libpdfrip is a high-performance PDF rendering and analysis tool built on top of libpdfio and the Cairo 2D graphics library. It provides efficient page rendering to PNG format and includes a content stream inspection utility for debugging and development.
- Render individual PDF pages directly to PNG.
- Configurable output resolution (DPI).
- Content stream analysis mode for inspecting PDF operator usage.
- Optional verbose logging for detailed diagnostics.
- Flexible output naming conventions to support automation and testing.
The following libraries and tools must be installed:
- C compiler (gcc or clang)
- make
- pkg-config
- libpdfio (development headers)
- cairo (development headers)
- libpng (development headers)
sudo apt-get install build-essential pkg-config libpdfio-dev libcairo2-dev libpng-dev
git clone https://github.com/OpenPrinting/libpdfrip.git
cd libpdfrip
make
This produces:
pdf2cairo/pdf2cairo_main– primary rendering and analysis tooltestpdf2cairo– test runner
./pdf2cairo/pdf2cairo_main [options] input.pdf
| Flag | Argument | Description |
|---|---|---|
--analyze |
Analyze PDF content streams instead of rendering output. | |
--help |
Display usage information. | |
-o |
<output.png> |
Output PNG filename when rendering. |
-p |
<pagenum> |
Page number to process (default: 1). |
-r |
<dpi> |
Output resolution in DPI (default: 72). |
-t |
Generate a temporary output filename (requires -d). |
|
-d |
<directory> |
Output directory when using -t. |
-T |
Generate a temporary filename inside testfiles/renderer-output/. |
|
-v |
Enable verbose diagnostic output. |
Render page 1 to PNG:
./pdf2cairo/pdf2cairo_main -o output.png document.pdf
Render page 5 at 300 DPI:
./pdf2cairo/pdf2cairo_main -p 5 -r 300 -o high-res.png document.pdf
Analyze page 2 content stream:
./pdf2cairo/pdf2cairo_main --analyze -p 2 document.pdf
make test
Test output images are written to:
testfiles/renderer-output/
Contributions are welcomed. All pull requests must:
- Pass the existing test suite (
make test). - Follow the current code structure and formatting conventions.