@browserless/pdf

> @browserless/pdf: Sensible good defaults for exporting a website as PDF.

See the pdf section on our website for more information.

Install

Using npm:

``sh
npm install @browserless/pdf --save
`

About

This package provides PDF generation from web pages with sensible defaults and smart content detection. It wraps Puppeteer's page.pdf() with optimized settings and a retry mechanism to ensure the page is fully rendered before generating the PDF.

$3

The @browserless/pdf package allows you to:

- Generate PDFs from any URL with production-ready defaults
- Auto-detect content rendering using white screenshot detection
- Customize margins with a simple string or per-side configuration
- Scale content to fit pages optimally
- Use all Puppeteer PDF options for advanced customization

$3

`js
const createPdf = require('@browserless/pdf')
const createGoto = require('@browserless/goto')

const goto = createGoto({ timeout: 30000 })
const pdf = createPdf({ goto })

// With browserless
const browserless = await browser.createContext()
const pdfBuffer = await browserless.pdf('https://example.com')

// Or directly with a page
const page = await browser.newPage()
const pdfFn = pdf(page)
const pdfBuffer = await pdfFn('https://example.com')
`

$3

The package applies these optimized defaults:

| Option | Default | Description |
|--------|---------|-------------|
| margin | '0.35cm' | Page margins (applied to all sides) |
| scale | 0.65 | Content scale factor for optimal fit |
| printBackground | true | Include background colors/images |
| waitUntil | 'auto' | Smart waiting with content detection |

$3

| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|--------|------|---------|-------------|
| margin | string \| object | '0.35cm' | Page margins |
| scale | number | 0.65 | Scale of the webpage rendering (0.1 - 2) |
| printBackground | boolean | true | Print background graphics |
| waitUntil | string | 'auto' | When to consider navigation done |
| format | string | 'Letter' | Paper format (A4, Letter, etc.) |
| landscape | boolean | false | Paper orientation |
| width | string \| number | — | Paper width (overrides format) |
| height | string \| number | — | Paper height (overrides format) |
| pageRanges | string | — | Paper ranges to print, e.g., '1-5, 8' |
| headerTemplate | string | — | HTML template for header |
| footerTemplate | string | — | HTML template for footer |
| displayHeaderFooter | boolean | false | Display header and footer |
| preferCSSPageSize | boolean | false | Give priority to CSS @page size |

All Puppeteer page.pdf() options are supported.

$3

Set margins as a single value (applied to all sides) or per-side:

`js
// Single value for all sides
await browserless.pdf(url, { margin: '1cm' })

// Per-side configuration
await browserless.pdf(url, {
margin: {
top: '2cm',
right: '1cm',
bottom: '2cm',
left: '1cm'
}
})
`

Supported units: px, in, cm, mm

$3

When waitUntil: 'auto' (the default), the package:

1. Navigates to the page
2. Takes a low-quality screenshot to check for white/blank content
3. If the page appears blank, retries until content is detected
4. Generates the PDF once content is confirmed

This ensures dynamic content (JavaScript-rendered pages) is fully loaded before PDF generation.

`js
// Use auto detection (default)
await browserless.pdf(url, { waitUntil: 'auto' })

// Or use standard Puppeteer wait conditions
await browserless.pdf(url, { waitUntil: 'networkidle0' })
await browserless.pdf(url, { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' })
`

$3

#### Basic PDF generation

`js
const pdfBuffer = await browserless.pdf('https://example.com')
await fs.writeFile('output.pdf', pdfBuffer)
`

#### A4 format with custom margins

`js
const pdfBuffer = await browserless.pdf('https://example.com', {
format: 'A4',
margin: '2cm',
scale: 0.8
})
`

#### Landscape with header/footer

`js
const pdfBuffer = await browserless.pdf('https://example.com', {
landscape: true,
displayHeaderFooter: true,
headerTemplate: '

`js
const pdfBuffer = await browserless.pdf('https://example.com', {
pageRanges: '1-3, 5'
})
`

$3

This is a core functionality package for PDF generation:

| Consumer | Purpose |
|----------|---------|
| browserless (core) | Provides the .pdf() method |
| @browserless/cli | Powers the browserless pdf command |

$3

| Package | Purpose |
|---------|---------|
| @browserless/goto | Page navigation with ad blocking |
| @browserless/screenshot | White screen detection for content verification |
| @kikobeats/time-span | Timing measurements for retry logic |
| debug-logfmt | Structured debug logging |
| pretty-ms` | Human-readable time formatting |

License

@browserless/pdf © Microlink, released under the MIT License.

Authored and maintained by Microlink with help from contributors.

The logo has been designed by xinh studio.

> microlink.io · GitHub microlinkhq · X @microlinkhq