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Migration · wkhtmltopdf

Move from wkhtmltopdf

Move HTML-to-PDF generation into PHP, or keep a browser engine through an extension.

Compare the codeReview the migration

Engineering diff

Map the calls you already use

NextPDF renders directly in your PHP process. Cloudflare and Chrome extensions add browser-engine paths for documents that need them.

Snappy wkhtmltopdf wrapper and generateFromHtml example (opens in a new tab) (verified 2026-08-05)

call-site.phpBefore → after

wkhtmltopdf (Snappy)

use Knp\Snappy\Pdf;

$snappy = new Pdf('/usr/bin/wkhtmltopdf');
$snappy->generateFromHtml($html, 'out.pdf');

NextPDF (in-process)

use NextPDF\Core\Document;

$doc = Document::createStandalone();
$doc->addPage();
$doc->writeHtml($html);   // Render inside the PHP application process
$doc->save('out.pdf');

Migration map

Keep, add, review

Compatible surface

  • Map Snappy generateFromHtml to NextPDF writeHtml and save

NextPDF capability

  • In-process: the renderer ships and runs with the PHP application
  • Use the Artisan (Chrome) or Cloudflare extensions for browser-backed rendering

Review in your code

  • Pages that relied on JavaScript execution should use the Chrome/Cloudflare rendering extensions

Effort: A guided rewrite: replace the shell-out with an in-process render, or point at the Chrome/Cloudflare extension for JS-heavy pages.

NextPDF surface

Available after the move

  • NextPDF’s PDF 2.0 (ISO 32000-2) engine
  • Emit tagged structure targeting PDF/UA-2 so the document carries its semantics
  • PAdES B-B signing in NextPDF Core; B-T in NextPDF Pro; B-LT/B-LTA in NextPDF Enterprise
  • Strict types, a PHPStan Level 10 CI command, and active maintenance

After mapping your calls, compare editions to choose the capability set for your application.

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