How to Take Screenshots with Java: Selenium, Playwright, and API

Capture website screenshots in Java using Selenium WebDriver, Playwright, or ScreenshotAPI. Production-ready examples for Spring Boot.

Last updated: 2026-03-25

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Java applications in enterprise environments frequently need to capture website screenshots for compliance reports, monitoring dashboards, and document generation. This guide covers three approaches for taking a website screenshot with Java: Selenium WebDriver, Playwright, and ScreenshotAPI.

The Hard Way: Selenium WebDriver

Selenium is the standard browser automation library in the Java ecosystem. It is well-documented but requires ChromeDriver and Chrome.

Maven dependencies


xml
<dependencies>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.seleniumhq.selenium</groupId>
        <artifactId>selenium-java</artifactId>
        <version>4.18.1</version>
    </dependency>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>io.github.bonigarcia</groupId>
        <artifactId>webdrivermanager</artifactId>
        <version>5.7.0</version>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>

Basic screenshot


java
import io.github.bonigarcia.wdm.WebDriverManager;
import org.openqa.selenium.*;
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeDriver;
import org.openqa.selenium.chrome.ChromeOptions;
import java.io.File;
import java.nio.file.Files;
import java.nio.file.Path;

public class Screenshot {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        WebDriverManager.chromedriver().setup();

        ChromeOptions options = new ChromeOptions();
        options.addArguments("--headless=new", "--window-size=1440,900");

        WebDriver driver = new ChromeDriver(options);
        driver.get("https://example.com");

        File screenshot = ((TakesScreenshot) driver).getScreenshotAs(OutputType.FILE);
        Files.copy(screenshot.toPath(), Path.of("screenshot.png"));

        driver.quit();
    }
}

Wait for elements


java
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.WebDriverWait;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.ExpectedConditions;
import java.time.Duration;

WebDriverWait wait = new WebDriverWait(driver, Duration.ofSeconds(10));
wait.until(ExpectedConditions.visibilityOfElementLocated(By.id("main-content")));
File screenshot = ((TakesScreenshot) driver).getScreenshotAs(OutputType.FILE);

Selenium limitations

ChromeDriver version must match Chrome version exactly
No native full-page screenshot support
Heavy memory footprint (~300 MB per browser instance)
WebDriverManager adds startup latency
Flaky in containerized environments without proper font packages

The Better Hard Way: Playwright for Java

Playwright provides a modern alternative with better SPA handling and full-page support.

Maven dependency


xml
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.microsoft.playwright</groupId>
    <artifactId>playwright</artifactId>
    <version>1.42.0</version>
</dependency>

Basic screenshot


java
import com.microsoft.playwright.*;

public class Screenshot {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        try (Playwright playwright = Playwright.create()) {
            Browser browser = playwright.chromium().launch();
            BrowserContext context = browser.newContext(
                new Browser.NewContextOptions().setViewportSize(1440, 900)
            );
            Page page = context.newPage();
            page.navigate("https://example.com",
                new Page.NavigateOptions().setWaitUntil(WaitUntilState.NETWORKIDLE));
            page.screenshot(new Page.ScreenshotOptions().setPath(Path.of("screenshot.png")));
        }
    }
}

Full-page screenshot


java
page.screenshot(new Page.ScreenshotOptions()
    .setPath(Path.of("full_page.png"))
    .setFullPage(true));

Dark mode


java
BrowserContext context = browser.newContext(
    new Browser.NewContextOptions()
        .setViewportSize(1440, 900)
        .setColorScheme(ColorScheme.DARK)
);

The Easy Way: ScreenshotAPI

ScreenshotAPI works with Java's built-in HttpClient. No browser binaries, no extra dependencies.

Basic screenshot (Java 11+)


java
import java.net.URI;
import java.net.URLEncoder;
import java.net.http.HttpClient;
import java.net.http.HttpRequest;
import java.net.http.HttpResponse;
import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
import java.nio.file.Files;
import java.nio.file.Path;
import java.util.Map;
import java.util.stream.Collectors;

public class Screenshot {
    private static final String API_KEY = "sk_live_your_api_key";
    private static final String BASE_URL = "https://screenshotapi.to/api/v1/screenshot";

    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        Map<String, String> params = Map.of(
            "url", "https://example.com",
            "width", "1440",
            "height", "900",
            "type", "png"
        );

