imgkit
Wkhtmltopdf python wrapper to convert html to image using the webkit rendering engine and qt
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes, if you need HTML-to-image conversion and accept the abandoned status. The package is simple, has low install friction, and depends only on six. However, do not use it in production without understanding that no upstream maintenance is available—if wkhtmltoimage itself breaks or you encounter bugs in imgkit, you will need to fork or find an alternative. For one-off scripts or internal tools where you control the environment, it is reasonable; for critical systems, evaluate maintained alternatives.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- wkhtmltoimage binary must be installed separately on your system (via apt-get, brew, or manual download); imgkit is only the Python wrapper.
- On headless servers, xvfb may also be required.
- Installation is straightforward (low friction), but the package is abandoned—last release was 2023-02-23 and no commits since 2023-05-29.
License · maintenance · safety
permissive license (permissive) — Licensed under MIT (permissive), so you can use, modify, and distribute freely with minimal restrictions.
last release 2023-02-23 (1268 days) · last repo commit 2023-05-29 · 824 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 598,502 downloads/mo, #5,834 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
pip install imgkit
import imgkit
imgkit.from_url('http://example.com', 'output.jpg')
imgkit.from_file('input.html', 'output.jpg')
imgkit.from_string('<h1>Hello</h1>', 'output.jpg')- Current compatibility with modern Python versions beyond 3.9 (classifiers list 3.9 as the latest)
- Whether the abandoned status affects real-world reliability or if the tool is stable enough for production use without updates
What it is and what it does
imgkit is a Python wrapper around the wkhtmltoimage command-line utility, which uses the Webkit rendering engine to convert HTML into image files (PNG, JPG, etc.). It lets you generate images from live URLs, local HTML files, or HTML strings passed directly in code, with full control over output format, dimensions, cropping, headers, footers, and other rendering options via a dictionary-based configuration API.
The package is lightweight and depends only on six for Python 2/3 compatibility. However, it is abandoned—the last release was in February 2023 with no commits since May 2023. While the core functionality is stable and the tool itself (wkhtmltoimage) remains widely available, you should expect no bug fixes, security patches, or feature updates from the maintainer.
Use it for
- Generate thumbnail images from web pages or HTML templates for preview or archival purposes.
- Convert HTML reports or invoices into image files for embedding in documents or emails.
- Create automated screenshots of web content for testing or monitoring workflows.
- Batch-convert HTML templates to images as part of a document generation pipeline.
- Render dynamic HTML with custom CSS and options into static image output for distribution.
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes, if you need HTML-to-image conversion and accept the abandoned status.
The package is simple, has low install friction, and depends only on six. However, do not use it in production without understanding that no upstream maintenance is available—if wkhtmltoimage itself breaks or you encounter bugs in imgkit, you will need to fork or find an alternative. For one-off scripts or internal tools where you control the environment, it is reasonable; for critical systems, evaluate maintained alternatives.
Install
imgkit on PyPI
Before you install
Installation is straightforward (low friction), but the package is abandoned—last release was 2023-02-23 and no commits since 2023-05-29. The single runtime dependency is six, a stable compatibility library. Use only if you accept no upstream maintenance.
wkhtmltoimage binary must be installed separately on your system (via apt-get, brew, or manual download); imgkit is only the Python wrapper. On headless servers, xvfb may also be required.
License in practice
Licensed under MIT (permissive), so you can use, modify, and distribute freely with minimal restrictions.
Quickstart
pip install imgkit
import imgkit
imgkit.from_url('http://example.com', 'output.jpg')
imgkit.from_file('input.html', 'output.jpg')
imgkit.from_string('<h1>Hello</h1>', 'output.jpg')Verify before relying
- Current compatibility with modern Python versions beyond 3.9 (classifiers list 3.9 as the latest)
- Whether the abandoned status affects real-world reliability or if the tool is stable enough for production use without updates
Package facts
| License | permissive license permissive |
| Python support | Not specified |
| Install friction | Low. Pure-Python wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 1 packagesix |
| Maintenance | Abandoned 1,268 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 598,502 / month, #5,834 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | License :: OSI Approved :: MIT LicenseOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: PythonProgramming Language :: Python :: 2.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.6Programming Language :: Python :: 3.7Programming Language :: Python :: 3.8Programming Language :: Python :: 3.9Topic :: Text ProcessingTopic :: Text Processing :: GeneralTopic :: Text Processing :: MarkupTopic :: Text Processing :: Markup :: HTMLTopic :: Text Processing :: Markup :: XMLTopic :: Utilities |
Evidence: imgkit-1.2.3-py3-none-any.whl
Tags
Let your AI agent find packages like this
Example. Real query, live index.
You found this page by searching. An agent finds it by wishing: SkillFed indexes 14,416 PyPI packages by what they can do, searchable in plain language.
wish › “html to image conversion”
- imgkitimgkit wraps the wkhtmltoimage command-line tool to convert HTML…
- gh-md-to-htmlConverts GitHub-flavored Markdown to HTML with support for offline…
- screenshotoneA Python SDK for the ScreenshotOne.com API that takes screenshots of…
Give your agent the search over MCP, or paste the wish link into any chat.
More Utilities packages
Converts domain names between Unicode and ASCII-compatible encoding (Punycode) according to IDNA 2008 and Unicode Technical Standard 46, with security validation and broader script coverage than the standard library.
Install it if you work with internationalized domain names, need to validate domains, or use HTTP clients that depend on it transitively.
Detects and normalizes text encoding from unknown or ambiguous sources, supporting all IANA character sets that Python's core library provides codecs for, with the ability to register custom codecs.
Setuptools is a Python build backend and package management tool that handles building, distributing, and installing Python packages, including support for C/C++ extension modules.
Pluggy provides a plugin system that lets you define hook specifications and register implementations to be called in sequence, enabling extensible Python applications without tight coupling.
Install it if you're building an extensible application or framework.
Pygments is a syntax highlighter that colorizes source code and text in over 500 languages and formats, outputting to HTML, LaTeX, RTF, SVG, images, or ANSI terminal sequences.
Install it if you need to display or transform source code.
Six provides utility functions to write Python code that runs on both Python 2.7 and Python 3.3+, smoothing over language differences between the two versions.
See also pdfkit · wkhtmltopdf · django-wkhtmltopdf · markdown-pdf · gh-md-to-html · html2image · nokap · weasyprint · xhtml2pdf · qrcode