Screenshot
It’s simple to use: you only need to submit your access_key and a url url of a webpage. The API will return the screenshot of the webpage.
Getting started
REST
The Screenshot API, like all of ScreenshotMAX’s APIs, is organized around REST. It is designed to use predictable, resource-oriented URL’s and to use HTTP status codes to indicate errors.
HTTPS
The Screenshot API requires all communications to be secured TLS 1.2 or greater.
API Versions
All of ScreenshotMAX’s APIs are versioned. The Screenshot API is currently on Version 1.
Your Access Key
Your access key is your unique authentication key to be used to access ScreenshotMAX API.
You have to include your access key in the request body as a JSON object.
You can also use the X-Access-Key header to pass your access key.
You can find your access key in your account dashboard.
Base URL
https://api.screenshotmax.com/v1/screenshot
Validation endpoint
ScreenshotMAX’s Screenshot API simply requires your unique access key and url to be passed in the URL. The API will return a screenshot of the webpage.
POST https://api.screenshotmax.com/v1/screenshot
{
"access_key": "YOUR_ACCESS_KEY",
"url": "https://example.com"
}
This was a successful request, so the API returned a 200 OK response. The screenshot is returned in the body of the response.
Request parameters
access_keystringBodyRequiredYour unique access key. You can find your access key in your account dashboard.
urlstringBodyThe URL of the webpage you want to rendering of. Must be a valid URL and accessible from the internet. If the URL contains a querystring, it must be URL-encoded.
Either url or html must be provided.
For example, https://example.com/test?param=1 should be passed as https%3A%2F%2Fexample.com%2Ftest%3Fparam%3D1.
htmlstringBodyThis parameter allows you to provide raw HTML content to render and capture as a screenshot. It must be a valid HTML string.
Either url or html must be provided.
Example:
html=<html><body><h1>Hello, World!</h1></body></html>
formatstringBodyDefault: jpegThe format of the screenshot. Available formats are jpeg, jpg, png, webp, gif. jpg is an alias for jpeg.
image_qualitynumberBodyDefault: 80The quality of the image. This parameter is only applicable for jpeg, jpg, webp formats. Allowed values range from 1 to 100.
image_widthnumberBodyThe image_width and image_height parameters let you generate a thumbnail version of the screenshot.
When specified, the screenshot is resized to fit within the given width and height while preserving the aspect ratio. The image will be as large as possible without exceeding the specified dimensions.
If only one parameter is provided, the other is automatically calculated to maintain the aspect ratio.
image_heightnumberBodyThe image_width and image_height parameters let you generate a thumbnail version of the screenshot.
When specified, the screenshot is resized to fit within the given width and height while preserving the aspect ratio. The image will be as large as possible without exceeding the specified dimensions.
If only one parameter is provided, the other is automatically calculated to maintain the aspect ratio.
omit_backgroundboolBodyDefault: falseRender a transparent background for the image. Works only if the site has not defined background color. Available for the following response formats: png, webp.
full_pageboolBodyDefault: falseWhether to take a full page screenshot.
full_page_scrollboolBodyDefault: falseWhether to scroll the page to take a full page screenshot. This is useful for pages that load content dynamically as you scroll.
full_page_scroll_by_amountnumberBodyThe amount of pixels to scroll per step.
full_page_scroll_by_durationnumberBodyDefault: 400The duration in milliseconds for each step.
gpu_renderingboolBodyDefault: falseWhether to use GPU rendering. Only available for scale paid plan.
capture_beyond_viewportboolBodyDefault: falseWhether to capture content beyond the viewport.
viewport_devicestringBodyThe device type for the viewport.
viewport_widthnumberBodyDefault: 1280The width of the viewport in pixels.
viewport_heightnumberBodyDefault: 1080The height of the viewport in pixels.
viewport_landscapeboolBodyWhether the viewport should be in landscape mode.
viewport_has_touchboolBodyWhether the viewport has touch capabilities.
viewport_mobileboolBodyWhether the viewport is a mobile device.
device_scale_factornumberBodyThe device scale factor for the viewport.
clip_xnumberBodyThe x-coordinate of the top-left corner of the clipping region.
clip_ynumberBodyThe y-coordinate of the top-left corner of the clipping region.
