JavaScript html to image libraries

JavaScript HTML-to-image libraries are tools that enable developers to capture and convert HTML content, such as web pages or specific elements, into image representations. These libraries provide an easy and efficient way to generate images from HTML, which can be useful for various purposes, including screenshot capture, PDF generation, thumbnail creation, or sharing HTML content as images on social media.Typically, these libraries work by rendering the HTML content in a virtual browser environment using headless browsers or rendering engines. They simulate the rendering process and generate a visual representation of the HTML, which is then transformed into an image format, such as PNG or JPEG.

We have identified the best libraries based on popularity, flexibility of use, coverage across the different types of testing, quality, support, reuse factor, etc. Let’s look at each library in detail. You can access package commands, installation notes, code snippets using the links below. 

Puppeteer:

• Puppeteer is a powerful JavaScript library developed by the Chrome team at Google.
• It provides a high-level API for controlling and automating headless Chrome or Chromium browsers.
• Puppeteer offers a rich set of APIs and extensive documentation, making it a versatile tool for a wide range of web automation and testing scenarios.
• It can programmatically interact with web pages, perform actions like clicking buttons, filling forms, taking screenshots, generating PDFs, and much more.

html2canvas:

• HTML2Canvas is a JavaScript library that allows you to capture and convert HTML elements or entire web pages into a canvas object.
• HTML2Canvas provides the captured HTML as an image in various formats, including PNG, JPEG, or SVG.
• Employs a promise-based API, allowing you to handle the asynchronous process of rendering and generating the image
• HTML2Canvas automatically resolves and captures image resources referenced in the HTML, including images loaded from external URLs or CSS background images.

Dom-to-image:

• DOM to Image is a JavaScript library that allows you to capture DOM elements and convert them into image files.
• It provides a simple and efficient way to generate images from HTML elements or entire web pages directly in the client-side environment.
• Allows capturing DOM elements from cross-origin domains, provided that the appropriate CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) headers are set on the server.
• It supports a wide range of CSS properties, including colors, fonts, borders, gradients, shadows, and more.

html-to-image:

• HTML-to-Image is a JavaScript library that allows you to convert HTML content, including entire web pages or specific elements, into image files.
• It provides a simple and straightforward way to generate images from HTML directly in the client-side environment.
• Supports capturing HTML elements from cross-origin domains, provided that the appropriate CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) headers are set on the server.
• You can specify the image format (PNG, JPEG), set the quality or compression level, define the dimensions of the output image, and control other parameters to suit your requirements.

Phantomjs:

• PhantomJS is a discontinued headless browser scriptable with JavaScript, widely used as a web testing and automation tool.
• It provides a virtual browser environment based on the WebKit rendering engine, allowing developers to automate interactions with web pages, capture screenshots, perform page scraping.
• It can navigate to URLs, fill out forms, click buttons, execute JavaScript, handle alerts and prompts, and perform various actions programmatically.
• It handles built-in support for generating PDF documents from web pages. You can convert a webpage or a specific portion of it into a PDF file, controlling options such as paper size, orientation, and page margins.

webshot:

• Webshot functionality typically involves capturing a screenshot of a web page or a specific element on a web page.
• To install the "webshot" library using npm (npm install webshot) before using it in your Javascript project.
• "webshot" relies on PhantomJS, which is no longer actively maintained. You may consider exploring alternative libraries like Puppeteer or Playwright.
• With "webshot", you can specify the URL of the webpage you want to capture, set options such as the dimensions of the screenshot, take screenshots of specific elements, and save the resulting image to a file.

wkhtmltoimage:

• "wkhtmltoimage" is a command-line tool and library that converts HTML documents to various image formats.
• It is based on the WebKit rendering engine and provides a straightforward way to generate images from HTML content..
• . It renders the HTML content using the WebKit engine and produces images in formats such as PNG, JPEG, BMP, or SVG.
• It allows you to execute the conversion process by specifying the input HTML file or URL and the desired output image file.