sphinx-simplepdf

What it is and what it does

Sphinx-SimplePDF is a Sphinx extension that generates PDF output from Sphinx documentation projects. It integrates directly into the Sphinx build system and provides a modern PDF theme, allowing you to produce publication-ready PDFs alongside your standard HTML documentation.

The package depends on weasyprint for PDF rendering, libsass for stylesheet processing, and beautifulsoup4 for HTML manipulation. It runs as a Sphinx builder, meaning you invoke it through the standard `make simplepdf` command after installation, with output placed in your build directory. The extension has been in production use since 2022 and maintains active development.

Use it for:

• Generate downloadable PDF versions of API documentation or user guides from Sphinx source
• Create print-ready documentation with consistent styling across your entire Sphinx project
• Automate PDF builds in CI/CD pipelines alongside HTML documentation generation
• Produce offline-readable documentation for distribution to users without web access

Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying

Sphinx-SimplePDF is a Sphinx extension that converts Sphinx documentation projects into PDF files with a modern theme, using a single command.

Yes. The package is actively maintained, has low install friction, carries a permissive MIT license, and solves a common need for Sphinx users. No known vulnerabilities and stable production status make it a straightforward choice if you need PDF output from Sphinx documentation.

Install

sphinx-simplepdf on PyPI

pip install sphinx-simplepdf

uv add sphinx-simplepdf

poetry add sphinx-simplepdf

Installing sphinx-simplepdf

Before you install

Low install friction with a pure-Python wheel distribution. The package is actively maintained with a recent release (255 days ago) and an active repository, making it a stable choice for Sphinx-based projects.

License in practice

MIT license is permissive and imposes minimal restrictions; you can use, modify, and distribute this package freely in commercial and private projects with only attribution required.

Quickstart

pip install sphinx-simplepdf

Then in your Sphinx documentation directory:
make simplepdf

The generated PDF will be in _build/simplepdf/

Verify before relying

• Whether weasyprint and libsass system dependencies require additional setup beyond pip installation on your platform
• Specific Python version compatibility (requires_python is unspecified in the fact sheet)

Package facts

Evidence: sphinx_simplepdf-1.7.0-py3-none-any.whl

Tags

More Documentation packages