How to take website screenshots in Python (without Selenium or Playwright)

#python #screenshot #webscraping #automation

How to Take Website Screenshots in Python (Without Selenium or Playwright)

The classic Python approach to website screenshots involves Selenium, a chromedriver binary, version pinning nightmares, and a CI pipeline that breaks every time Chrome updates. There's a simpler path.

A screenshot API call returns the PNG directly. Here's what that looks like in Python:

import requests

response = requests.post(
    'https://pagebolt.dev/api/v1/screenshot',
    headers={'x-api-key': 'YOUR_API_KEY'},
    json={'url': 'https://example.com', 'fullPage': True}
)

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

Five lines. No binary dependencies. Works in any Python environment — Lambda, Cloud Run, a Jupyter notebook, your local machine.

Full-page screenshots

response = requests.post(
    'https://pagebolt.dev/api/v1/screenshot',
    headers={'x-api-key': 'YOUR_API_KEY'},
    json={
        'url': 'https://yoursite.com',
        'fullPage': True,
        'fullPageScroll': True,  # triggers lazy-loaded images before capture
        'blockBanners': True     # removes cookie consent popups
    }
)

fullPageScroll: True scrolls the page before capturing — this forces lazy-loaded images and infinite scroll content to render. blockBanners removes GDPR popups automatically.

Mobile screenshots

response = requests.post(
    'https://pagebolt.dev/api/v1/screenshot',
    headers={'x-api-key': 'YOUR_API_KEY'},
    json={
        'url': 'https://yoursite.com',
        'viewportDevice': 'iphone_14_pro',
        'fullPage': True
    }
)

25+ device presets available. Useful for visual regression testing across breakpoints or generating mobile-specific previews.

Generate a PDF instead

Swap the endpoint:

response = requests.post(
    'https://pagebolt.dev/api/v1/pdf',
    headers={'x-api-key': 'YOUR_API_KEY'},
    json={
        'url': 'https://yoursite.com/report',
        'format': 'A4',
        'printBackground': True
    }
)

with open('report.pdf', 'wb') as f:
    f.write(response.content)

Same pattern, same credentials.

Async batch screenshots

For scraping or monitoring pipelines that need many screenshots in parallel:

import asyncio
import aiohttp

async def screenshot(session, url, filename):
    async with session.post(
        'https://pagebolt.dev/api/v1/screenshot',
        headers={'x-api-key': 'YOUR_API_KEY'},
        json={'url': url, 'fullPage': True}
    ) as response:
        content = await response.read()
        with open(filename, 'wb') as f:
            f.write(content)

async def main():
    urls = [
        ('https://site-a.com', 'site-a.png'),
        ('https://site-b.com', 'site-b.png'),
        ('https://site-c.com', 'site-c.png'),
    ]
    async with aiohttp.ClientSession() as session:
        await asyncio.gather(*[screenshot(session, url, fn) for url, fn in urls])

asyncio.run(main())

All three screenshots fire in parallel. No browser pool to manage.

Passing cookies for authenticated pages

response = requests.post(
    'https://pagebolt.dev/api/v1/screenshot',
    headers={'x-api-key': 'YOUR_API_KEY'},
    json={
        'url': 'https://app.yoursite.com/dashboard',
        'cookies': ['session=abc123; Domain=yoursite.com'],
        'fullPage': True
    }
)