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World desk5 min

Save a Web Page as a PDF from the Command Line: Curl Options

A curl command can save a rendered webpage PDF when a browser-rendering API creates the file. Here are the documented hosted and local command-line options, plus timing and access caveats.
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To create a PDF with one curl command, send the page URL to a browser-rendering API and save its response. curl transfers the request and response; a browser engine does the work of rendering the page. For a local, no-hosted-service option, use Chrome Headless instead.

Use a rendering API for a one-command curl conversion

Cloudflare Browser Run documents a POST request that sends a page URL to its PDF endpoint and writes the returned file as output.pdf:

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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.pdf

Replace <accountId> with your Cloudflare account ID and <apiToken> with a custom API token that has Browser Rendering - Edit permission. The API accepts either a URL or HTML in the JSON body; the documented request-body limit is 50 MB. These requirements and limits apply to this Cloudflare endpoint, not to curl or PDFs generally. Cloudflare Browser Run PDF endpoint documentation (updated September 26, 2026).

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This is a managed service, not an unauthenticated local conversion: you need a Cloudflare account and authorized token. Check the provider’s current documentation for account availability and any applicable service terms before relying on the endpoint.

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Why plain curl does not render 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. Chrome’s documentation distinguishes retrieving HTML with curl from parsing a page, executing its scripts, and rendering it. Chrome Headless documentation

That is why the hosted command works: curl makes the API request, while the service’s browser renderer creates the PDF bytes. If you want to avoid a hosted API, run a renderer locally instead.

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Choose between a hosted API and local rendering

Option Where rendering happens What the documented sources establish
Cloudflare Browser Run Hosted browser-rendering service POST a URL or HTML to a PDF endpoint; requires an account ID and a token with the specified permission. The endpoint documents page settings and load controls. Cloudflare documentation
Chrome Headless On your machine, with Chrome installed Print a URL to PDF with a command-line flag; offers capture timing controls. Chrome documentation
wkhtmltopdf On your machine, with the tool installed Command-line conversion using Qt WebKit, with options documented for JavaScript, cookies, headers, print media, and local-file access. The cited manual is for version 0.12.6. Project site · 0.12.6 manual

The options are not proven to produce a universally better-fidelity PDF than the others. Choose based on whether you can install and maintain local software, need a hosted endpoint, and need specific controls for page loading or print layout.

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Render locally with Chrome Headless

With Chrome available in your command-line environment, this saves a PDF in the current working directory:

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chrome --headless --print-to-pdf https://example.com/

To omit Chrome’s print header and footer, which include the date and time, URL, and page number, add --no-pdf-header-footer:

chrome --headless --no-pdf-header-footer --print-to-pdf https://example.com/

For pages that need more time to render, Chrome documents --timeout=5000 to cap capture waiting at five seconds and --virtual-time-budget to advance time-dependent page code during capture. These flags affect capture timing; they do not guarantee that every page’s content will be available. Chrome notes that flag compatibility can vary with older versions. Chrome Headless command-line reference

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Use wkhtmltopdf when its rendering model fits

wkhtmltopdf is an open-source command-line tool using Qt WebKit. Its documented basic form is:

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wkhtmltopdf https://example.com/ page.pdf

The 0.12.6 manual lists options for JavaScript, cookies, custom headers, print-media behavior, and local-file access. Review its settings if your input needs them, especially before allowing local-file access. It is a separate renderer from current Chrome; the cited sources do not establish that it matches Chrome’s browser behavior or is more or less faithful for pages generally. wkhtmltopdf 0.12.6 manual

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Prevent blank or incomplete PDFs on dynamic pages

A page that fills in content with JavaScript may not be ready when a renderer decides loading has finished. Cloudflare warns that the default load behavior can return empty or incomplete output for JavaScript-heavy pages and single-page applications. Its PDF endpoint documentation describes waiting for network activity to settle with networkidle0 or networkidle2, or waiting for a specific selector when you know which element signals that the page is ready. Those are API rendering controls; the simple URL-only curl command above does not specify them. Cloudflare PDF endpoint: load options

Chrome’s timeout and virtual-time controls can help with capture timing, but neither is a universal substitute for waiting on the right page content. If a PDF is missing content, first check whether the page depends on scripts and whether your chosen renderer has a suitable wait setting.

Know what can stop a page from being captured

  • Authentication: A private page may need cookies or other credentials. Do not place sensitive tokens in shell history or share a command containing them.
  • Bot protection: Cloudflare says Browser Run requests are identifiable as bot traffic, and changing the user agent does not bypass bot protection. A rendering API cannot guarantee access to every destination.
  • Network or target restrictions: The Headless-Render-API documentation lists malformed URLs and localhost targets among causes of HTTP 400 errors. This is that provider’s behavior, not a universal curl rule. Headless-Render-API PDF API documentation
  • Rate limits and timeouts: The same provider documents rate limiting and rendering timeouts. Its example GET endpoint is provider-specific, not a general curl conversion method; it says to send an API token to avoid rate limiting and describes 429 responses in token or billing scenarios. Check that service’s current terms and limits before using it. Headless-Render-API PDF API documentation

Set PDF layout and output options

Cloudflare’s endpoint documents controls for page format, margins, scale, landscape orientation, printed backgrounds, viewport, headers and footers, custom styles, and resource blocking. These settings are useful when the default print layout does not suit the page. The endpoint also supports page-load controls; the documented 50 MB maximum applies to the request body, including cases where custom HTML is sent. Cloudflare Browser Run PDF endpoint documentation

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For local Chrome, --no-pdf-header-footer is the documented flag for dropping the printed header and footer. For wkhtmltopdf, consult the 0.12.6 manual for its print-media and other conversion options. There is no cited controlled comparison establishing a universal best choice for page size, margins, backgrounds, or visual fidelity; inspect the resulting PDF for the page you need to preserve.

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