With Chrome or Chromium installed, the quickest way to convert a web page to PDF in Bash is chrome --headless --print-to-pdf=page.pdf https://example.com. It saves a PDF without opening a visible browser window. For modern, JavaScript-heavy pages, headless Chrome is a sensible starting point; WeasyPrint and wkhtmltopdf are alternatives when their styling or print-layout controls better fit your task.
Convert a URL to PDF with Chrome or Chromium
Run the command from Bash, replacing the URL and filename with your own:
chrome --headless --print-to-pdf=page.pdf https://example.comChrome’s headless printing command creates a PDF in the current working directory. If you omit the filename, its documented default output is output.pdf. The command-line documentation and options are described in Chrome’s headless Chrome documentation.
Some Linux distributions expose the browser as chromium or chromium-browser instead of chrome. Use the executable name installed on your system; the flags below are Chrome’s documented headless-printing options.
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Choose the output path
To save the file in another directory, give Chrome a path as the value of --print-to-pdf:
chrome --headless --print-to-pdf="$HOME/Downloads/page.pdf" https://example.comThe target directory must exist and be writable by the user running the command. If you provide a relative path, it is interpreted from the current working directory.
Remove the printed date, URL, and page number
Chrome adds print header and footer details by default. Suppress them with --no-pdf-header-footer:
chrome --headless --print-to-pdf=page.pdf --no-pdf-header-footer https://example.comThis removes the browser’s printed date/time, URL, and page number. Older Chrome installations may use the historical flag spelling --print-to-pdf-no-header; if the current flag is rejected, check the documentation for your installed version.
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Give slow pages time to render
For pages that need a short wait before capture, Chrome documents --timeout, with --timeout=5000 specifying a maximum capture wait of five seconds:
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chrome --headless --timeout=5000 --print-to-pdf=page.pdf https://example.comFor pages that rely on JavaScript timers, --virtual-time-budget advances those timers in virtual time. For example:
chrome --headless --virtual-time-budget=42000 --print-to-pdf=page.pdf https://example.comThese are timing controls, not guarantees that a page is ready. A site may still be waiting for network requests, authentication, an API response, or application-specific conditions. Inspect the PDF when completeness matters.
Choose a renderer for the page and output you need
| Renderer | Good fit | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome or Chromium | Pages that depend on modern browser behavior or client-side JavaScript. | Wait settings do not guarantee that every page has finished loading. Verify the generated PDF. Chrome documentation. |
| WeasyPrint | A direct HTML/CSS-to-PDF command-line workflow, including applying a stylesheet. | Some CSS properties may be unsupported, and its documentation warns about untrusted HTML or CSS. WeasyPrint documentation. |
| wkhtmltopdf | Workflows that need documented page-size, margin, orientation, print-media, header/footer, or JavaScript controls. | The documented manual is for version 0.12.6 with patched Qt. The project identifies 0.12.6 as its stable series, released June 11, 2020, and warns against processing untrusted HTML/JavaScript. Check your package’s build and behavior. Project site and downloads. |
Use WeasyPrint from Bash
WeasyPrint accepts a page URL and output path directly:
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weasyprint https://example.com page.pdfTo add an inline stylesheet from Bash, use process substitution:
weasyprint https://example.com page.pdf
-s <(echo 'body { font-family: serif !important }')This is useful when you want a stylesheet adjustment without creating a separate CSS file. WeasyPrint can report unsupported CSS properties on standard error, so review its output and inspect the PDF if layout fidelity matters. It is an HTML/CSS renderer, not a promise of pixel-identical output to Chrome. Its documentation also cautions that untrusted HTML or CSS can create security problems.
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Use wkhtmltopdf from Bash
The basic conversion is:
wkhtmltopdf https://example.com page.pdfThe upstream manual documents controls for paper size, margins, orientation, JavaScript enablement and delay, print-media selection, headers and footers, and multiple page objects. Consult the manual corresponding to your installed build before scripting around an option: the upstream manual is explicitly for wkhtmltopdf 0.12.6 with patched Qt, and distribution packages may differ.
wkhtmltopdf is a legacy choice rather than a default for every new workflow. Its official project page dates stable 0.12.6 to June 11, 2020, and warns not to process untrusted HTML or JavaScript because doing so can compromise the server. WeasyPrint likewise flags untrusted HTML/CSS as a security concern. For either tool, only process content you trust or isolate the conversion environment appropriately.
