Use Plotly’s static image exporter for a figure, and a real browser for a complete HTML page. In Python, install Kaleido 1.0.0 or newer, make Chrome or Chromium available, then call fig.write_image("figure.pdf"). For a dashboard or any full HTML document, load the page with Playwright and call page.pdf(), configuring print CSS, paper size, margins and page breaks. A PDF is static; keep an HTML export when readers need hover, zoom or legend interactions.
Choose the exporter that matches your input
| What you have | Use | Rendering engine | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Python Plotly figure object | fig.write_image("figure.pdf") or plotly.io.write_image |
Kaleido with Chrome/Chromium | A static PDF of the figure |
| A complete HTML page, report or dashboard | Playwright page.pdf() |
Chromium | A paginated PDF following print CSS |
| An interactive figure for browser readers | fig.write_html("figure.html") |
The reader’s browser | HTML retaining hover, pan, zoom and legend controls |
Do not use write_html as a PDF converter. It creates an interactive, browser-openable file; it does not produce a fixed document.
Export a Plotly figure to PDF in Python
1. Install Kaleido and a browser
Current Plotly documentation requires Kaleido 1.0.0 or newer. Kaleido version 1 expects Chrome or Chromium to be installed separately, rather than bundled with Kaleido.
python -m pip install --upgrade plotly kaleidoIf Chrome is not already available, use Plotly’s documented helper:
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plotly_get_chromeIn Python, the equivalent helper is plotly.io.get_chrome(). In locked-down CI images, install Chromium in the image and make sure the process can execute it before running the export.
2. Create and write the PDF
import plotly.express as px
fig = px.bar(
px.data.gapminder().query("country == 'Canada'"),
x="year",
y="pop",
title="Canada population"
)
fig.write_image("figure.pdf")The filename extension selects the format. PDF is one of Plotly’s supported static formats, alongside PNG, JPEG, WebP and SVG. To use the functional API instead of the figure method:
import plotly.io as pio
pio.write_image(fig, "figure.pdf")For a reproducible build, write to an explicit output directory, check that the resulting file exists and has a non-zero size, and retain the Plotly and Kaleido versions in your build metadata.
3. Keep an interactive companion when needed
fig.write_html("figure.html")The HTML file preserves hover labels, pan and zoom, and legend toggling. A PDF cannot preserve those interactions, so publishing both files is usually the clearest choice for an analytical report.
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Make the PDF genuinely vector where possible
Most ordinary Plotly traces render as vector content in a PDF. WebGL traces can put rasterized portions inside an otherwise vector document. Plotly Express may switch scatter-type figures to WebGL above 1,000 data points. If selectable, infinitely scalable marks are important, force SVG rendering where the trace supports it:
import plotly.express as px
fig = px.scatter(
df,
x="x",
y="y",
render_mode="svg"
)
fig.write_image("scatter.pdf")You can also build the trace explicitly with go.Scatter. This trades some WebGL performance for vector output. Inspect the exported PDF at high zoom; a rasterized layer is not necessarily an export failure, but it will not scale like paths and text.
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Convert a full HTML page or dashboard with Playwright
Use browser printing when the input is an entire document: a dashboard route, a server-rendered report, or HTML that combines Plotly charts with tables, logos and explanatory text. Playwright’s page.pdf() uses print CSS media by default.
Install Playwright and Chromium
npm install playwright
npx playwright install chromiumMinimal JavaScript exporter
const { chromium } = require('playwright');
(async () => {
const browser = await chromium.launch();
const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.goto('http://localhost:3000/report', {
waitUntil: 'networkidle'
});
await page.pdf({
path: 'report.pdf',
format: 'A4',
printBackground: true,
preferCSSPageSize: true
});
await browser.close();
})();For a public page, replace the example URL with the report URL. For a local dashboard, start its web server before this script. networkidle waits for network activity to settle, but it is not a guarantee that a chart’s asynchronous data or web fonts are ready; add an application-specific readiness check.
Wait for data, fonts and charts explicitly
await page.goto('http://localhost:3000/report', { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' });
await page.waitForSelector('[data-report-ready]');
await page.evaluate(() => document.fonts.ready);
await page.pdf({
path: 'report.pdf',
format: 'A4',
printBackground: true,
preferCSSPageSize: true
});Set data-report-ready in your application only after the Plotly figures have finished rendering and their data requests have completed. This avoids PDFs containing empty chart containers or fallback fonts.
Control screen versus print styling
Print CSS is normally the desired source for a document. If the screen layout is the one you want, switch media before printing:
await page.emulateMedia({ media: 'screen' });
await page.pdf({ path: 'screen-layout.pdf', printBackground: true });Define page dimensions and breaks in your stylesheet:
@page {
size: A4;
margin: 16mm 14mm 18mm;
}
@media print {
nav, .chat-widget, .no-print { display: none !important; }
.chart { break-inside: avoid; }
h2 { break-before: page; }
body { -webkit-print-color-adjust: exact; print-color-adjust: exact; }
}Use printBackground: true for colored panels and chart backgrounds. preferCSSPageSize: true lets the @page rule win over the API’s default paper size.
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Useful page.pdf() options
- Paper: choose
formatsuch as A4 or Letter, or provide explicitwidthandheight. - Margins: set top, right, bottom and left values to keep headers and charts clear of the edge.
