How to Screenshot Any Website with a Single API Call

Introduction

Automating website screenshots used to mean managing your own headless browser infrastructure — installing Chrome, handling memory leaks, debugging rendering issues. WebCaptureAPI eliminates all of that with a simple REST API you can call from any language in seconds.

This guide walks you through everything from your first request to production-ready integration.

Getting Your API Key

After signing up and verifying your email, head to Dashboard → API Keys and create your first key. Keys start with sk_ and are shown once — copy it to a secure location.

Your First Screenshot

The simplest possible request is a single GET with your URL and API key:

curl -H "x-api-key: sk_your_key" \
  "https://api.webcaptureapi.com/api/screenshot?url=https://example.com" \
  --output screenshot.png

That's it. You get a PNG back in the response body.

Request Parameters

Full-page capture

To capture an entire long page rather than just the visible viewport:

curl -H "x-api-key: sk_your_key" \
  "https://api.webcaptureapi.com/api/screenshot?url=https://example.com&fullPage=true" \
  --output full.png

Capturing JavaScript-heavy SPAs

If you're capturing a React or Vue app that needs time to render, use the delay parameter:

curl -H "x-api-key: sk_your_key" \
  "https://api.webcaptureapi.com/api/screenshot?url=https://app.example.com&delay=2000"

JavaScript Integration

async function captureScreenshot(url) {
  const params = new URLSearchParams({
    url,
    format: 'png',
    width: '1440',
    fullPage: 'true',
  })

  const response = await fetch(
    https://api.webcaptureapi.com/api/screenshot?${params},
    { headers: { 'x-api-key': process.env.WEBCAPTURE_API_KEY } }
  )

  if (!response.ok) {
    const error = await response.json()
    throw new Error(error.error || 'Screenshot failed')
  }

  return response.blob()
}

Python Integration

import requests
import os

def capture_screenshot(url: str, output_path: str) -> None:
    response = requests.get(
        'https://api.webcaptureapi.com/api/screenshot',
        params={
            'url': url,
            'format': 'png',
            'width': 1440,
            'fullPage': 'true',
        },
        headers={'x-api-key': os.environ['WEBCAPTURE_API_KEY']},
        timeout=30,
    )
    response.raise_for_status()
    with open(output_path, 'wb') as f:
        f.write(response.content)

Error Handling

The API returns standard HTTP status codes:

On error, the response body is JSON: { "error": "description" }.

Usage & Quotas

Each plan has a monthly screenshot limit that resets on your billing date. The Free plan includes 100 screenshots per month — enough to evaluate the API and build a prototype. When you exceed your quota, requests return 429 until the next billing cycle.

Monitor your current usage in Dashboard → Usage.

Next Steps

• Set up scheduled screenshots to automate recurring captures
• Create additional API keys per environment (dev, staging, prod)
• Upgrade your plan when you're ready to scale