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To generate a full-height PDF in Ruby, render the page first and set the PDF page height from the rendered content instead of relying on normal pagination. The most direct hosted approach is PDFShift’s API: send a JSON request to https://api.pdfshift.io/v3/convert/pdf with format: "1280xauto", then write the binary response to a file. The auto height is calculated from the page content.
What “full-height PDF” means
A full-height PDF is a single PDF page whose height expands to contain the rendered HTML. It is not the same as a conventional multi-page PDF with page-break rules disabled. The result behaves like one continuous canvas: useful for invoices, dashboards, receipts, long web pages and archival captures where splitting content across sheets would be undesirable.
Single-page output has trade-offs. Very tall pages can be awkward to zoom, print or open in some viewers. If readers need paper output, selectable sections, predictable pagination or strong accessibility support, a normal multi-page document is often the better design.
Choose the height strategy first
| Approach | Height behavior | Best fit | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| PDFShift | 1280xauto calculates height from rendered content |
Ruby code that should produce a continuous page with minimal browser management | Rendering behavior depends on the service and the target page |
| Pdfcrowd | setPageHeight("-1") expands the page vertically |
Ruby clients that want an explicit unbounded-height setting | Pdfcrowd documents 200 inches as a safe maximum for other custom heights because larger pages may fail in some viewers |
| Browserless | Calculate height in the /function API |
Pages requiring custom browser-side measurement | The ordinary /pdf endpoint creates paginated output, not one continuous page |
| Playwright Ruby | Caller measures content and passes a height to Chromium’s page.pdf |
Teams operating their own browser runtime | The API exposes width, height, margins, paper formats, ranges and output paths, but does not promise automatic content-height sizing |
| PDFKit/wkhtmltopdf | Uses wkhtmltopdf page-size options | Existing WebKit-based Ruby deployments | The cited project does not establish an automatic single-page content-height mode |
| Prawn | You define the document layout in Ruby | Programmatic PDFs that do not originate as HTML | It is not an HTML browser renderer |
Generate a full-height PDF with PDFShift
Prerequisites
- Ruby with the standard
net/http,uriandjsonlibraries. - A PDFShift API key stored outside source control.
- A public URL or HTML input that the service can render.
- Writable storage for the binary PDF response.
Ruby example for a URL
The following program posts JSON, requests a 1,280-unit page width with automatic height, checks the HTTP status and writes the response in binary mode.
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require "net/http"
require "uri"
require "json"
endpoint = URI("https://api.pdfshift.io/v3/convert/pdf")
request = Net::HTTP::Post.new(endpoint)
request["Content-Type"] = "application/json"
request.basic_auth("YOUR_PDFSHIFT_API_KEY", "")
request.body = JSON.generate(
source: "https://example.com/report",
format: "1280xauto"
)
http = Net::HTTP.new(endpoint.host, endpoint.port)
http.use_ssl = endpoint.scheme == "https"
http.open_timeout = 15
http.read_timeout = 120
response = http.request(request)
unless response.is_a?(Net::HTTPSuccess)
warn "PDF conversion failed (#{response.code}): #{response.body}"
exit 1
end
File.binwrite("output.pdf", response.body)
puts "Wrote output.pdf (#{response.body.bytesize} bytes)"Replace the URL with the page you need to render. Keep the API key in an environment variable in production; the literal placeholder above is only for showing the request shape. The response body is PDF bytes, so File.binwrite (or an equivalent binary write mode) is required.
Rendering HTML instead of a public URL
If your provider account and API version accept HTML input, send the HTML string in the request field documented by that provider rather than a URL. Keep format: "1280xauto" unchanged. Inline or otherwise make available every stylesheet, font and image the renderer needs; a private asset URL that the service cannot reach will produce an incomplete page.
Controlling width
The width in 1280xauto is part of the rendered layout. A wider page can reduce vertical length by allowing more content per line, while a narrower width usually increases height. Pick a width that matches the intended viewport and test responsive breakpoints. Do not assume CSS pixels, PDF points and physical inches are interchangeable without checking the provider’s dimension rules.
Pdfcrowd: explicit unlimited page height
Pdfcrowd’s Ruby API documents setPageHeight("-1") for a single page that expands vertically to fit all content. This is useful when you want the height behavior to be visible in application code instead of inferred from a format string.
# Illustrative Pdfcrowd Ruby flow
converter = Pdfcrowd::HtmlToPdfClient.new("USERNAME", "API_TOKEN")
converter.setPageHeight("-1")
converter.convertUrlToFile("https://example.com/report", "output.pdf")Use the exact constructor and conversion method from the version of the Pdfcrowd Ruby client you install. Pdfcrowd also cautions that 200 inches is a safe maximum for other custom heights because some viewers may not handle larger pages reliably. The negative-height mode and a very large explicit height are therefore different choices.
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Browserless and Playwright: measure, then pass the height
Why Browserless /pdf is not enough
Browserless documents that its REST /pdf endpoint produces paginated PDFs. For one continuous page, use its /function API to run browser code that measures the rendered document and then supplies a calculated height. This adds control, but also makes your implementation responsible for waiting until fonts, images and lazy content are ready.
