PageShot API

A powerful, developer-friendly API for capturing screenshots of any webpage. Built on Chromium for pixel-perfect accuracy, completely free with no API key required.

Get Started

PageShot is completely free. No API key required. Just send a request with a URL and get your screenshot.

Quickstart

Take your first screenshot in under 30 seconds:

# Just pass a URL — no API key needed
curl "https://pageshot.site/v1/screenshot?url=https://example.com" \
  --output screenshot.png

# That's it! Open screenshot.png to see the result.

Authentication

GET /v1/screenshot

GET /v1/screenshot?url=https://example.com

Returns a screenshot image directly. Ideal for embedding in <img> tags or downloading.

Example Request

GET /v1/screenshot?url=https://example.com&width=1920&height=1080&format=png&dark_mode=true

Response Headers

GET /v1/preview

GET /v1/preview?url=https://example.com

Optimized link preview thumbnail. Returns a small, fast JPEG image with smart defaults — perfect for link cards, newsletters, social embeds, and AI vision pipelines. Ads are blocked and cookie banners hidden automatically.

Parameters

Optimized Defaults

Example

# Get a 300px-wide link preview thumbnail
curl "https://pageshot.site/v1/preview?url=https://example.com" \
  --output preview.jpg

# Wider preview for newsletter cards
curl "https://pageshot.site/v1/preview?url=https://example.com&width=600" \
  --output newsletter-card.jpg

# Embed directly in HTML
<img src="https://pageshot.site/v1/preview?url=https://example.com" alt="Preview" />

POST /v1/screenshot

POST /v1/screenshot

More flexible screenshot capture. Supports JSON body and optional JSON response with base64 image.

Request Body (JSON)

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "width": 1920,
  "height": 1080,
  "full_page": true,
  "format": "png",
  "dark_mode": true,
  "block_ads": true,
  "css": "header { display: none !important; }",
  "selector": ".main-content",
  "delay": 2000,
  "response": "json"
}

JSON Response (when response=json)

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "url": "https://example.com",
    "pageStatus": 200,
    "image": "data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgo...",
    "format": "png",
    "width": 1920,
    "height": 1080,
    "size": 245632,
    "captureTime": "2341ms"
  }
}

POST /v1/html

POST /v1/html

Render raw HTML/CSS to an image. Perfect for generating OG images, email previews, social cards, and dynamic content from templates. No URL needed — just send your HTML.

Request Body (JSON)

{
  "html": "<div style='padding:40px;background:#0a0a0f;color:#00f0ff;font-family:sans-serif'><h1>Hello World</h1><p>Generated with PageShot</p></div>",
  "width": 1200,
  "height": 630,
  "format": "png",
  "device_scale": 2,
  "response": "json"
}

Parameters

Use Cases

• OG Image generation — Render dynamic Open Graph images from HTML templates
• Email previews — Generate thumbnail previews of HTML email templates
• Social cards — Create custom social media cards with dynamic data
• Certificates & badges — Generate personalized certificates or achievement badges
• Invoice thumbnails — Preview invoice or document layouts before PDF export

Example: Generate an OG Image

curl -X POST "https://pageshot.site/v1/html" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "html": "<div style=\"width:1200px;height:630px;background:linear-gradient(135deg,#0a0a0f,#1a1a2e);display:flex;align-items:center;justify-content:center;color:#00f0ff;font-family:sans-serif\"><h1 style=\"font-size:72px\">My Blog Post Title</h1></div>",
    "width": 1200,
    "height": 630,
    "format": "png"
  }' \
  --output og-image.png

POST /v1/pdf

POST /v1/pdf

Convert any webpage to a PDF document. Powered by Chromium's print engine for pixel-perfect rendering. Perfect for archiving, reports, and documentation.

