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When images disappear from an HTML-generated PDF, first check the exact URL or file path the renderer is trying to load. The usual causes are a wrong base URL, inaccessible or protected assets, JavaScript or lazy loading that has not finished, and unsupported image or CSS features. Fix access and timing before changing the HTML; the browser on your laptop may be able to load an image that the PDF process cannot.
Start by finding the image URL the renderer actually uses
A successful PDF export does not prove that every image loaded. Many renderers keep producing the document after a resource request fails, so the result can have empty spaces while the rest of the page looks correct. Diagnose one missing image at a time, starting with the final resolved URL—not just the value written in the src attribute.
- Open the same HTML and image from the machine or container running PDF generation. A URL that works in your own browser may be inaccessible to a server, CI worker, or container.
- Log or inspect the resolved image URL and its response. Check the HTTP status, redirects, authentication, MIME type, and capitalization of every path segment; paths can be case-sensitive on the server even if development was not.
- Compare the renderer’s warnings with the PDF. If the log names a missing or denied resource, fix that request before investigating layout or PDF settings.
- Temporarily replace the failing asset with a small PNG at a known reachable location. If that appears, the issue is probably the original asset’s path, access requirements, format, or CSS treatment rather than PDF generation as a whole.
Keep a record of the final URL and response for each image while debugging. This separates a failed request from an image that loaded successfully but was hidden, clipped, or placed off the printable page.
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Fix relative paths and base URLs
Relative image paths are interpreted against a base URL. If the renderer receives an HTML string rather than opening the original HTML file, it may have no useful base at all. A browser preview can still work because the browser opened the page from a particular directory or domain; the PDF renderer may be resolving the same images/logo.png against a different location.
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WeasyPrint: set base_url for HTML strings
WeasyPrint’s API defines base_url as the base used to resolve relative URLs, including paths such as <img src="../foo.png">. When supplying HTML as a string, pass an absolute site URL or a file URL rooted at the directory containing the HTML and its assets.
from pathlib import Path
from weasyprint import HTML
html_path = Path("/srv/app/reports/invoice.html")
html_text = html_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8")
HTML(
string=html_text,
base_url=html_path.parent.as_uri(),
).write_pdf("invoice.pdf")For an HTML document whose images are hosted on a public site, use that site’s page URL as the base instead. Do not assume that the process’s current working directory is the HTML file’s directory. If the image is not beside the page, verify that the relative path is correct from the chosen base.
Other renderers: inspect the effective location
If your renderer opens an HTML file directly, test whether its file location gives the relative paths you expect. For remote HTML, check whether relative image paths resolve against the intended page URL. If you construct or rewrite HTML before rendering, keep the base document location consistent with where its relative assets live.
Allow access to local files and protected images
PDF generation often runs with stricter access than an interactive browser. A local image may be outside the renderer’s allowed directories, while a remote image may need a login cookie, authorization header, or signed URL. Making the file readable to your own account does not necessarily give a renderer process access to it.
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wkhtmltopdf: grant the narrowest local-file access needed
wkhtmltopdf loads images by default, but local-file access is disabled by default. For a trusted document that needs local assets, enable access or allow only the relevant directory. Prefer the narrower directory allow-list when practical rather than granting broad filesystem access.
wkhtmltopdf --enable-local-file-access
/srv/app/reports/invoice.html invoice.pdfOr restrict access to the directory holding the assets:
wkhtmltopdf --allow /srv/app/reports/assets
/srv/app/reports/invoice.html invoice.pdfUse the option appropriate to the installed wkhtmltopdf build and review its output for resource-loading errors. If enabling access does not help, verify that the renderer’s operating-system user can read the file and that the HTML points to the actual file location.
WeasyPrint: provide a fetcher for credentials or custom mappings
WeasyPrint can load ordinary files, HTTP, FTP, and data URLs. Its default fetching does not automatically handle HTTP authentication or cookies. If an image is protected, supply a custom URL fetcher that can attach the required credentials or map application-specific paths to accessible files. Keep secrets out of generated HTML and logs.
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For remote assets, confirm that the renderer can reach the host and follow any required redirects. If an asset URL expires, generate a URL that remains valid for the full rendering job or fetch the image through an authenticated mechanism your renderer supports.
Wait for JavaScript, lazy loading, and image decoding
HTML-to-PDF output can capture the page before a script inserts an image or before a lazy-loaded image is requested. A page’s initial load event is not always a reliable signal that charts, client-side templates, or images are ready to print.
wkhtmltopdf: enable scripts and set a deliberate delay
wkhtmltopdf provides --enable-javascript and --javascript-delay <msec>. Enable JavaScript when the page depends on scripts, then choose a delay long enough for the relevant image requests and rendering to complete. A delay is a blunt fallback: a fixed wait can be wasteful on fast pages and insufficient when a dependency is slow.
wkhtmltopdf --enable-javascript --javascript-delay 1500
https://example.com/report report.pdfReplace the example delay with one appropriate to the page, and inspect the output on the slowest realistic environment. If the page has an application-specific ready signal, use that instead of guessing a delay when your renderer supports it.
