[WIP] Add API to automate print/save as PDF functionality

wants/cfc30575-7abc-4638-ad62-61fc320552c1.md

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+---
+title: "I want a browser API to automate print and save-as-PDF"
+date: 2023-08-03T13:24:57.667Z
+submitter: "Anonymous"
+number: cfc30575-7abc-4638-ad62-61fc320552c1
+tags:
+  - api
+  - javascript
+discussion: "https://github.com/WebWeWant/webwewant.fyi/discussions/633"
+status: "discussing"
+related:
+  - title: "Window.print() - Web APIs | MDN"
+    url: "https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/Window/print"
+    type: article
+  - title: "File System Access API"
+    url: "https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/File_System_Access_API"
+    type: article
+  - title: "CSS Paged Media Module Level 3"
+    url: "https://www.w3.org/TR/css-page-3/"
+    type: spec
+---
+
+I build data-viewing web applications and I regularly need to print multiple views of a session to PDF — for example, different files with the same viewing parameters. Right now I have to trigger each print manually through the browser's print dialog and save each PDF one at a time.
+
+I want a browser API that lets me programmatically trigger the browser's built-in "Save as PDF" functionality, ideally integrated with the [File System Access API](https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/API/File_System_Access_API) so I can select a destination folder and batch-save multiple PDFs without any user interaction per file.
+
+JavaScript PDF-generation libraries exist, but they cannot match the fidelity of the browser's native print-to-PDF rendering, which correctly handles CSS paged media, fonts, and layout. Exposing this capability as a first-class web API would unlock powerful automation for reporting, document generation, and data export workflows.
+