Vivliostyle
Vivliostyle is a Japanese nonprofit open source project that develops CSS-based typesetting software, enabling developers, self-publishers, and commercial publishers to produce print-ready books and paginated digital publications from HTML, CSS, and Markdown.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- HeadquartersMinami, Japan
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Vivliostyle does
Vivliostyle is a Japanese nonprofit open source project that builds CSS-based typesetting software for producing print-ready books and paginated digital publications from HTML and CSS. The project is operated by the Vivliostyle Foundation, a general incorporated association headquartered in Saitama, Japan, and was established in its current form in March 2018 when founder Shinyu Murakami separated the open source codebase from the renamed commercial entity Trim-marks Inc. The core technology is a JavaScript/TypeScript layout engine implementing the W3C CSS Paged Media specification and Peter Sorotokin's EPUB Adaptive Layout, packaged as Vivliostyle Core, with front-end products including Vivliostyle Viewer (browser-based), Vivliostyle CLI (PDF export from the command line), and Vivliostyle Pub (browser-based Markdown authoring, currently in alpha); auxiliary packages include Vivliostyle Print, Vivliostyle Flavored Markdown (VFM), and Vivliostyle Themes distributed via npm.
The product is used by individual developers and self-publishers producing technical doujinshi for events like 技術書典, by commercial Japanese publishers including 技術評論社 (Gihyo Books) and C&R研究所 (C&R Books) for technical book production, by the German National Library of Science and Technology (TIB) for a COVID-19 public health textbook, and as an embedded rendering engine by Hatena in the GigaViewer for Apps platform that powers the Shonen Jump+ app with 27+ million downloads. Vivliostyle makes no money from product licensing — the software is free under AGPL — and is funded through GitHub Sponsors (tiers from $1/month to $6,000/month, the top tier including 12 consulting hours) and a July 2025 grant from NLnet. The board of directors includes W3C invited experts Florian Rivoal and Johannes Wilm, reflecting the project's engagement in web standards development.
Vivliostyle firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Vivliostyle
- Legal name
- Vivliostyle Foundation ( Vivliostyle Foundation)
- Website
- https://vivliostyle.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Vivliostyle is a Japanese nonprofit open source project that develops CSS-based typesetting software, enabling developers, self-publishers, and commercial publishers to produce print-ready books and paginated digital publications from HTML, CSS, and Markdown.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Vivliostyle industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Publishing Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (51321)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- OER Authoring, Remixing & Publishing Tools/Platforms (EDAGAJAM)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Content Asset Libraries & Template Marketplaces (stock, characters, themes) (EDAFAHAI), Rapid eLearning Authoring Tools (EDAFAHAA)
Keywords
Where Vivliostyle is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Minami
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
Vivliostyle business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations
Revenue model
- GitHub Sponsors / Donations: Vivliostyle is developed by volunteers and relies on sponsorship through GitHub Sponsors. Multiple sponsorship tiers from $1/month (Fan Sponsor) up to $6,000/month (Special Sponsor) with consulting hours. No commercial product revenue.
- NLnet Grant: Obtained a grant from NLnet announced in July 2025, providing non-dilutive funding for open source development.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free Open Source (Fan Sponsor $1/month) |
| Subscription | Monthly | GitHub Sponsors Tiers ($1-$6,000/month) |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels10 records
Vivliostyle product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Vivliostyle develops and distributes an open-source CSS typesetting engine and accompanying tools that convert HTML/CSS source into print-ready PDFs, EPUBs, and web publications. The suite includes Vivliostyle Viewer (browser-based preview), Vivliostyle CLI (command-line publication builder), Vivliostyle Pub (markdown-based manuscript authoring), Vivliostyle Print, Vivliostyle Core (rendering engine), Vivliostyle Themes, and VFM (Vivliostyle Flavored Markdown). The software is offered free of charge under an open-source license and is adopted by publishers producing books, magazines, and digital periodicals.
