Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsIf wkhtmltopdf substitutes a web font or omits characters, first check the machine and process that actually create the PDF. The cause is usually one of four things: the installed fonts lack the needed glyphs, Fontconfig cannot see its configuration or font files, a CSS font asset cannot be reached, or the deployed wkhtmltopdf binary behaves differently from your local one. UTF-8 settings can fix text decoding, but they cannot install a font or add missing glyphs.
Diagnose the failure before changing fonts
Start with the production runtime, not only the HTML or your desktop browser. Record the exact wkhtmltopdf version, operating system and version, architecture, installation package or binary, and how the process is launched. Note whether the output fails for every font or only one family or writing system.
Create a small HTML reproducer containing the affected text, its font-family, and any relevant @font-face rule. Generate the PDF using the same account, container, service, or serverless function used in production. The wkhtmltopdf project issue tracker asks for the version, OS and version, and a detailed test case with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript when reporting problems.
Tell encoding problems from missing glyphs
Look closely at what the PDF shows. Question marks or garbled sequences can point to incorrect decoding; boxes or fallback characters often mean the selected font is unavailable or lacks the required glyphs. These are related but distinct problems.
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- For garbled text: check the HTML encoding and, if the content is served over HTTP, its response headers. The wkhtmltopdf settings reference describes
web.defaultEncodingas an encoding guess when content does not specify its encoding properly. - For boxes or missing characters: check whether a font installed in the renderer’s environment contains those specific characters, and whether the CSS family resolves to that font. A project issue about Chinese text records one user’s report that installing a Chinese font package resolved the problem; it is an example, not a package recommendation for every distribution or script: wkhtmltopdf issue tracker.
Setting a UTF-8 encoding does not add a missing typeface or glyph. If the text is decoded correctly but the glyph is absent from the chosen font, install or bundle a font with the required coverage and make it available to wkhtmltopdf.
Check Fontconfig and installed fonts on Linux
wkhtmltopdf relies on the system’s installed fonts and on Fontconfig and FreeType runtime configuration. On Linux, verify that the user running the converter can read both the font files and the relevant Fontconfig configuration. Do this inside the actual container or deployment environment; a font visible to an administrator’s interactive shell may not be visible to a service process.
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- Identify the font file or installed font family you expect the CSS to use. Confirm it is present in the runtime, rather than only on your workstation.
- Check that the wkhtmltopdf process can access the font directory and the Fontconfig configuration files. Confirm that any environment-specific paths and file permissions are correct.
- For a container or serverless bundle, package the required configuration and fonts along with the application, then point the process at the bundled configuration if needed.
- Regenerate the minimal test PDF under the same runtime identity and compare it with the original output.
The project documents FONTCONFIG_PATH=/opt/fonts in an Amazon Linux 2 AWS Lambda example with bundled font configuration. Treat that as an example for that deployment pattern, not a universal path or fix: wkhtmltopdf downloads and platform notes.
A historical CentOS 6.1 report using wkhtmltox 0.12.5 describes “Fontconfig error: Cannot load default config file” when invoked outside an interactive shell even though Fontconfig and font dependencies were installed. The report shows why launch context, environment variables, paths, and permissions are worth comparing; it does not establish one verified repair: wkhtmltopdf issue tracker.
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Verify that CSS web-font files can be loaded
When the problem involves @font-face, test the asset URL from the renderer’s point of view. A relative URL may resolve differently than expected; a remote font may be unreachable from a network-restricted container; and a local file may be blocked by wkhtmltopdf’s local-file access policy.
- Confirm the URL or path in the generated HTML and check that the PDF process can reach it.
- For a remote asset, check network access and whether the URL is valid from the deployed environment.
- For a local asset, check the documented
load.blockLocalFileAccesssetting and whether it is preventing access. Do not disable this protection broadly; first establish that local-file access is the cause, then choose the narrowest safe configuration.
The settings reference documents load.blockLocalFileAccess; issue reports describe different font-format experiences, but do not establish a universal format-conversion fix: wkhtmltopdf settings reference and wkhtmltopdf issue tracker. Some users report that changing or converting font formats helped, while others report poor rendering or larger outputs. Do not assume converting every web font to TTF, OTF, WOFF, or SVG will solve the problem.
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Account for operating system and build differences
A PDF rendered on Windows or macOS can differ from one generated by a Linux binary because the operating system, installed fonts, package, and runtime libraries can differ. Reproduce the issue with the exact binary and environment used for deployment before copying a workaround from another platform.
The wkhtmltopdf downloads page lists the 0.12.6 stable series and dates its release to June 11, 2020. It also explains that distribution builds vary and that installed fonts plus Fontconfig and FreeType remain runtime dependencies. Check the project’s current supported download list for your target, since availability can change: wkhtmltopdf downloads and platform notes. The project repository was archived on January 2, 2023, as noted on its issue pages; older reports are useful clues, not evidence of a current maintained-release fix: wkhtmltopdf issue tracker.
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Match the symptom to the next check
| Symptom | Check first | What the evidence tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Boxes or missing characters in one language | Whether an installed font contains the glyphs and whether CSS resolves to it | A Chinese-language issue reports a missing-font remedy; the right package depends on the script and distribution. Project issue tracker. |
| “Fontconfig error: Cannot load default config file” | Configuration path, process environment, permissions, and container bundle | A CentOS report documents the error but does not establish a general repair. Project issue tracker. |
| Works on one OS but not Linux | Exact build and package, installed fonts, and Fontconfig/FreeType runtime | Project materials describe distribution-specific behavior; issue reports are individual experiences. Downloads and platform notes. |
@font-face font is absent or substituted |
Font URL or path, local-file access setting, and renderer reachability | Reports vary by format and environment; no general conversion recipe is established. Settings reference. |
| Text is corrupted rather than replaced by boxes | HTML/HTTP encoding and web.defaultEncoding |
Encoding settings do not supply missing glyphs. Settings reference. |
Or skip the browser setup
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does setting wkhtmltopdf to UTF-8 fix missing fonts?
No. UTF-8 affects text decoding; the renderer still needs an installed font that contains the required glyphs.
Why does the PDF work locally but not in a container?
The container may use a different wkhtmltopdf build, font set, Fontconfig configuration, permissions, or network access. Compare the exact production runtime with your local environment.
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