clip_widthnumberBodyThe width of the clipping region.
clip_heightnumberBodyThe height of the clipping region.
block_annoyancestringBodyDefault: cookies_bannerThe annoyance to block. Options include none, cookies_banner, ads, tracking.
block_ressourcesstringBodyThe resources to block. Options include document, stylesheet, image, media, font, script, texttrack, xhr, fetch, eventsource, websocket, manifest and other.
media_typestringBodyDefault: screenThe media type for the rendering. Options include screen and print.
vision_deficiencystringBodyThe vision deficiency for the rendering. Options include reduced_contrast, blurred_vision, deuteranopia, achromatopsia.
dark_modeboolBodyDefault: falseWhether to use dark mode for the rendering.
reduced_motionboolBodyDefault: falseWhether to reduce motion for the rendering.
geolocation_accuracynumberBodyThe accuracy of the geolocation in meters. Minimum is 0. Maximum is 1000.
geolocation_latitudenumberBodyThe latitude of the geolocation. Minimum is -90. Maximum is 90.
geolocation_longitudenumberBodyThe longitude of the geolocation. Minimum is -180. Maximum is 180.
hide_selectorsstring[]BodyThe selectors to hide in the content. This allows you to remove specific elements from the rendering.
Example: hide_selectors=div.header,div.footer.
click_selectorstringBodyThe selector to click in the content. This allows you to interact with specific elements before the rendering.
Example: click_selector=button.submit.
attachment_namestringBodyThe name of the attachment, without the extension filename. This is the name that will be used when downloading the response.
Extension will be automatically added based on the format parameter.
timezonestringBodyThe time zone for the request. This allows you to simulate different time zones. Available time zones from the IANA Time Zone Database.
authorizationstringBodyThe authorization header to use for the request. This should be a base64-encoded string (e.g., for Basic Auth, encode "username:password" using base64). This allows you to authenticate with the webpage before capturing the content.
user_agentstringBodyThe user agent to use for the request. This allows you to simulate different browsers and devices.
cookiesstring[]BodyThe cookies to use for the request. This allows you to simulate different sessions and states.
Example: cookies=name=value; name2=value2.
headersstring[]BodyThe headers to use for the request. This allows you to simulate different requests and responses.
Example: headers=header1:value1; header2:value2.
ip_locationstringBodyThe IP location to use for the request. This allows you to simulate requests from different countries by routing them through proxy servers with corresponding IP addresses. This feature is only available on scale paid plan.
Supported locations:
- United States (
us) - China (
cn) - Europe (
eu) (random EU country) - Canada (
ca) - Mexico (
mx) - United Kingdom (
gb) - Germany (
de) - France (
fr) - Switzerland (
ch) - India (
in) - Japan (
jp) - South Korea (
kr) - Russia (
ru) - Brazil (
br) - Australia (
au)
proxystringBodyThe proxy to use for the request. This allows you to route the request through a different IP address.
The proxy must be in the format http://username:password@host:port or https://username:password@host:port.
bypass_cspboolBodyDefault: falseWhether to bypass the Content Security Policy (CSP) of the webpage. This allows you to capture content of webpages with strict CSPs.
delaynumberBodyDefault: 0The delay in seconds before rendering. This allows you to wait for specific elements to load before capturing the content. Maximum is 30.
timeoutnumberBodyDefault: 30The timeout in seconds for the rendering. This allows you to set a maximum time for the request to complete. Maximum is 30.
wait_untilstring[]BodyDefault: ['domcontentloaded']The conditions to wait for before rendering. This allows you to ensure that specific elements are loaded before capturing the content. Available options include:
load: Wait for the load event to be fired.domcontentloaded: Wait for the DOMContentLoaded event to be fired.networkidle0: Wait for no network connections for at least 500 ms.networkidle2: Wait for no more than 2 network connections to be active for at least 500 ms.
metadata_image_sizeboolBodyDefault: falseWhether to include the metadata image width and height in the screenshot. This allows you to capture the dimensions of the screenshot. The dimensions will be included in the header X-Screenshotmax-Metadata-Image-Size.
metadata_iconboolBodyDefault: falseWhether to include the metadata icon in the response. This allows you to capture the favicon of the webpage. The link of the icon will be included in the header X-Screenshotmax-Metadata-Icon.