Product overview
Vivliostyle is an open source CSS typesetting ecosystem consisting of multiple interconnected products. The core offering is Vivliostyle.js/Vivliostyle Core, a JavaScript/TypeScript engine that renders HTML+CSS content with paginated layout for print and digital publishing. This core engine powers several front-end interfaces: Vivliostyle Viewer (browser-based viewing application), Vivliostyle CLI (command-line tool for PDF generation), and Vivliostyle Pub (browser-based online publishing platform in alpha). Additional products include Vivliostyle Print (for embedding printing in websites), VFM (Vivliostyle Flavored Markdown for authoring), and Vivliostyle Themes (official CSS theme packages). The project was founded in late 2014 and is now maintained by Vivliostyle Foundation as an independent open source project under AGPL license.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Vivliostyle Viewer: Load HTML and display the typesetting results on the browser.
- Vivliostyle CLI
- Vivliostyle Pub
- Vivliostyle Core
- Vivliostyle Print
Products and services
- Vivliostyle Viewer A browser-based preview application that renders publications using the Vivliostyle CSS typesetting engine, intended for publishers and authors validating layouts prior to final output generation.
- Vivliostyle CLI A command-line tool that builds EPUB, PDF, and web publications from HTML/CSS source using the Vivliostyle typesetting engine, targeted at publishing production pipelines and technical authoring workflows.
- Vivliostyle Pub An authoring and publishing tool designed for writing manuscripts and producing publications in the Vivliostyle ecosystem, targeted at book and magazine authors and editors.
- Vivliostyle Print A Vivliostyle component dedicated to generating print-ready PDF output from HTML/CSS content for publishers producing physical books and magazines.
- Vivliostyle Core The core CSS typesetting engine implementing W3C CSS Paged Media and CSS GCPM specifications, serving as the rendering foundation for the other Vivliostyle products and used by publishers integrating typesetting into their own workflows.
- VFM (Vivliostyle Flavored Markdown) A Markdown dialect extended with Vivliostyle-specific syntax and features, used by authors to write manuscripts that flow into the Vivliostyle publication pipeline.
Quantifiable outcome
- 27+ million downloads via Shonen Jump+ app integration
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Vivliostyle
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Vivliostyle technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature8 records
Vivliostyle partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and moderate.
- Hatena ( はてな)coreHatena adopted Vivliostyle.js Core as the layout engine for the novel/text rendering component in GigaViewer for Apps, which powers the 少年ジャンプ＋ (Shonen Jump+) manga reading app with 27+ million downloads. Hatena became a Bronze Sponsor of Vivliostyle and worked closely with Vivliostyle Foundation on implementation. The GigaViewer for Apps uses Vivliostyle under AGPL license.
- 技術評論社 (Gihyo Books)minorCommercial publisher that has published over 10 technical books using Vivliostyle CSS typesetting, including titles on PHP, Vulkan graphics, MATLAB, MSX-BASIC, Raspberry Pi, Julia, and VPython. Published as part of the general adoption of Vivliostyle in commercial book production workflows.
- C&R研究所 (C&R Books)minorCommercial publisher that has published multiple books using Vivliostyle, including the そろそろ常識？ マンガでわかる series covering HTML/CSS, Python ML, Excel, Linux, and regex topics.
- Fidus WritermoderateAcademic text editor that integrated Vivliostyle for PDF generation starting from version 3.5. Johannes Wilm, Fidus Writer's developer, is a Director of Vivliostyle Foundation (W3C Editing Taskforce Invited Expert).
- Trim-marks Inc. ( トリムマーク株式会社)minorFormer commercial entity that took over the proprietary Vivliostyle codebase and brand when the open source project was spun out. The company's VersaType product is the commercial counterpart. Vivliostyle Foundation remains independent.
- Antenna HouseminorPrior to founding Vivliostyle, founder Murakami worked on AH Formatter (a commercial typesetting engine) at Antenna House. Antenna House provided initial support when Vivliostyle was first established as a startup. Their CSS Typesetting Blog remains on the AH website.
- JAGAT ( 日本印刷技術協会)minorCo-operated Vivliostyle Developer and User Meetings and XML Publishing Study Group activities. Provided venue for in-person events.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Vivliostyle competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- WeasyPrint: Open source HTML/CSS to PDF renderer in Python; competes with Vivliostyle in serving the developer 'web-to-PDF' niche with Paged Media-like features, though Python-based rather than JavaScript/TypeScript.
