Last updated: June 08, 2026 · Updated quarterly to reflect current pricing and features.

Tutorial · Open Source CLI Tool

wkhtmltoimage API Tutorial (2026): Setup, Examples, and a Simpler Alternative

June 08, 2026 5 min read Open Source CLI Tool

This tutorial covers how to get started with the wkhtmltoimage API — authentication, key parameters, and code examples. We also show why developers often end up choosing a simpler alternative.

Getting started with the wkhtmltoimage API

wkhtmltoimage (Open source HTML to image command line tool) provides a REST API for cli-based html rendering. Here's how to set it up and make your first API call.

Authentication

Most wkhtmltoimage API requests require authentication via API key. You'll find your key in the wkhtmltoimage dashboard after signing up.

Making your first request

# wkhtmltoimage — example request curl -X POST https://api.wkhtmltoimage.com/v1/render \ -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_WKHTMLTOIMAGE_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"url": "https://example.com", "width": 1200, "height": 630}'

Key parameters

width / height — output image dimensions
format — PNG, JPEG, or WebP
html — HTML string to render

Limitations to be aware of

No native n8n or Make.com node. No built-in batch endpoint.

A simpler alternative for HTML rendering

If you're using wkhtmltoimage specifically for HTML-to-image rendering and find the setup complex, RenderPix offers a simpler API with native n8n support:

# One API call. That's all. curl -X POST https://renderpix.dev/v1/render \ -H "X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{ "html": "<div style=\"width:1200px;height:630px;background:#0f0f0f;color:#fff;display:flex;align-items:center;justify-content:center;font-size:48px\">Hello, RenderPix</div>", "width": 1200, "height": 630, "format": "png" }' --output card.png

Feature	wkhtmltoimage	RenderPix
Starting price	Free	$9/mo
Free tier	unlimited	100 renders/mo
Raw HTML input	✓	✓ Full HTML/CSS
n8n native node	✗	✓ Native node
Batch rendering	✗	✓ Built-in
Template variables	✗	✓ {key} syntax
Async callback	✗	✓
PNG / JPEG / WebP	✓	✓
Primary use case	CLI-based HTML rendering	HTML image generation