Automate conversion in a Bash script
A simple script can take a URL and destination as arguments. This example uses Chrome and fails early if the executable or arguments are missing:
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail
if [[ $# -ne 2 ]]; then
echo "Usage: $0 URL OUTPUT.pdf" >&2
exit 2
fi
url=$1
output=$2
if ! command -v chrome >/dev/null 2>&1; then
echo "Chrome executable 'chrome' was not found; adjust the script for your installed browser name." >&2
exit 127
fi
chrome --headless --no-pdf-header-footer --print-to-pdf="$output" "$url"
if [[ ! -s "$output" ]]; then
echo "PDF was not created or is empty: $output" >&2
exit 1
fi
echo "Saved PDF to: $output"Save it as save-page.sh, make it executable with chmod +x save-page.sh, then run ./save-page.sh https://example.com ./page.pdf. Quoting the URL and output path preserves spaces and shell metacharacters as single arguments. For batch work, add your own logging, retry policy, and per-page verification rather than assuming that a zero exit status means all dynamic content appeared.
Check the result before relying on it
A successful command tells you that the renderer ran; it does not prove that the specific site rendered all content, images, pagination, or logged-in state correctly. Open the PDF or inspect it with your normal PDF tools, especially when using automation. Check whether:
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- The expected text and images are present, including content loaded after initial page display.
- Page breaks, margins, orientation, and any headers or footers match the intended use.
- The page was accessible in the browser session used by the command. A command-line capture does not automatically inherit your interactive browser’s login state.
- The saved file is nonempty and was written to the intended path.
Troubleshoot common failures
“Command not found”
The executable is not on PATH under that name, or the software is not installed. Check which browser or renderer command your system provides, then substitute that name. The Chrome examples use chrome; some systems name the binary chromium or chromium-browser.
The PDF is blank or missing dynamic content
The page may render content asynchronously or depend on JavaScript timers or network responses. Try a documented Chrome timeout or virtual-time budget, then inspect the output. Neither flag guarantees application readiness; some pages require a site-specific readiness condition that the basic CLI command cannot infer.
The command rejects a PDF header flag
Flag support and spelling can vary with the installed Chrome version. Current documentation uses --no-pdf-header-footer; older installations may use --print-to-pdf-no-header. Check the documentation for the browser version you actually run.
WeasyPrint reports CSS warnings or the layout differs
WeasyPrint may not support every CSS property used by a site. Read standard error for unsupported-property warnings, simplify or override the stylesheet if appropriate, and verify the PDF. If the page relies on browser-specific rendering, use Chrome/Chromium instead.
wkhtmltopdf behaves differently from its manual
The upstream manual describes 0.12.6 with patched Qt, but your operating-system package may have different build characteristics. Check the package version and build, then validate the particular options and output on a representative page before using them in a production script.
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The output path fails or the file is empty
Confirm that the parent directory exists and is writable, quote paths containing spaces, and use an explicit output filename. Check the command’s error output and verify the resulting file rather than treating command completion alone as proof of a good capture.
Or skip the browser setup
If you need a hosted screenshot-to-PDF workflow rather than maintaining a local browser or renderer, ScreenshotNeo accepts a URL in one GET request and can return a PDF. Its API can accept and remove cookie/consent banners, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before the capture; those cleanup steps can each be turned off. Bot checks/CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits cost nothing, and responses identify the page verdict and billing status in headers. ScreenshotNeo also provides an MCP server with take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf tools for AI agents.
For a URL capture, the one-call example is:
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://example.com -o page.pdfSee the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for request options and response details. The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000. Sign up free for 1,000 screenshots a month with no card.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Bash command convert the entire page or just what is visible?
The output is a paginated PDF produced by the selected renderer; inspect it to confirm the content and page breaks you need.
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Only if the renderer’s browser session has the required authentication state. A command run in a shell does not automatically use your usual interactive browser session.
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