Can I use wkhtmltopdf on AWS Lambda

Question

I'm using a AWS Lambda function to merge PDF files stored on S3. In addition to that, I need now to create a PDF file (from HTML and CSS). I was trying to use wkhtmltopdf, but it seems that I would have to install it using apt-get install (which I don`t think I have access on AWS Lambda).

Any ideas on how can I do it?

Any suggestions for wkhtmltopdf replacements?

Thanks!

score 15 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 29 '17 at 05:18

15

There are multiple projects on GitHub claiming to run wkhtmltopdf on Lambda. Here are a few.

answered Mar 29 '17 at 05:18

Björn

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All of these third-party projects have been archived or have not seen updates for years. Meanwhile, the `wkhtmltopdf`projects has releases specifically for use as AWS Lamba _Layers_. See my answer below: https://stackoverflow.com/a/66199918 – pixelistik Feb 25 '21 at 09:02

score 10 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 21 '18 at 00:12

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Include the wkhtmltopdf binary and making sure it has execution permission(chmod 755). Add the binary path to your language runtime. e.g. with nodejs

process.env['PATH'] = process.env['PATH'] + ':' + process.env['LAMBDA_TASK_ROOT'] + '/bin/linux';

answered Feb 21 '18 at 00:12

Fish

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How to generate binary – Malavan Dec 11 '19 at 11:37
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@dominic-torreto you can find the binary from https://wkhtmltopdf.org/downloads.html#stable – Fish Dec 30 '19 at 23:43
yeah. got it from /user/local/bin. – Malavan Dec 31 '19 at 12:14
why not just use a layer? – Andrew Scott Evans Nov 18 '20 at 05:54

score 8 · Answer 3 · answered Feb 14 '21 at 20:42

8

There is a specific download of wkhtmltopdf for use with AWS Lambda.

It is meant to be used as a separately uploaded Layer.

answered Feb 14 '21 at 20:42

pixelistik

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score 6 · Answer 4 · answered Feb 09 '17 at 21:17

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Upload the binary inside a folder of your project for example in a folder "binary /" so that at the time of lambda execution you can call it by reference

answered Feb 09 '17 at 21:17

Victor Rojas

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score 1 · Answer 5 · answered Jun 25 '20 at 01:02

Important caveat: If you want to use wkhtmltopdf successfully on AWS Lambda, you will need to use v0.12.4.

It turns out that newer versions have some issues with dynamic libraries. If you drill into it, you'll find some .so files missing.

Source: Richard Keller

Can I use wkhtmltopdf on AWS Lambda

5 Answers5