POST /screenshot

Screenshot API

Capture visual snapshots of any web page as it appears in a real browser. Full-page or viewport-sized screenshots in PNG, JPEG, or WebP, delivered as base64 or raw binary.

Start Capturing Try in Playground

╭─────────────────────────────────╮ │ ● ● ● example.com │ ├─────────────────────────────────┤ │ │ │ █████████████████████ │ ← viewport │ █ █ │ │ █ captured area █ │ 1920 × 1080 │ █ █ │ │ █████████████████████ │ PNG · base64 │ │ ╰─────────────────────────────────╯

Capture at Any Size

Set custom viewport dimensions or use defaults. Full-page mode scrolls and captures everything.

390 × 844

Mobile

768 × 1024

Tablet

1440 × 900

Desktop

Output Modes

"binary": false (default)

Base64 Encoded

Screenshot returned as a base64 string in JSON. Convenient for embedding in HTML, storing in databases, or passing to downstream APIs.

"binary": true

Raw Binary

Returns raw image bytes directly. Ideal for saving to disk, uploading to cloud storage, or serving to users. Smaller payload than base64.

Screenshot Formats

PNG

Best forLossless, transparency

SizeLarger

QualityPerfect

JPEG

Best forPhotos, web content

SizeSmaller

QualityAdjustable (1-100)

WebP

Best forModern apps, best ratio

SizeSmallest

QualityAdjustable

Key Capabilities

Full-Page Capture

Capture the entire scrollable page, not just the visible viewport. Enabled by default with full_page: true.

CDP Parameters

Fine-tune with Chrome DevTools Protocol params. Set custom clip regions, output format, and compression quality.

Transparent Background

Use omit_background to capture pages with transparency — useful for compositing or clean visuals.

Image Blocking

Speed up captures by blocking images with block_images. Useful when you need the layout but not the visuals.

Anti-Bot Handling

Screenshot protected pages. Spider's fingerprinting and session management make it look like a real user.

Geo-Routing

Capture how pages look from different countries via country_code. See geo-specific pricing or localized content.

Code Examples

Python cURL JavaScript

from spider import Spider
import base64

client = Spider()

result = client.screenshot(
    "https://example.com",
    params={
        "full_page": True,
    }
)

# Decode and save the screenshot
img_data = base64.b64decode(result[0]["content"])
with open("screenshot.png", "wb") as f:
    f.write(img_data)

curl -X POST https://api.spider.cloud/screenshot \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SPIDER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://example.com",
    "binary": true,
    "full_page": true,
    "cdp_params": {
      "format": "jpeg",
      "quality": 80
    }
  }' --output screenshot.jpg

import Spider from "@spider-cloud/spider-client";

const client = new Spider();

const result = await client.screenshot("https://example.com", {
  full_page: true,
});

// result[0].content contains the base64 screenshot
console.log(`Screenshot size: ${result[0].content.length} chars`);

Popular Use Cases

Visual Regression Testing

Capture screenshots on every deploy and compare against baselines. Detect unintended visual changes before users do.

Link Previews & Thumbnails

Generate preview images for URLs shared in your application. Build rich link cards like those in social media and messaging apps.

Competitive Monitoring

Periodically screenshot competitor sites to track visual changes, pricing updates, and new product launches.

Compliance & Archiving

Create visual records for legal, regulatory, or archival purposes. Capture exactly what a user would see at a given point in time.