- Orientation: use
landscape: truefor wide dashboards. - Page ranges: use
pageRangeswhen only selected pages belong in the deliverable. - Headers and footers: enable the display-header/footer option and provide templates when the document needs page numbers or a title.
- Scale: adjust scale cautiously; shrinking a dense dashboard can make labels unreadable.
Plotly PDF versus browser PDF: practical trade-offs
| Decision | Plotly/Kaleido | Playwright/Chromium |
|---|---|---|
| Input scope | One figure object | Entire HTML document or dashboard |
| Layout control | Figure dimensions and export scale | CSS, paper size, margins, headers, footers and page ranges |
| Interactivity | None in the PDF | None in the PDF; browser HTML remains interactive |
| Typical failure | Missing Chrome or a WebGL raster layer | Unfinished data, fonts, print CSS or page breaks |
Choose Kaleido when the deliverable is precisely a chart. Choose Playwright when surrounding HTML, responsive layout or multiple charts must be printed together.
Or skip the browser setup
ScreenshotNeo can render a URL to PNG, JPEG, WebP or PDF through one request. Its PDF options include paper size, margins, landscape mode and page ranges, while wait controls let you wait for a selector, a delay or network idle.
cURL
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot"
-d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY
--data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com
-o report.pdfSee the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for authentication and the complete parameter list. The same endpoint accepts custom CSS and JavaScript, clicks an element before capture, hides selectors, loads lazy images for full-page captures, blocks ads, trackers, requests or resource types, and accepts custom headers, cookies, user agents, Authorization, timezone and geolocation. You can also resize images, choose transparent backgrounds, cache with a TTL, create signed links for public image tags, submit asynchronous jobs with signed webhooks, capture up to 100 URLs per bulk call, query usage and use the OpenAPI specification. Parameter names used by other screenshot APIs are accepted to ease migration.
Python
import requests
r = requests.get(
"https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot",
params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://stripe.com"},
timeout=90,
)
r.raise_for_status()
open("report.pdf", "wb").write(r.content)Node.js
const q = new URLSearchParams({
access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY',
url: 'https://stripe.com'
});
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);
if (!res.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${res.status}`);
const fs = require('node:fs/promises');
await fs.writeFile('report.pdf', Buffer.from(await res.arrayBuffer()));Before capture, ScreenshotNeo accepts cookie and consent banners and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups and chat widgets; each cleanup step can be disabled. Bot checks or CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads and cache hits are not billed. Every response identifies the page verdict and billing status in X-Page-Verdict and X-Billed headers. Its MCP server exposes take_screenshot, get_page_info and capture_pdf to Claude, Cursor and other MCP clients.
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Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Troubleshooting checklist
“Chrome executable not found” from Kaleido
Kaleido v1 does not bundle Chrome. Install Chrome or Chromium in the machine or CI image, then run plotly_get_chrome (or call plotly.io.get_chrome()). Verify the browser is executable by the same user that runs Python.
The PDF contains a blank chart
For Kaleido, confirm the figure has data before calling write_image. For Playwright, wait for the application’s chart-ready selector, data requests and document.fonts.ready; a generic network-idle event can occur too early.
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Colors or navigation disappear
That is usually print CSS. Add explicit @media print rules, hide navigation intentionally, and set printBackground: true. If the screen design is required, call page.emulateMedia({ media: 'screen' }).
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Use landscape paper, explicit chart dimensions and sensible margins. Avoid compensating only with a very small global scale; split a dashboard into intentional sections or page breaks.
Text looks fuzzy in an otherwise sharp PDF
Inspect the trace type. WebGL can rasterize chart layers, and Plotly Express may select WebGL above 1,000 scatter points. Use render_mode="svg" or a go.Scatter trace when vector marks are required.
Authenticated or private HTML will not load
In Playwright, create a browser context with the required cookies or extra HTTP headers before calling page.goto. In an API workflow, pass the target page’s supported headers, cookies or Authorization values and ensure the URL is reachable from the rendering service.
Repeated captures are slow or expensive
Wait only for the readiness condition you need, block unnecessary resources and use caching where the content can tolerate a chosen TTL. For many URLs, ScreenshotNeo’s bulk endpoint accepts up to 100 URLs per call and asynchronous jobs can notify your system through signed webhooks.
Production and cost considerations
- Reproducibility: pin Plotly, Kaleido, Playwright and browser versions in CI, and keep print CSS with the report code.
- Reliability: give pages deterministic readiness markers instead of relying solely on time delays.
- Quality checks: verify PDF existence, file size, page count and representative chart text or dimensions in automated pipelines.
- Security: treat URLs, cookies and Authorization headers as secrets; avoid logging full query strings containing access keys.
- Delivery: provide the static PDF for printing and the HTML companion for exploration whenever interaction is part of the reader’s task.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I verify a PDF export in continuous integration?
After the export call, assert that the file exists and is non-empty, then inspect the page count and a representative rendered page or text extraction. Keep the browser and plotting-library versions fixed so layout changes are intentional.
Can a private dashboard be exported without making it public?
Yes. Load it in a browser context carrying the session cookies or request headers required by the application, or pass supported authentication headers and cookies to your rendering service. Keep those credentials out of logs and source control.
Quick Recap
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