metadata_titleboolBodyDefault: falseWhether to include the metadata title in the response. This allows you to capture the title of the webpage. The title will be included in the header X-Screenshotmax-Metadata-Title.
metadata_fontsboolBodyDefault: falseWhether to include the metadata fonts in the response. This allows you to capture the fonts used on the webpage. The fonts will be included in the header X-Screenshotmax-Metadata-Fonts.
metadata_hashboolBodyDefault: falseWhether to include the metadata hash in the response. This allows you to capture the hash of the webpage. The hash will be included in the header X-Screenshotmax-Metadata-Hash.
metadata_statusboolBodyDefault: falseWhether to include the metadata status in the response. This allows you to capture the HTTP status code of the webpage. The status code will be included in the header X-Screenshotmax-Metadata-Status.
metadata_headersboolBodyDefault: falseWhether to include the metadata headers in the response. This allows you to capture the headers of the webpage. The headers will be included in the header X-Screenshotmax-Metadata-Headers.
cacheboolBodyDefault: falseWhether to store the content of the rendering in the cache. This allows you to store the rendered content for a specified time-to-live (TTL) period.
cache_ttlnumberBodyDefault: 604800The time-to-live (TTL) for the cache in seconds. This allows you to set a maximum time for the cached resources to be valid. Maximum is 30 days in seconds (2592000).
asyncboolBodyDefault: falseWhether to use asynchronous processing for the request. This allows you to capture screenshots without blocking the request.
webhook_urlstringBodyThe callback URL for asynchronous processing. This allows you to receive the response via a webhook.
The webhook will be triggered when the response is ready.
The webhook URL must be a valid URL and must be accessible from the internet.
The webhook URL must be HTTPS and must support the POST method.
More information about webhooks can be found in the async & webhook documentation.
webhook_signedboolBodyDefault: trueIndicates whether the webhook request should be signed. Enabling this option allows you to verify the authenticity of incoming webhook requests. For more details, refer to the async & webhook documentation.
Response and error codes
The API response is returned in binary format. The response is a screenshot of the webpage in the specified format. The response headers include the following:
Content-Type: The content type of the response. This indicates the format of the screenshot.Content-Disposition: The content disposition of the response. This indicates how the screenshot should be handled by the browser. If theattachment_nameparameter is provided, the filename will be included in this header.X-Screenshotmax-Request-Id: The unique identifier for the request. This can be used to track the request in the logs.X-Screenshotmax-Metadata-Icon: The URL of the icon of the webpage. This is only included if themetadata_iconparameter is set totrue.X-Screenshotmax-Metadata-Title: The title of the webpage. This is only included if themetadata_titleparameter is set totrue.X-Screenshotmax-Metadata-Fonts: The fonts used on the webpage. This is only included if themetadata_fontsparameter is set totrue.X-Screenshotmax-Metadata-Hash: The hash of the screenshot. This is only included if themetadata_hashparameter is set totrue.X-Screenshotmax-Metadata-Status: The HTTP status code of the webpage. This is only included if themetadata_statusparameter is set totrue.X-Screenshotmax-Metadata-Headers: The headers of the webpage. This is only included if themetadata_headersparameter is set totrue.X-Screenshotmax-Metadata-Image-Size: The dimensions of the screenshot. This is only included if themetadata_image_sizeparameter is set totrue.
Error Codes
Whenever you make a request that fails for some reason, an error is returned also in the JSON format. The errors include an error code and description, which you can find in detail below.
| Code | Type | Details |
|---|---|---|
| 200 | OK | The request was successful. |
| 400 | Bad request | The request was malformed or invalid. |
| 401 | Unauthorized | The request was rejected due to an invalid access key or missing signature when signed requests are enabled. |
| 403 | Forbidden | The signature provided is invalid. Occurs when signed requests are enabled. |
| 402 | Payment Required | Access denied due to an unpaid invoice. Applies to paid plans. |
| 423 | Locked | The request was denied due to insufficient quota. |
| 429 | Too Many Requests | The rate limit has been exceeded (too many requests per minute). |
| 500 | Internal server error | The request failed due to an internal server error. |