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Chromium and Puppeteer: wait for the page’s own ready condition
For Puppeteer, wait for an application-specific readiness flag or for the page’s image-loading work to finish before calling PDF generation. A small page-side helper can wait for images already present in the DOM to complete and decode:
await page.goto(url, { waitUntil: "networkidle0" });
await page.evaluate(async () => {
const images = Array.from(document.images);
await Promise.all(images.map(async (img) => {
if (!img.complete) {
await new Promise((resolve) => {
img.addEventListener("load", resolve, { once: true });
img.addEventListener("error", resolve, { once: true });
});
}
if (img.complete && img.naturalWidth > 0 && img.decode) {
try { await img.decode(); } catch (_) {}
}
}));
});
await page.pdf({ path: "report.pdf", printBackground: true });This example waits for images in the current DOM; it cannot force a page to create images it has not yet inserted. For a single-page application, wait first for the application’s own content-ready condition. If the page uses lazy loading, scroll the relevant content into view or otherwise trigger its loading before waiting for image completion.
Chromium-based rendering also depends on a working browser runtime. If Puppeteer fails before reaching the PDF step, check that required system libraries are installed, container or sandbox permissions allow Chromium to launch, and the installed Chromium and Puppeteer versions are compatible.
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Check image formats and print CSS
A blank image region can indicate unsupported content rather than a path problem. WeasyPrint supports raster formats available through Pillow and SVG used in an <img>, <embed>, or <object> element. Convert a troublesome image to PNG or JPEG, or test a supported SVG, to isolate format support. If the rest of the document renders but a particular image format does not, conversion is a useful diagnostic and may be the practical fix.
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CSS can also make an otherwise loaded image disappear. Check print-specific styles for display, visibility, opacity, zero dimensions, clipping, overflow, and page-break behavior. Render a simplified version of the page with the image in ordinary document flow. If that works, reintroduce the styling gradually to find the unsupported or conflicting rule.
WeasyPrint may omit unsupported CSS features while continuing to render the rest of the document. Therefore, a valid PDF does not guarantee that every visual feature was applied. Keep the print stylesheet simpler than a highly interactive screen layout when possible.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Make missing resources visible in logs and CI
WeasyPrint commonly reports missing images and other resource-fetching problems as warnings while still producing a PDF. During diagnosis, treat those warnings as a failed document build instead of accepting a visually incomplete file. For mandatory assets, its URL-fetching hooks can raise FatalURLFetchingError so a failed fetch stops the job.
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In a CI pipeline, capture renderer output and scan for resource warnings. Set an acceptance check that verifies expected images are present in a representative PDF, not merely that a PDF file exists. This catches regressions caused by a changed asset path, a deployment permission change, or an expired remote URL.
Renderer-specific quick reference
| Renderer or case | First fix to try | Next diagnostic |
|---|---|---|
| WeasyPrint with an HTML string | Set base_url to the site or asset directory. |
Check fetch errors; add a custom URL fetcher for authenticated or application-mapped assets. |
| wkhtmltopdf with local images | Use --enable-local-file-access or a narrow --allow path. |
Inspect load-media errors and verify the renderer user can read the files. |
| JavaScript-generated or lazy image | Wait for the page-specific readiness condition; use a delay only where appropriate. | Confirm the image exists in the DOM, then wait for its request and decode. |
| One format or visual feature fails | Test a PNG or JPEG and simplify the image’s CSS. | Separate fetch failure from format or CSS support by testing the asset in a plain layout. |
| Chromium/Puppeteer cannot render reliably | Check runtime libraries and launch permissions. | Verify Puppeteer and Chromium version compatibility, then inspect browser logs. |
Common symptoms and fixes
- The image works in a browser but not from an HTML string: The renderer may lack the page’s original base location. Set
base_urlor use an absolute resource URL. - Only local images are missing under wkhtmltopdf: Local-file access is disabled by default. Allow the specific assets directory or enable local access for a trusted input.
- Only images behind login fail: The renderer does not share your browser’s session automatically. Supply the needed credentials through a supported fetcher or make the resource available to the render job securely.
- Charts or images appear intermittently: Rendering may start before JavaScript inserts the image or before lazy loading finishes. Wait on a page-ready condition, then verify image completion.
- The PDF exists but logs mention failed resources: The renderer may continue after warnings. Treat mandatory-resource warnings as errors and fail the generation job.
- One image remains blank after its URL is reachable: Test a common raster format and remove complex print CSS to distinguish format support from styling problems.
- Puppeteer fails before producing any page output: Investigate Chromium’s runtime libraries, container permissions, and version compatibility rather than the image markup alone.
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If the page you need is reachable by URL and you want a rendered PDF without installing or operating a browser renderer, ScreenshotNeo offers a website screenshot API and MCP server. It can return a screenshot or PDF; its consent-banner, popup, and chat-widget removal steps can be turned off. For a local HTML file or an asset that only exists inside your application environment, use the renderer fixes above unless you first make the page reachable to the service.
The request below shows the documented one-call screenshot form for a URL; it saves the default WebP response. See the ScreenshotNeo documentation for PDF capture options and other parameters.
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot"
-d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY
--data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com
-o shot.webpimport requests
r = requests.get(
"https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot",
params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://stripe.com"},
timeout=90,
)
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)const q = new URLSearchParams({
access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY',
url: 'https://stripe.com'
});
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- Bot checks or CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits are not billed; responses identify the page verdict and billing status.
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