Request Body (JSON)

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "pdf_format": "A4",
  "landscape": false,
  "print_background": true,
  "pdf_scale": 1,
  "dark_mode": false,
  "block_ads": true,
  "css": "nav { display: none !important; }"
}

Parameters

Response Headers

Example: Save a webpage as PDF

curl -X POST "https://pageshot.site/v1/pdf" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://example.com", "pdf_format": "A4", "print_background": true}' \
  --output page.pdf

POST /v1/html/pdf

POST /v1/html/pdf

Render raw HTML/CSS to a PDF document. Generate invoices, reports, certificates, and documentation from HTML templates without a URL.

Request Body (JSON)

{
  "html": "<h1>Invoice #1234</h1><table>...</table>",
  "pdf_format": "A4",
  "landscape": false,
  "print_background": true
}

Parameters

Same parameters as POST /v1/pdf, but replace url with html (max 2MB).

Use Cases

• Invoice generation — Render HTML invoice templates to pixel-perfect PDFs
• Reports & documents — Generate reports from dynamic data with custom styling
• Certificates — Create personalized certificates and diplomas
• Documentation — Convert styled HTML documentation to distributable PDFs

Example: Generate an invoice PDF

curl -X POST "https://pageshot.site/v1/html/pdf" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"html": "<h1>Invoice #1234</h1><p>Total: $99.00</p>", "pdf_format": "A4"}' \
  --output invoice.pdf

POST /v1/screenshot/batch

POST /v1/screenshot/batch

Capture screenshots of multiple URLs in a single request. Returns JSON with base64-encoded images for each URL. Maximum 5 URLs per batch.

Request Body (JSON)

{
  "urls": [
    "https://example.com",
    "https://example.org",
    {
      "url": "https://example.net",
      "width": 375,
      "height": 812,
      "dark_mode": true
    }
  ],
  "width": 1280,
  "height": 720,
  "format": "png"
}

Each entry in urls can be a plain URL string (uses global options) or an object with a url field and per-URL option overrides.

Response

{
  "success": true,
  "total": 3,
  "succeeded": 3,
  "failed": 0,
  "results": [
    {
      "url": "https://example.com",
      "success": true,
      "data": {
        "image": "data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgo...",
        "format": "png",
        "width": 1280,
        "height": 720,
        "size": 245632,
        "captureTime": "2341ms"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Limits

GET /v1/presets

GET /v1/presets

Lists all available device and platform presets. Use a preset name in the preset parameter to auto-configure viewport, scale factor, and user agent.

Available Presets

Example: Using a Preset

curl "https://pageshot.site/v1/screenshot?url=https://example.com&preset=og_image" \
  --output og-preview.png

You can override individual preset values. For example, preset=mobile&width=414 uses the mobile preset but overrides the width.

GET /v1/status

GET /v1/status

Check API operational status. No authentication required.

{
  "status": "operational",
  "service": "PageShot API",
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "uptime": 86400.123,
  "timestamp": "2026-02-12T12:00:00.000Z"
}

Parameters Reference

Code Examples

Node.js / JavaScript

// Using fetch (Node 18+) — no API key needed
const response = await fetch('https://pageshot.site/v1/screenshot', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    url: 'https://example.com',
    width: 1280,
    height: 720,
    format: 'png'
  })
});

const buffer = Buffer.from(await response.arrayBuffer());
require('fs').writeFileSync('screenshot.png', buffer);
console.log(`Captured in ${response.headers.get('X-Screenshot-Time')}`);

Pre-Capture JavaScript (evaluate)

// Dismiss a modal and scroll before capturing
const response = await fetch('https://pageshot.site/v1/screenshot', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    url: 'https://example.com',
    evaluate: 'document.querySelector(".modal-close")?.click(); window.scrollTo(0, 500);',
    width: 1280,
    height: 720
  })
});

Authenticated Screenshot (with cookies & headers)

// Capture a page behind authentication
const response = await fetch('https://pageshot.site/v1/screenshot', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    url: 'https://app.example.com/dashboard',
    headers: { 'Authorization': 'Bearer eyJhbGci...' },
    cookies: [
      { name: 'session_id', value: 'abc123' },
      { name: 'csrf_token', value: 'xyz789' }
    ],
    width: 1920,
    height: 1080
  })
});

