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To save a rendered web page as a PDF with one curl command, send the page URL to a browser-rendering API and save its PDF response. curl makes the HTTP request; the remote browser does the rendering. For a local alternative, Chrome Headless can create the PDF directly from the command line.
Use a rendering API for a one-command curl conversion
Cloudflare’s Browser Run PDF endpoint accepts a URL in a JSON POST request and returns a PDF response. Its documented command is:
curl -X POST 'https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/accounts/<accountId>/browser-run/pdf'
-H 'Authorization: Bearer <apiToken>'
-H 'Content-Type: application/json'
-d '{"url":"https://example.com/"}'
--output output.pdfReplace <accountId> and <apiToken> with your Cloudflare account ID and API token. The token needs the Browser Rendering - Edit permission. The command writes the endpoint’s response to output.pdf in the current directory. Cloudflare also accepts an html field instead of a URL; its documented request-body limit is 50 MB, a limit for this endpoint rather than for PDFs generally. See Cloudflare’s Browser Run documentation for current endpoint and account requirements.
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Why raw curl cannot print a web page
A command such as curl 'https://example.com/' > page.pdf saves the HTTP response body; it does not ask a browser to lay out the page and print it. The result is generally HTML, not a browser-rendered PDF. Chrome’s documentation distinguishes retrieving HTML with curl from parsing a page, running its scripts, and rendering it for print. The hosted API above works because it supplies the browser-rendering step that curl itself does not provide. See Chrome’s Headless documentation.
Choose between a hosted API and local rendering
| Method | Where rendering happens | Command or request | Relevant considerations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cloudflare Browser Run | Hosted browser | Authenticated POST with a URL or HTML body; save the response with --output |
Requires an account and a token with the documented permission. Offers controls for page format, margins, backgrounds, viewport, headers and footers, resource blocking, and page-load waits. Request bodies are limited to 50 MB. |
| Chrome Headless | Your machine | chrome --headless --print-to-pdf https://example.com/ |
Requires Chrome available locally. Output is saved as output.pdf in the current working directory. Flags include controls for print headers and footers and capture timing. |
| wkhtmltopdf | Your machine | wkhtmltopdf http://example.com/ output.pdf |
A separate command-line tool using Qt WebKit. Its manual documents options for JavaScript, cookies, custom headers, print media, and local-file access. |
For Chrome, --no-pdf-header-footer omits the print header and footer. --timeout=5000 caps the capture wait at five seconds, while --virtual-time-budget can advance time-dependent page code during capture. Check the flags supported by your installed Chrome version; compatibility varies, and the no-header option replaced an older spelling. Details are in the Chrome Headless documentation.
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The wkhtmltopdf project describes the tool as an open-source command-line converter under LGPLv3. Its project site and 0.12.6 manual describe its options. These tools use different rendering engines and controls; the cited documentation does not establish that one produces universally more faithful PDFs.
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Handle pages that render after the initial load
A URL-only request may capture a page before its JavaScript has finished filling in content. This is common with single-page applications and other dynamic pages: a browser can consider navigation complete while scripts are still working. Cloudflare recommends configuring the browser’s navigation wait condition, such as networkidle0 or networkidle2, or waiting for a specific selector when the required content is known. Its endpoint supports page-load controls; consult the Browser Run documentation for the request syntax.
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When using Chrome locally, the --timeout and --virtual-time-budget options can affect capture timing. A longer wait can help, but it cannot guarantee that a site will finish rendering or allow access.
Check access, formatting, and failures
- Authentication: A page that requires a login may not be available to a remote rendering service. Do not assume your local browser’s signed-in session is shared with it. The Cloudflare endpoint supports request controls such as headers, but whether a particular site permits access depends on that site and the service configuration.
- Bot protection: Cloudflare says Browser Run requests are identifiable as bot traffic; setting a
userAgentdoes not bypass bot protection. A protected site can refuse or limit capture. - Incomplete output: If expected content is missing, configure an appropriate wait condition or wait for a known selector. Check the resulting PDF rather than assuming that a successful HTTP request means the page finished rendering.
- Print layout: Page size, margins, landscape orientation, scale, backgrounds, and headers or footers can change the result. Cloudflare documents controls for these settings. In Chrome,
--no-pdf-header-footerremoves its print header and footer. - API errors: A hosted request can fail because of invalid credentials, an unsupported or malformed request, service limits, or destination-site restrictions. Check the provider’s response and current documentation; a curl command is only the request client.
Another provider documents this GET-style example, which redirects the returned PDF bytes into a file:
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curl 'https://service.headless-render-api.com/pdf/https://example.com/' > out.pdfThat provider recommends sending an API token to avoid rate limiting and documents possible 429 responses in token or billing scenarios. It is one vendor’s endpoint, not a general curl URL format or a guarantee of free access. See its PDF API documentation for its options and error conditions.
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