sahifa

Python client for Sahifa, the HTML-to-PDF and screenshot API that gets Arabic and right-to-left text right and processes documents in Saudi Arabia.

No arabic_reshaper, no python-bidi, no fonts to install: write HTML, get a PDF with joined Arabic letters, correct word order and mixed Arabic and English, rendered by Chromium in Jeddah.

pip install sahifa

Quick start

Get a free API key at sahifa.dev: 100 renders a month, no card needed.

from sahifa import Sahifa, arabic_document

sahifa = Sahifa()  # reads SAHIFA_API_KEY

pdf = sahifa.pdf(
    arabic_document('<h1>فاتورة ضريبية مبسطة</h1><p>الإجمالي: <bdi dir="ltr">1,150.00 SAR</bdi></p>'),
    format="A4",
    margin="15mm",
    footer={"source": '<div style="width:100%;text-align:center;font-size:9px">صفحة {{page}} من {{total}}</div>'},
)
with open("invoice.pdf", "wb") as f:
    f.write(pdf)

PDF

sahifa.pdf(source, **options) calls POST /v3/convert/pdf (PDFShift v3 compatible) and returns bytes. source is HTML or a URL.

Options: format, landscape, margin, header={"source": ...}, footer={"source": ...}, css, javascript, delay (milliseconds), wait_for, pages, zoom. See the PDF reference.

Django

from django.http import HttpResponse
from django.template.loader import render_to_string
from sahifa import Sahifa

sahifa = Sahifa()

def invoice_pdf(request, pk):
    html = render_to_string("invoices/detail.html", {"invoice": Invoice.objects.get(pk=pk)})
    return HttpResponse(sahifa.pdf(html, format="A4"), content_type="application/pdf")

FastAPI

from fastapi import FastAPI, Response
from sahifa import Sahifa

app, sahifa = FastAPI(), Sahifa()

@app.get("/invoices/{number}.pdf")
def invoice(number: str):
    html = templates.get_template("invoice.html").render(number=number)
    return Response(sahifa.pdf(html), media_type="application/pdf")

Screenshots

png = sahifa.screenshot(url="https://example.com", full_page=True, block_cookie_banners=True)
jpg = sahifa.screenshot(html="<h1 dir='rtl'>مرحبا</h1>", format="jpeg")

Pass exactly one of url= or html=. Options: format (png, jpeg, webp, pdf), full_page, viewport_width, viewport_height, device_scale_factor, selector, dark_mode, delay (seconds), block_ads, block_cookie_banners. See the screenshot reference.

Errors and retries

Failures raise SahifaError with .status, .code and the API's message. Busy and rate-limit responses (429, 502, 503, 504) and network errors are retried up to max_retries times (default 3), waiting for Retry-After.

from sahifa import SahifaError

try:
    sahifa.pdf(html)
except SahifaError as e:
    if e.status == 402:
        print("Monthly allowance used up")
    else:
        raise

Options

Sahifa(api_key="sk_live_...", base_url="https://api.sahifa.dev", max_retries=3, timeout=120)

The client can be used as a context manager (with Sahifa() as s:), which closes the HTTP connection pool.

Arabic tips

• arabic_document(fragment) wraps HTML in a full document with dir="rtl", UTF-8 and Arabic fonts.
• Wrap left-to-right parts (IBANs, VAT numbers, amounts, e-mails) in <bdi dir="ltr">…</bdi>.
• Use text-align: start / end rather than left / right.

Links

Documentation · Examples in five languages · Pricing · Data residency · Support: support@sahifa.dev

MIT License. Sahifa is a service of Yimello LLC.