- PagedJS: Open source JavaScript polyfill library implementing CSS Paged Media support in browsers — the closest direct competitor to Vivliostyle Core, addressing the same 'CSS to paginated layout' problem for the developer community.
- Trim-marks Inc. (VersaType): The commercial successor entity to the original Vivliostyle company, selling the VersaType commercial typesetting product built on the original Vivliostyle codebase — the closest functional peer and a structural counterpoint to the open source Foundation.
Broad incumbents
- Adobe InDesign: Dominant commercial desktop publishing application; the incumbent whose proprietary typesetting workflow Vivliostyle explicitly positions against for users who prefer web standards over Adobe tooling.
- Antenna House (AH Formatter): Commercial CSS typesetting engine where Vivliostyle founder Murakami previously worked; a direct predecessor technology and current commercial competitor in the Japanese publishing market that also provides ongoing support to the Vivliostyle project.
- Prince: Commercial HTML/CSS-to-PDF typesetting engine widely used in publishing and government; directly comparable functionality to Vivliostyle Core in delivering print-quality paginated output from web standards, but commercial and far more established.
Emerging players
- DocRaptor: HTML-to-PDF SaaS API built on Prince, targeting developers who want server-side typesetting; comparable to a hosted Vivliostyle CLI workflow in the developer-to-PDF value chain.
- Readium: Open source EPUB/Web publication reading toolkit overlapping with Vivliostyle's EPUB Adaptive Layout support and WebPub reading capabilities for digital publishing platforms.
- Fidus Writer: Academic web-based text editor that integrated Vivliostyle for PDF generation since v3.5; built by Vivliostyle Foundation director Johannes Wilm, making it both an integration partner and a feature-comparable scholarly authoring peer.
Others
- Leanpub: Self-publishing platform for authors writing in Markdown — overlaps with Vivliostyle's HTML+Markdown book authoring target persona and signals the kind of end-to-end publishing-as-a-service model that Vivliostyle Pub aspires to enable.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Vivliostyle social profiles
Digital presenceVivliostyle financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Vivliostyle leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Vivliostyle funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Vivliostyle M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Vivliostyle
What does Vivliostyle do?
Vivliostyle develops and distributes an open-source CSS typesetting engine and accompanying tools that convert HTML/CSS source into print-ready PDFs, EPUBs, and web publications. The suite includes Vivliostyle Viewer (browser-based preview), Vivliostyle CLI (command-line publication builder), Vivliostyle Pub (markdown-based manuscript authoring), Vivliostyle Print, Vivliostyle Core (rendering engine), Vivliostyle Themes, and VFM (Vivliostyle Flavored Markdown). The software is offered free of charge under an open-source license and is adopted by publishers producing books, magazines, and digital periodicals.
Is Vivliostyle a public or private company?
Vivliostyle is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Vivliostyle founded?
Vivliostyle was founded in 2014. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Vivliostyle based?
Vivliostyle is headquartered in Minami, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does Vivliostyle make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. GitHub Sponsors / Donations are the primary driver. The others are NLnet Grant.
Who are Vivliostyle's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are WeasyPrint, PagedJS and Trim-marks Inc. (VersaType). Broad incumbents are Adobe InDesign, Antenna House (AH Formatter) and Prince. Emerging players are DocRaptor, Readium and Fidus Writer. Leanpub is listed as an others.
Does Vivliostyle have an API?
Yes. Vivliostyle provides a Core API for programmatic typesetting and PDF generation. The CoreViewer class allows developers to load documents, control page navigation, and customize the viewing experience. Key methods include loadDocument() for loading HTML/XML documents, loadPublication() for EPUB/WebPub publications, navigateToPage(), setOptions(), and showTOC(). The printHTML function enables embedding page-layout printing functionality into websites without destroying the original DOM layout. The API supports plugins with hooks like PAGINATION_PROGRESS for monitoring layout progress, and profiling tools for performance measurement. Developer documentation is at docs.vivliostyle.org/en/reference/api.
What industry is Vivliostyle in?
Vivliostyle's product category is Digital Publishing Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAGAJAM, OER Authoring, Remixing & Publishing Tools/Platforms, with a secondary code of EDAFAHAI, Content Asset Libraries & Template Marketplaces (stock, characters, themes). Its NAICS code is 51321 and its SIC code is 7372.