rendlio convert

Convert a workbook to PDF, PDF/A-2b or PNG.

rendlio convert <input> -o <PATH> [options]

Arguments

Argument	Value	Required	Meaning
<input>	FILE	yes	Path to a .xlsx / .xlsm file, or - for stdin (bytes are buffered to a guarded temp file; the resource limits apply).

Options

Option	Value	Default	Env var	Milestone	Meaning
-o, --output required	PATH	—	—	M1	Output path, or - for stdout (single-document formats only). The extension does not infer the format — --format does.
--format	pdf|pdfa|png	pdf	—	M1	pdfa = PDF/A-2b. png = one file per page.
--pages	all|1-5,8	all	—	M1	Page selection, applied after pagination.
--sheets	"Summary,Data"	all-with-print-content	—	M1	Sheet filter by name (exact, case-sensitive); an unknown name → exit 3.
--dpi	96..600	150	—	M1	PNG only.
--png-pattern	PATTERN	{stem}-{page}.png	—	M1	{stem}, {page}, {pages} tokens; required when -o - is used with multi-page PNG (then invalid → exit 3).
--culture	BCP-47	en-US	RENDLIO_CULTURE	M1	Locale for separators and month names when a number format lacks an explicit [$-LCID].
--fonts-dir repeatable	PATH	—	RENDLIO_FONTS_DIR	M1	Prepends user font directories to font resolution.
--use-system-fonts	flag	off	—	M1	Adds OS fonts to resolution — off by default for determinism.
--recalculate	off|strict-v1	off	RENDLIO_RECALCULATE	M1	off renders cached formula values. strict-v1 is planned (M4); requesting it before it ships → exit 3, “not available in this build”.
--reference-date	ISO-DATE	today (UTC)	—	M1	Anchors timePeriod conditional formats; set it for reproducible runs.
--deterministic	flag	—	—	M1	Fixed PDF dates (2000-01-01T00:00:00Z), document ID = SHA-256(input bytes ‖ canonical options), stable font-subset tags — identical input + options ⇒ identical bytes.
--timeout	SECONDS	300	RENDLIO_TIMEOUT	M1	On hit: partial outputs deleted, exit 4.
--max-memory	MB	1024	RENDLIO_MAX_MEMORY	M1	Memory soft cap, applied via checkpoints. On hit: partial outputs deleted, exit 4. The default is under review (FS-10 OPEN-3): the CLI contract prints 1024, while the engine’s canonical limits registry applies unset (no cap) unless one is given — set it explicitly if you rely on it. See resource limits.
--report	PATH|-	—	—	M1	Writes the compatibility report JSON (- = stderr summary only). Automation should always set it; humans usually rely on the stderr summary.
--emit-ir	PATH	—	—	M1	Canonical intermediate-representation JSON (diagnostic).
--license	PATH|community	—	RENDLIO_LICENSE	M1	See licence resolution.
--quiet	flag	—	—	M1	Reduces stderr verbosity; errors are still printed.
--verbose	flag	—	—	M1	Increases stderr verbosity.
--log-json	flag	—	—	M1	stderr as NDJSON events (for programmatic hosts).

Examples

The defaults: ordinary PDF, every sheet with print content, the stderr summary only.

rendlio convert report.xlsx -o report.pdf

PDF/A-2b plus a machine-readable compatibility report — the shape to use in automation.

rendlio convert book.xlsm -o book.pdf --format pdfa --report report.json

Streaming both directions. Only document bytes reach stdout, so the pipe is safe.

cat in.xlsx | rendlio convert - -o - > out.pdf

One PNG per page at 200 dpi, named by the pattern.

rendlio convert big.xlsx -o pages/ --format png --dpi 200 --png-pattern "p{page}.png"

See also

• Global options and environment variables — they apply here too
• Exit codes — what rendlio convert returns and what it promises