Take a Screenshot

Capture any webpage as a PNG or JPEG using the Browserless screenshot API.

Prerequisites

• A Browserless API token from your account dashboard

Steps

REST API

Use the /screenshot REST endpoint to capture a page as a PNG or JPEG. No WebSocket connection needed.

cURL

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1. Build the request

Append your token to the screenshot endpoint:

https://production-sfo.browserless.io/screenshot?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE

2. Send the request

curl -X POST \
  "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/screenshot?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE" \
  -H 'Cache-Control: no-cache' \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://example.com",
    "options": { "fullPage": true, "type": "png" }
  }' \
  --output screenshot.png

3. Check the output

The response is a raw PNG binary written to screenshot.png in the current directory.

JavaScript

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1. Send the request

import fs from 'fs';

const response = await fetch(
  'https://production-sfo.browserless.io/screenshot?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE',
  {
    method: 'POST',
    headers: {
      'Cache-Control': 'no-cache',
      'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    },
    body: JSON.stringify({
      url: 'https://example.com',
      options: { fullPage: true, type: 'png' },
    }),
  }
);

const buffer = await response.arrayBuffer();
fs.writeFileSync('screenshot.png', Buffer.from(buffer));

2. Check the output

Run the script with node screenshot.mjs. The file screenshot.png will appear in the current directory.

Python

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1. Install dependencies

pip install requests

2. Send the request

import requests

response = requests.post(
    'https://production-sfo.browserless.io/screenshot?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE',
    headers={'Cache-Control': 'no-cache', 'Content-Type': 'application/json'},
    json={'url': 'https://example.com', 'options': {'fullPage': True, 'type': 'png'}},
)

with open('screenshot.png', 'wb') as f:
    f.write(response.content)

3. Check the output

Run the script with python screenshot.py. The file screenshot.png will appear in the current directory.

Java

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1. Send the request

import java.io.*;
import java.net.URI;
import java.net.http.*;

String token = "YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE";
String endpoint = "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/screenshot?token=" + token;

String jsonData = """
    {
        "url": "https://example.com",
        "options": { "fullPage": true, "type": "png" }
    }
""";

HttpClient client = HttpClient.newHttpClient();
HttpRequest request = HttpRequest.newBuilder()
    .uri(URI.create(endpoint))
    .header("Cache-Control", "no-cache")
    .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
    .POST(HttpRequest.BodyPublishers.ofString(jsonData))
    .build();

HttpResponse<InputStream> response = client.send(request, HttpResponse.BodyHandlers.ofInputStream());
try (FileOutputStream fos = new FileOutputStream("screenshot.png")) {
    response.body().transferTo(fos);
}
System.out.println("Screenshot saved as screenshot.png");

2. Check the output

Run the class. The file screenshot.png will appear in the current directory.

C#

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1. Send the request

using System.IO;
using System.Net.Http;
using System.Text;
using System.Text.Json;

string token = "YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE";
string endpoint = $"https://production-sfo.browserless.io/screenshot?token={token}";

var payload = new
{
    url = "https://example.com",
    options = new { fullPage = true, type = "png" },
};

using (HttpClient httpClient = new HttpClient())
{
    var request = new HttpRequestMessage(HttpMethod.Post, endpoint);
    request.Headers.Add("Cache-Control", "no-cache");
    request.Content = new StringContent(JsonSerializer.Serialize(payload), Encoding.UTF8, "application/json");

    var response = await httpClient.SendAsync(request);
    var contentStream = await response.Content.ReadAsStreamAsync();
    using (var fileStream = new FileStream("screenshot.png", FileMode.Create, FileAccess.Write))
    {
        await contentStream.CopyToAsync(fileStream);
    }
    Console.WriteLine("Screenshot saved as screenshot.png");
}

2. Check the output

Run the program. The file screenshot.png will appear in the current directory.

Frameworks

Use a browser connection when you need to interact with the page or wait for dynamic content before capturing.

Puppeteer

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1. Install dependencies

npm install puppeteer-core

2. Connect and capture

import puppeteer from 'puppeteer-core';

const browser = await puppeteer.connect({
  browserWSEndpoint: 'wss://production-sfo.browserless.io?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE',
});

try {
  const page = await browser.newPage();
  await page.goto('https://example.com', { waitUntil: 'networkidle2' });
  await page.screenshot({ path: 'screenshot.png', fullPage: true });
} finally {
  // Always close to release the session even on error.
  await browser.close();
}

3. Check the output

Run the script with node screenshot.mjs. The file screenshot.png will appear in the current directory.

Playwright

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1. Install dependencies

npm install playwright-core

2. Connect and capture

import { chromium } from 'playwright-core';

const browser = await chromium.connect(
  'wss://production-sfo.browserless.io/chromium/playwright?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE'
);

try {
  const page = await browser.newPage();
  await page.goto('https://example.com', { waitUntil: 'networkidle' });
  await page.screenshot({ path: 'screenshot.png', fullPage: true });
} finally {
  // Always close to release the session even on error.
  await browser.close();
}

3. Check the output

Run the script with node screenshot.mjs. The file screenshot.png will appear in the current directory.

BQL

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1. Write the mutation

Navigate to the URL and capture a screenshot in one operation:

mutation Screenshot {
  goto(url: "https://example.com") {
    status
  }

  screenshot(omitBackground: true) {
    base64
  }
}

2. Run it

Paste into the BQL IDE and click Run.

3. Check the output

The response includes a base64-encoded PNG. Each example above decodes it and saves it as screenshot.png.

{
  "data": {
    "goto": { "status": 200 },
    "screenshot": { "base64": "iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAA..." }
  }
}

Next steps

• Generate a PDF — export the same page as a document
• Scrape Structured Data — extract data instead of capturing images