Playwright Ruby measurement pattern
With Playwright Ruby, load the page, wait for the content you depend on, measure the document, and pass the result to page.pdf. The exact launch and page setup depend on the Playwright Ruby release you use; the core operation looks like this:
page.goto("https://example.com/report", wait_until: "networkidle")
page.wait_for_selector("#report-ready")
content_height = page.evaluate(<<~JS)
() => Math.max(
document.body.scrollHeight,
document.documentElement.scrollHeight,
document.body.offsetHeight,
document.documentElement.offsetHeight
)
JS
page.pdf(
path: "output.pdf",
width: "1280px",
height: "#{content_height}px",
margin: { top: "0", right: "0", bottom: "0", left: "0" },
print_background: true
)Measure after lazy images have loaded. If content can expand after the measurement, the bottom of the PDF will be clipped; wait for a stable application marker or explicitly await image completion before measuring.
Options that affect the final height
Wait conditions
- Selector: wait for the report container or a ready marker.
- Delay: useful for animations or late client-side rendering, but less deterministic than a marker.
- Network idle: helps pages whose data arrives through requests, though analytics and live connections can prevent an idle state.
Lazy-loaded content
Scroll-triggered images may not exist when the first height is measured. Force the page to reveal lazy sections, wait for image completion, then measure. A service that supports full-page capture with lazy images loaded can simplify this step, but you should still verify the output for pages with custom loaders.
CSS and print behavior
Print styles can change display, colors and dimensions. Enable print backgrounds when the design requires them, remove default margins if the page itself owns spacing, and inspect @media print rules. Fixed-position headers, sticky elements and CSS transforms can overlap or inflate measurements.
Fonts and external assets
Web fonts that have not finished loading can change line wrapping and therefore total height. Wait for document.fonts.ready where your browser stack supports it. Ensure authenticated images, CSS and fonts are reachable with the headers or cookies supplied to the renderer.
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Ruby API reliability and cost considerations
- Set separate connect and read timeouts. Rendering a large page can legitimately take longer than a normal API call.
- Check status codes and content type before saving. An HTML error document saved as
.pdfis a common debugging trap. - Write to a temporary file, validate it, then atomically rename it when generating downloads in a web app.
- Use idempotency or your provider’s job mechanism when retrying expensive conversions, so a network timeout does not create duplicate work.
- Record the target URL, rendering options and provider request identifier, but never log API keys or sensitive page contents.
- For very tall output, test the PDF in the viewers your users actually have. A technically valid file can still be difficult to render or print.
Troubleshooting full-height output
The PDF is still split across pages
You used a paginated endpoint or a normal paper format. Switch to PDFShift’s 1280xauto, Pdfcrowd’s setPageHeight("-1"), or a measured height passed to Playwright/Browserless /function.
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Measurement happened before lazy content, fonts or asynchronous data finished. Wait for a deterministic ready selector, load images, await fonts and measure again.
The output is blank or contains an error page
Check authentication, redirects, TLS access and the response status. Confirm that the renderer can reach private assets and that you are saving the binary response rather than parsing it as text.
Images or backgrounds disappear
Verify absolute asset URLs, enable print backgrounds where supported, and provide the required cookies or authorization headers. Browser-rendered services may also differ in how they apply print CSS.
A huge page will not open in a viewer
Reduce the width or content, use a supported maximum height, or choose a paginated PDF. Pdfcrowd’s documentation identifies 200 inches as a safe maximum for other custom heights; it is not a guarantee that every viewer accepts arbitrary dimensions.
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Ruby times out
Increase the read timeout only after checking the page itself. Long-running scripts, never-ending network connections, blocked resources and bot checks can all prevent completion. Add a bounded wait condition and capture provider diagnostics when available.
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Ruby alternatives when HTML is not the source
HTML2PDFAPI
HTML2PDFAPI documents Ruby Net::HTTP and Rails/HTTParty requests, accepts HTML or a URL, and exposes options such as page format, landscape and print backgrounds. Its cited documentation does not state a dedicated automatic-height flag, so confirm the page-size behavior before choosing it for a single continuous page.
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DocRaptor
The Ruby client accepts document content or a URL and returns a generated PDF. The cited client documentation does not specify a full-height setting; treat continuous-page sizing as an implementation detail to verify with the provider.
Prawn
Use Prawn when you are constructing the PDF directly with Ruby objects and coordinates. It avoids browser rendering entirely, but you must implement layout, wrapping, pagination or custom page sizing yourself.
Recommended decision
- Choose PDFShift when you want the shortest documented Ruby path: post JSON with
1280xautoand save the binary response. - Choose Pdfcrowd when an explicit
setPageHeight("-1")control fits your client design. - Choose Browserless
/functionor Playwright when you need browser-side measurement and can own waits, asset loading and height calculation. - Choose pagination instead when the PDF must print cleanly, remain easy to navigate or work across conservative viewers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a full-height PDF have a fixed width?
Yes. Set a fixed width such as PDFShift’s 1,280-unit width and let the height expand from the rendered content.
Does disabling CSS page breaks create one long page?
No. Page-break rules affect pagination; they do not automatically change the PDF’s physical page height.
Should I use an enormous fixed height instead of auto sizing?
Usually no. A measured or provider-supported automatic height avoids excess blank space and reduces viewer-compatibility problems.
Is Prawn suitable for converting an existing webpage?
Not directly. Prawn is for constructing PDFs programmatically; use an HTML-capable renderer when the source is a webpage.
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