§ Screenshot API

Screenshot API, Rethought

Most teams reach for a screenshot API when what they need is a record of a page. A PNG gives you pixels. Sitepdf gives you the full page as a searchable PDF plus a timestamped archived snapshot, from one call.

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§ 01

When a screenshot is the wrong tool

Screenshots are perfect for thumbnails and visual previews. They are a poor way to keep evidence: text in a PNG cannot be searched or indexed, long pages get stitched or cut, and an image file carries no capture metadata anyone can verify. If the reason you want a screenshot API is "we need to know what this page said", you want a record, not a picture.

Sitepdf renders the entire page, full height, in managed Chromium and writes it to a paginated, text searchable PDF. The same call can store the page as a timestamped snapshot, so the capture has provenance, not just pixels.

§ 02

Everything a screenshot pipeline needs, minus the pipeline

Wait for a selector before capture so charts and lazy content are on screen. Choose paper size and orientation for the PDF output. Batch thousands of URLs. Trigger from a webhook or a cron job. It is the same infrastructure that powers our URL to PDF API, so you inherit the rendering quality without running headless Chrome yourself.

Monitoring competitor pages, capturing campaign states, keeping marketing claims on file: our guide to dated page copies walks through the common setups.

§ 03

And if you do want images

PNG and JPEG output from the same render call is on the launch roadmap, marked planned, honestly, because it is not shipped yet. If image output is the feature that would make Sitepdf fit your stack, say so when you join early access; roadmap order follows what early access users actually need.

The API shape early access unlocks: full page capture as searchable PDF plus snapshot.

curl https://api.sitepdf.com/v1/render \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SITEPDF_KEY" \
  -d url="https://competitor.com/launch" \
  -d wait_for=".hero" \
  -d format=A4 \
  -d archive=true

The API is in early access; this is the documented call shape it opens with. Full request and response walkthrough.

§ 04

Questions about this job

Why would I use a PDF instead of a screenshot?

A PDF keeps the text as text: searchable, extractable, indexable, and readable at any zoom. It paginates long pages instead of producing a 40,000 pixel image, prints cleanly, and pairs naturally with a timestamped archive entry. For evidence and records it simply holds up better.

Can Sitepdf return an actual PNG or JPEG?

Not yet. Image output is planned for launch. Today the output is a full page searchable PDF plus, optionally, the archived snapshot of the page. If you need images first, tell us when you join the list.

Does it capture the full page or just the viewport?

The full page, at its rendered height, paginated into the paper size you choose. Viewport only capture is a planned option alongside image output.

Can I run captures on a schedule for monitoring?

Yes, call the API from any scheduler. Each capture becomes a dated entry in your archive, so a weekly cron over a competitor's pricing page builds a complete change history by itself.

§ Index

More PDF and archiving tools

§ Early access

Get on the early-access list

The API opens to the list first, in order. Early access locks the planned launch rates for 12 months. No card required, launching soon.