Name: Screenshot API
Author: Screenshot API

Question 1

What is Screenshot API?

Accepted Answer

Screenshot API is a service that allows developers to capture screenshots of any website programmatically. Built on Cloudflare's edge network, it delivers fast, reliable screenshots with a generous free tier.

Question 2

Is Screenshot API really free?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Screenshot API offers a free tier with 500 screenshots per month, no credit card required. The free tier includes full access to all features including PNG, JPEG, WebP, and PDF exports.

Question 3

Do I need to create an account?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You need an account to generate and manage your API keys. Sign up takes less than a minute using GitHub OAuth or your email address.

Question 4

What are the rate limits?

Accepted Answer

The free plan includes 60 requests per minute and 500 screenshots per month. Paid plans offer higher limits: Pro tier includes 3,000 screenshots/month, and Enterprise offers custom quotas.

Question 5

Can I use screenshots commercially?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Screenshots captured with Screenshot API can be used for commercial purposes without attribution required. You own the screenshots you generate.

Question 6

Are there watermarks on screenshots?

Accepted Answer

No. All screenshots, including those on the free tier, are completely watermark-free. You get clean, professional screenshots every time.

Question 7

How is this different from other screenshot services?

Accepted Answer

Screenshot API is built on Cloudflare's global edge network, ensuring low latency worldwide. We offer a genuinely generous free tier, transparent pricing, and a simple REST API that works with any programming language.

Question 8

What output formats are supported?

Accepted Answer

Screenshot API supports PNG (lossless, best for quality), JPEG (smaller file size, good for photos), WebP (modern format, excellent compression), and PDF (for document generation).

Question 9

Can I take full-page screenshots?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Set fullPage=true to capture the entire webpage from top to bottom. The API will scroll through the page and stitch everything together into a single image.

Question 10

How do I capture a specific element?

Accepted Answer

Use the selector parameter with a CSS selector like "#main-content", ".article", or "div.hero". The API will capture only that element, useful for grabbing specific sections of a page.

Question 11

Can I block ads and popups?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Set blockAds=true to remove advertisements and blockCookieBanners=true to hide GDPR/cookie consent banners. You can also combine these for cleaner screenshots.

Question 12

How long are screenshots cached?

Accepted Answer

By default, screenshots are cached for 24 hours (86400 seconds). You can customize this with the cacheTTL parameter. Set cacheTTL=0 to disable caching for a specific request.

Question 13

What is the maximum viewport size?

Accepted Answer

Viewport defaults to 1280x720 and can be customized up to 5000x5000 pixels. For very long pages, use fullPage=true which captures the entire scrollable content.

Question 14

Can I capture dark mode versions of websites?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Use the darkMode parameter to emulate prefers-color-scheme: dark. This forces websites to render their dark theme if they support it.

Question 15

What is device pixel ratio / retina display support?

Accepted Answer

The API supports deviceScaleFactor from 1 to 3. Set it to 2 for retina/2x displays, or 3 for ultra-high resolution. Higher values produce larger files with more detail.

Question 16

Can I inject custom CSS or JavaScript?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Use the injectCss parameter to add custom styles before capturing, or injectJs to run JavaScript. This is useful for hiding elements, customizing appearance, or waiting for dynamic content.

Question 17

How do I handle pages with lazy-loading content?

Accepted Answer

Use the waitUntil parameter with options like 'networkidle0' (no network connections) or 'networkidle2' (max 2 connections). You can also add a delay parameter to wait additional milliseconds.

Question 18

What programming languages are supported?

Accepted Answer

Any language that can make HTTP requests. We provide examples for Node.js, Python, PHP, Ruby, Go, Java, C#, TypeScript, Rust, and cURL. The API uses standard JSON, making it compatible with virtually any platform.

Question 19

Is there an official SDK?

Accepted Answer

Screenshot API uses a simple REST/JSON interface that doesn't require an SDK. However, we provide code examples and integration guides for all major programming languages in our Integrations section.

Question 20

Can I use Screenshot API in production?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The service is designed for production usage with 99.9% uptime SLA, intelligent caching to reduce costs and improve speed, rate limiting to protect against abuse, and queue-based batch processing for large jobs.

Question 21

How do I handle authentication?

Accepted Answer

Authentication is done via the X-API-Key header. Include your API key in every request: X-API-Key: your-api-key. Never share your API key publicly or commit it to version control.

Question 22

Can I use webhooks for async screenshots?

Accepted Answer

Yes. For batch or long-running screenshot jobs, provide a webhookUrl parameter. The API will send a POST request when your screenshot is ready, including the screenshot URL and metadata.

Question 23

How do I capture password-protected pages?

Accepted Answer

While we don't directly support authentication, you can sometimes work around this by passing session cookies via the cookies parameter, or using injectJs to programmatically log in before capture.

Question 24

What happens if I exceed my monthly quota?

Accepted Answer

When you exceed your quota, you'll receive a 429 status code. You can upgrade to a higher tier or wait until your quota resets at the start of your billing cycle (monthly from sign-up).

Question 25

Can I roll over unused screenshots?

Accepted Answer

Currently, unused screenshots don't roll over to the next month. We recommend choosing a plan that matches your usage. Enterprise customers can discuss custom arrangements.

Question 26

What payment methods do you accept?

Accepted Answer

We accept all major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express) through our secure payment processor. Enterprise customers can pay via invoice with NET 30 terms.

Question 27

Can I cancel my subscription anytime?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You can cancel or downgrade your plan at any time from your dashboard. Your access continues until the end of your current billing period.

Question 28

Do you offer refunds?

Accepted Answer

We don't offer pro-rated refunds for partial months, but you can cancel anytime to avoid future charges. If you experience service issues, contact our support team.

Question 29

Are my screenshots private?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Screenshots are stored securely and only accessible via your unique URLs. Your API keys are hashed before storage, and we never share your data with third parties.

Question 30

Is Screenshot API GDPR compliant?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We are GDPR compliant. We process screenshots on-demand and don't store personal data beyond what's necessary. For EU customers, we can configure data residency options.

Question 31

How are API keys secured?

Accepted Answer

API keys are hashed using bcrypt with a unique pepper before storage in our database. Never share your API key or include it in client-side code. Use environment variables or secret management.

Question 32

Can I use Screenshot API for sensitive/internal sites?

Accepted Answer

For publicly accessible websites, yes. For internal/private networks, you may need to configure firewall rules. Contact us for enterprise self-hosted options if you need to capture intranet sites.

Question 33

How do I get help?

Accepted Answer

Start by reading our documentation at /docs. For specific issues, email support@screenshot-api.org or open an issue on our GitHub repository.

Question 34

Do you offer custom solutions?

Accepted Answer

Yes. For enterprise needs including custom SLAs, data residency, dedicated infrastructure, or volume discounts, contact our sales team to discuss your requirements.

Question 35

Is there a community forum?

Accepted Answer

Join our GitHub Discussions to connect with other users, share ideas, and get help from the community. We also monitor discussions for feature requests.

Question 36

How do I report a bug?

Accepted Answer

Report bugs via our GitHub issue tracker. Include details like your API request parameters, expected vs actual behavior, and any error messages you received.

Question 37

Can I request new features?

Accepted Answer

Yes! We welcome feature requests. Submit them via GitHub Issues or Discussions. Popular requests are prioritized for our roadmap.

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