Quickstart Guide

This guide will help you capture your first screenshot in under 5 minutes. No complex setup required.

Step 1: Get Your API Key

sk_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Keep your API key secret

Never expose your API key in client-side code. Use environment variables or a backend proxy.

Step 2: Make Your First Request

Use cURL, your favorite HTTP client, or one of our SDKs to capture a screenshot:

Using cURL

Terminal

curl -X POST https://api.screencraft.dev/v2/screenshot \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_your_api_key" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://example.com",
    "viewport": { "width": 1920, "height": 1080 },
    "format": "png"
  }'

Using Node.js

screenshot.js

const response = await fetch('https://api.screencraft.dev/v2/screenshot', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer sk_live_your_api_key',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    url: 'https://example.com',
    viewport: { width: 1920, height: 1080 },
    format: 'png',
  }),
});

const data = await response.json();
console.log('Screenshot URL:', data.data.url);

Using Python

screenshot.py

import requests

response = requests.post(
    'https://api.screencraft.dev/v2/screenshot',
    headers={
        'Authorization': 'Bearer sk_live_your_api_key',
        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
    },
    json={
        'url': 'https://example.com',
        'viewport': {'width': 1920, 'height': 1080},
        'format': 'png',
    }
)

data = response.json()
print('Screenshot URL:', data['data']['url'])

Step 3: Get Your Screenshot

The API returns a JSON response with the screenshot URL:

Response

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "url": "https://cdn.screencraft.dev/s/abc123.png",
    "width": 1920,
    "height": 1080,
    "format": "png",
    "size": 245678,
    "created_at": "2025-12-27T10:30:00Z"
  }
}

The screenshot is hosted on our CDN and available for 24 hours. Download it or use the URL directly.

Common Options

Full Page Screenshot

Capture the entire page, including content below the fold:

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "fullPage": true
}

Specific Element

Capture only a specific element using a CSS selector:

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "selector": "#main-content",
  "padding": 20
}

Wait for Content

Wait for dynamic content to load before capturing:

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "waitFor": {
    "selector": ".loaded",
    "timeout": 5000
  }
}

Mobile Viewport

Capture with a mobile device viewport:

{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "viewport": {
    "width": 375,
    "height": 812,
    "deviceScaleFactor": 3,
    "isMobile": true
  },
  "device": "iPhone 14 Pro"
}

Next Steps

Now that you've captured your first screenshot, explore more features:

Screenshot API Reference

Explore all screenshot options and parameters

PDF Generation

Generate PDFs from URLs or HTML

Webhooks

Set up async notifications

Error Handling

Handle errors gracefully