Python

import requests

# No API key needed — just send the request
response = requests.post(
    'https://pageshot.site/v1/screenshot',
    json={
        'url': 'https://example.com',
        'width': 1280,
        'height': 720,
        'full_page': True,
        'format': 'png'
    }
)

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

print(f"Captured in {response.headers['X-Screenshot-Time']}")

C# / .NET

// No API key needed
using var client = new HttpClient();

var payload = new {
    url = "https://example.com",
    width = 1920,
    height = 1080,
    full_page = true,
    dark_mode = true
};

var response = await client.PostAsJsonAsync(
    "https://pageshot.site/v1/screenshot", payload);

var bytes = await response.Content.ReadAsByteArrayAsync();
await File.WriteAllBytesAsync("screenshot.png", bytes);

PHP

// No API key needed
$ch = curl_init('https://pageshot.site/v1/screenshot');
curl_setopt_array($ch, [
    CURLOPT_POST => true,
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
    CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
        'Content-Type: application/json'
    ],
    CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => json_encode([
        'url' => 'https://example.com',
        'width' => 1920,
        'height' => 1080,
        'format' => 'png'
    ])
]);

$image = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);
file_put_contents('screenshot.png', $image);

Go

// No API key needed
payload := map[string]any{
    "url":    "https://example.com",
    "width":  1920,
    "height": 1080,
    "format": "png",
}

body, _ := json.Marshal(payload)
req, _ := http.NewRequest("POST", "https://pageshot.site/v1/screenshot",
    bytes.NewBuffer(body))
req.Header.Set("Content-Type", "application/json")

resp, _ := http.DefaultClient.Do(req)
defer resp.Body.Close()

data, _ := io.ReadAll(resp.Body)
os.WriteFile("screenshot.png", data, 0644)

Error Handling

All errors return JSON with an error field and descriptive message.

Example Error Response

{
  "error": "NETWORK_ERROR",
  "message": "Could not reach the target URL. Verify the URL is accessible.",
  "url": "https://invalid-domain.example",
  "docs": "/docs#errors"
}

Rate Limits

Rate limit info is returned in response headers:

X-RateLimit-Limit: 30
X-RateLimit-Remaining: 28
X-RateLimit-Reset: 1707696000

MCP Integration

PageShot ships with a built-in Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. Connect PageShot directly to Claude, VS Code, Cursor, or any MCP-compatible AI client to take screenshots from your assistant.

Installation

Add the following to your MCP client configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pageshot": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "pageshot-api"]
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

Environment Variables

Terms of Service

By using the PageShot API, you agree to the following terms:

• The API is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, express or implied.
• You may use the API for lawful purposes only. Capturing screenshots of illegal content, phishing pages, or content you do not have rights to view is prohibited.
• We reserve the right to rate-limit or block access to any IP address that abuses the service.
• You may not use the API to systematically scrape or archive websites without the site owner's consent.
• We are not liable for any damages arising from the use of this service.
• These terms may be updated at any time. Continued use constitutes acceptance of updated terms.

Privacy Policy

PageShot is designed with privacy in mind:

• No accounts or personal data: We do not require signup, email, or any personal information to use the API.
• No screenshot storage: Screenshots are generated on-the-fly and streamed directly to you. We do not store, cache, or log captured images.
• Minimal logging: We log request metadata (IP address, timestamp, requested URL) for rate limiting and abuse prevention only. Logs are retained for a maximum of 30 days.
• No cookies or tracking: The API does not set cookies or use any tracking technologies.
• No third-party sharing: We do not sell, share, or transfer any data to third parties.
• Contact: For privacy-related inquiries, email damian.pozimski@gmail.com.

Support

Need help? Here's how to reach us:

• Documentation: You're reading it!
• GitHub: github.com/softvoyagers
• Email: damian.pozimski@gmail.com
• Status Page: /v1/status