTTP error response: the server responds with a status such as 404 or 500. In Playwright, that response alone does not make
page.goto()throw. - Page readiness or script issue: navigation finishes, but JavaScript-driven content has not appeared, or a page script throws an error.
Do not begin by raising every timeout. First determine whether the delay is in the main document, a secondary resource, or application rendering.
Fix WeasyPrint resource errors and timeouts
Give HTML strings a base URL
WeasyPrint accepts a URL, filename, file object, or in-memory HTML string. When rendering a string that refers to relative CSS, image, or font paths, provide a base URL so those references can be resolved. Without one, markup that works in a browser may produce a PDF with missing assets.
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from weasyprint import HTML
html = """
<!doctype html>
<html>
<head>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="styles/report.css">
</head>
<body>
<img src="images/chart.png" alt="Chart">
<h1>Monthly report</h1>
</body>
</html>
"""
HTML(string=html, base_url="https://example.com/reports/").write_pdf("report.pdf")Use the actual directory or URL that the relative paths are meant to resolve against. If your HTML comes from a local file tree, use the corresponding local base path rather than an unrelated website URL.
Understand the default timeout
WeasyPrint’s current First Steps documentation states that its default timeout is 10 seconds for HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP resources. This is a timeout for fetching those resources—not a universal deadline for all rendering work. It does not apply to other protocols such as file://. A slow stylesheet or image may therefore trigger a fetch warning even when the main HTML is reachable.
When investigating a timeout, note the specific resource URL and check reachability from the conversion process itself. Check redirects, authentication, TLS settings, network policy, and whether relative paths resolve as intended. The default HTTP client does not provide advanced features such as cookies or authentication; when the resource requires them, use a custom URL fetcher to supply the required request behavior.
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Make required and optional assets fail differently
WeasyPrint normally catches fetcher errors and emits warnings, allowing rendering to continue. That can be appropriate for an optional decorative image, but it may silently produce an incomplete PDF if a required stylesheet cannot load. A custom URL fetcher can raise FatalURLFetchingError for required resources so conversion stops rather than producing a misleading document. Keep optional assets nonfatal when the PDF remains useful without them.
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Handle Playwright navigation and readiness separately
Inspect navigation response and status
Playwright’s page.goto() waits for the load event by default. Its Python API documents a 30-second default navigation timeout, configurable on a page or browser context. But a 404 or 500 is still an HTTP response: it does not, by itself, cause page.goto() to throw. Capture the returned response and inspect its status so an error page is not accidentally saved as the intended PDF.
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from pathlib import Path
from playwright.sync_api import TimeoutError as PlaywrightTimeoutError
from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright
url = "https://example.com/report"
with sync_playwright() as p:
browser = p.chromium.launch()
page = browser.new_page()
page.set_default_navigation_timeout(30_000)
try:
response = page.goto(url, wait_until="load")
except PlaywrightTimeoutError as exc:
raise RuntimeError(f"Navigation timed out: {url}") from exc
if response is None:
raise RuntimeError(f"Navigation produced no main-resource response: {url}")
if response.status >= 400:
raise RuntimeError(f"Page returned HTTP {response.status}: {url}")
page.pdf(path="report.pdf", format="A4", print_background=True)
browser.close()The example uses Chromium and the synchronous Python API. A timeout, invalid URL, unreachable or nonresponsive server, and failed main resource are navigation problems. A later script exception or failed image request is a different event and should be diagnosed separately.
Wait for the content the PDF needs
A completed load event does not guarantee that a modern page has finished fetching data or populating its interface. Prefer an application-specific readiness signal or a required element over simply increasing the navigation timeout. For example, if a report is ready when its heading appears:
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page.locator("h1.report-title").wait_for(state="visible", timeout=15_000)
page.pdf(path="report.pdf", format="A4", print_background=True)Choose the selector and timeout to match the page you control. If the page exposes a more reliable signal—such as a completed report container—wait for that and, where useful, verify its text or content before printing.
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Playwright documents load, domcontentloaded, networkidle, and commit as navigation wait options. Its API documentation discourages treating networkidle as a readiness check; a page may keep connections open, or become quiet before the desired data is ready. Use a specific assertion or element check instead of assuming a generic event means the PDF is complete.
Log failures so the next run identifies the cause
Attach listeners before navigation to distinguish failed network requests from unhandled page exceptions. Playwright’s Python API exposes a weberror event for unhandled page errors, and its TimeoutError identifies an operation terminated by a timeout.
from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright
with sync_playwright() as p:
browser = p.chromium.launch()
page = browser.new_page()
page.on("requestfailed", lambda request: print(
"REQUEST FAILED:", request.url, request.failure
))
page.on("weberror", lambda error: print(
"PAGE ERROR:", error
))
page.on("response", lambda response: print(
"HTTP ERROR:", response.status, response.url
) if response.status >= 400 else None)
page.goto("https://example.com/report", wait_until="domcontentloaded")
page.locator("h1.report-title").wait_for(state="visible", timeout=15_000)
page.pdf(path="report.pdf", format="A4", print_background=True)
browser.close()Keep these categories distinct in logs. A failed image request may explain a missing chart without indicating navigation failure; a page exception may stop an application from populating content even though the main document loaded.
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Use this troubleshooting sequence
- Capture the facts: note library and installed version, input type, full warning or exception, and failing resource URL.
- Separate the failure stages: establish whether the main document, a subresource, or page JavaScript failed.
- Check access and URL resolution: verify scheme, base URL, reachability from the conversion environment, authentication, redirects, and response status.
- Apply the renderer-specific fix: for WeasyPrint, configure its fetch behavior and decide whether the failed asset is fatal; for Playwright, inspect navigation response and request/page error events.
- Wait for the actual document content: use an app-specific signal or required element before calling
page.pdf(). - Inspect the resulting PDF: check styles, images, fonts, and dynamic content. A completed API call does not prove that the intended page was rendered.
- Retry selectively: use bounded retries for transient network failures, not repeated retries for invalid URLs, deterministic HTTP errors, or script exceptions that need correction.
Protect the conversion service
Rendering untrusted HTML or CSS can create security problems, particularly when the renderer is allowed to fetch external URLs. WeasyPrint recommends limiting rendering time and memory, restricting external URL access, and sanitizing or truncating user-controlled content. For a server-side converter, enforce process and network controls rather than trusting URLs embedded in documents.
Or skip the browser setup
If you already have a page URL and want a PDF without managing a browser process, ScreenshotNeo offers a website screenshot API that can return a PDF. Its API uses one GET request; the parameter names used by other screenshot APIs also work. See the ScreenshotNeo documentation for request options.
import requests
r = requests.get(
"https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot",
params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://example.com/report"},
timeout=90,
)
open("report.pdf", "wb").write(r.content)ScreenshotNeo accepts cookie or consent banners like a visitor and removes 60-plus known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture; each of those steps can be turned off. Bot checks, blank pages, failed loads, timeouts, and cache hits are not billed, and response headers report the page verdict and billing status. An MCP server provides take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf tools for AI agents and MCP clients. The free plan includes 1,000 shots a month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 shots.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does Playwright treat an HTTP 404 as a navigation exception?
No. Check the response returned by `page.goto()` and inspect its status.
Is WeasyPrint’s 10-second timeout a limit on the whole PDF conversion?
No. The documented default applies to HTTP, HTTPS, and FTP resource fetching, not all rendering work.
Should I always wait for `networkidle` before printing?
No. Prefer an application-specific readiness signal or required element.
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