book2pdf

A CLI utility to convert documentation websites into PDF files for offline reading.

⚠️ Clunky Alpha Software - Basic functionality works but expect stability issues. Documentations with multiple pages may take up all your ram 🤯. Be safe.

Issues

In case a specific website does not scrape correctly, please create an issue or a PR (if you're inclined). Either way it will be tested and fixed. This is all early so expect lots of changes.

Requirements

• Rust 1.70+ - Install Rust
• Chrome/Chromium browser - Must be installed and accessible in PATH
• Internet connection - For website scraping

Supported Documentation Formats

book2pdf automatically detects and supports the following documentation platforms:

GitBook

• Versions: v2.x, v3.x, v4.x
• Format: gitbook
• Auto-detection: Based on GitBook-specific selectors and navigation patterns

Docusaurus

• Versions: v1.x, v2.x, v3.x, v4.x
• Format: docusaurus
• Auto-detection: Detects Docusaurus metadata and navigation structure

MkDocs

• Versions: Material theme, ReadTheDocs theme, Standard theme
• Format: mkdocs
• Auto-detection: Supports multiple MkDocs themes with automatic theme detection

mdBook

• Versions: All versions (theme-agnostic)
• Format: mdbook
• Auto-detection: Detects mdBook generator meta tag and sidebar structure

VitePress

• Versions: v1.x, v2.x+
• Format: vitepress
• Auto-detection: Detects VitePress structure and version-specific elements

vocs

• Versions: v1.x+
• Format: vocs
• Auto-detection: Detects vocs data-vocs attribute and CSS classes

Starlight

• Versions: v0.x
• Format: starlight
• Auto-detection: Detects Starlight CSS layers and Astro-based components

Sphinx

• Versions: v5.x, v6.x, v7.x, v8.x
• Format: sphinx
• Auto-detection: Detects Sphinx generator meta tags, themes (ReadTheDocs, Furo, PyData, Jupyter Book), and navigation patterns

Nextra

• Versions: v2.x, v3.x, v4.x
• Format: nextra
• Auto-detection: Detects Next.js with Nextra CSS variables, MDX patterns, and framework-specific classes

To see all supported formats, run:

cargo run -- download --list

Note: Version detection is automatic and best-effort. Some versions may be detected as ranges (e.g., v2.x) when specific version cannot be determined.

Installation

Build from Source

git clone <your-repo-url>
cd book2pdf
cargo build --release

The binary will be available at target/release/book2pdf

Run Directly (Development)

git clone <your-repo-url>
cd book2pdf
cargo run -- download https://docs.example.com

Usage

Here is a concrete example:

cargo run -- download "https://claritychallenge.org/clarity_CEC1_doc/docs/intro"

Main Command

CLI utility to turn published documentation into PDFs for offline reading

Usage: book2pdf <COMMAND>

Commands:
  download  Download and convert documentation website to a combined PDF (default behavior)
  merge     Merge existing PDF files into a single document
  help      Print this message or the help of the given subcommand(s)

Options:
  -h, --help     Print help
  -V, --version  Print version

Download Command

Download and convert documentation website to a combined PDF (default behavior)

Usage: book2pdf download [OPTIONS] <URL>

Arguments:
  <URL>  URL of the website to scrape

Options:
  -o, --outDir <OUT_DIR>   Output directory used to save files
  -v, --verbose            Enable verbose output (debug level)
  -d, --debug              Enable debug output (trace level)
      --no-combine         Don't combine PDFs into a single file (by default PDFs are combined)
  -p, --preserve-pages     Preserve individual page PDFs (by default they are deleted after combining)
  -q, --quiet              Enable quiet mode (errors only)
  -c, --config <CONFIG>    Path to configuration file
  -t, --timeout <TIMEOUT>  Request timeout in seconds
      --pages <PAGES>      Limit the number of pages to download
      --show-browser       Show browser window (headless by default)
  -s, --simulate           Simulate mode - execute everything but don't actually download or create files
  -h, --help               Print help

Merge Command

Merge existing PDF files into a single document

Usage: book2pdf merge [OPTIONS]

Options:
      --dir <INPUT_DIR>       Directory containing PDF files to merge [default: output/pages]
  -v, --verbose               Enable verbose output (debug level)
  -d, --debug                 Enable debug output (trace level)
  -o, --output <OUTPUT_FILE>  Output file path for the merged PDF [default: merged.pdf]
  -q, --quiet                 Enable quiet mode (errors only)
  -c, --config <CONFIG>       Path to configuration file
  -h, --help                  Print help

Configuration

book2pdf supports configuration files in TOML format. Create a book2pdf.toml file in your project directory or ~/.config/book2pdf/config.toml for global settings.

See book2pdf.toml.example for all available options including browser settings, PDF formatting, logging levels, and more.

Configuration precedence: CLI arguments > config file > defaults

Examples

Basic Usage

# Download and convert a GitBook site (creates combined PDF by default)
./target/release/book2pdf download https://docs.example.com

# Or during development
cargo run -- download https://docs.example.com

# Download to custom directory
book2pdf download https://docs.example.com --outDir my-docs

# Keep individual page PDFs alongside combined PDF
book2pdf download https://docs.example.com --preserve-pages

# Don't combine - keep only individual page PDFs
book2pdf download https://docs.example.com --no-combine

Advanced Usage

# Simulate download without creating files (dry-run)
book2pdf download https://docs.example.com --simulate

# Limit to first 10 pages
book2pdf download https://docs.example.com --pages 10

# Show browser window (useful for debugging)
book2pdf download https://docs.example.com --show-browser

# Use configuration file
book2pdf download https://docs.example.com --config my-config.toml

# Enable verbose logging
book2pdf download https://docs.example.com --verbose

# Enable debug logging
book2pdf download https://docs.example.com --debug

# Quiet mode (errors only)
book2pdf download https://docs.example.com --quiet

Merge Existing PDFs

# Merge PDFs from default directory
book2pdf merge

# Merge from custom directory
book2pdf merge --dir my-pdfs --output combined-docs.pdf

Development

# Check code
cargo check

# Run tests
cargo test

# Build release binary
cargo build --release

# Generate documentation
cargo doc --open

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