        String query = params.entrySet().stream()
            .map(e -> e.getKey() + "=" + URLEncoder.encode(e.getValue(), StandardCharsets.UTF_8))
            .collect(Collectors.joining("&"));

        HttpRequest request = HttpRequest.newBuilder()
            .uri(URI.create(BASE_URL + "?" + query))
            .header("x-api-key", API_KEY)
            .GET()
            .build();

        HttpResponse<byte[]> response = HttpClient.newHttpClient()
            .send(request, HttpResponse.BodyHandlers.ofByteArray());

        Files.write(Path.of("screenshot.png"), response.body());
    }
}

Reusable service class


java
public class ScreenshotService {
    private final HttpClient httpClient;
    private final String apiKey;

    public ScreenshotService(String apiKey) {
        this.apiKey = apiKey;
        this.httpClient = HttpClient.newHttpClient();
    }

    public byte[] capture(String url, Map<String, String> options) throws Exception {
        Map<String, String> params = new java.util.HashMap<>(options);
        params.put("url", url);
        params.putIfAbsent("width", "1440");
        params.putIfAbsent("height", "900");
        params.putIfAbsent("type", "png");

        String query = params.entrySet().stream()
            .map(e -> e.getKey() + "=" + URLEncoder.encode(e.getValue(), StandardCharsets.UTF_8))
            .collect(Collectors.joining("&"));

        HttpRequest request = HttpRequest.newBuilder()
            .uri(URI.create("https://screenshotapi.to/api/v1/screenshot?" + query))
            .header("x-api-key", apiKey)
            .GET()
            .build();

        HttpResponse<byte[]> response = httpClient.send(request, HttpResponse.BodyHandlers.ofByteArray());

        if (response.statusCode() != 200) {
            throw new RuntimeException("Screenshot API returned " + response.statusCode());
        }

        return response.body();
    }
}

Spring Boot integration


java
import org.springframework.stereotype.Service;
import org.springframework.web.client.RestTemplate;
import org.springframework.http.*;

@Service
public class ScreenshotService {

    private final RestTemplate restTemplate;
    private final String apiKey;

    public ScreenshotService(RestTemplate restTemplate,
                              @Value("${screenshot.api-key}") String apiKey) {
        this.restTemplate = restTemplate;
        this.apiKey = apiKey;
    }

    public byte[] capture(String url) {
        HttpHeaders headers = new HttpHeaders();
        headers.set("x-api-key", apiKey);

        String endpoint = String.format(
            "https://screenshotapi.to/api/v1/screenshot?url=%s&width=1440&height=900&type=png",
            URLEncoder.encode(url, StandardCharsets.UTF_8)
        );

        ResponseEntity<byte[]> response = restTemplate.exchange(
            endpoint, HttpMethod.GET, new HttpEntity<>(headers), byte[].class
        );

        return response.getBody();
    }
}

Spring Boot REST controller


java
@RestController
public class PreviewController {

    private final ScreenshotService screenshotService;

    public PreviewController(ScreenshotService screenshotService) {
        this.screenshotService = screenshotService;
    }

    @GetMapping("/api/preview")
    public ResponseEntity<byte[]> preview(@RequestParam String url) {
        byte[] image = screenshotService.capture(url);
        return ResponseEntity.ok()
            .contentType(MediaType.IMAGE_PNG)
            .cacheControl(CacheControl.maxAge(Duration.ofDays(1)).cachePublic())
            .body(image);
    }
}

Comparison Table

Feature	Selenium	Playwright Java	ScreenshotAPI
Browser required	Yes + ChromeDriver	Yes (auto-install)	No
Full-page support	Manual workaround	Native	Native
Dark mode	Not supported	Native	Query parameter
Memory per capture	~300 MB	~250 MB	0 (HTTP call)
Spring Boot DI	Manual	Manual	RestTemplate/WebClient
Docker image size	~1.5 GB	~1 GB	~300 MB (JRE base)

When to Use Each

Choose Selenium if you have existing Selenium test infrastructure and need screenshots as a side effect.

Choose Playwright for Java for modern browser automation needs with better reliability than Selenium.

Choose ScreenshotAPI for production Spring Boot services, microservices, and cloud deployments. Check pricing for credit-based plans, and see how to build visual regression pipelines or generate website thumbnails.

Next Steps

Read the API documentation for all available parameters
Explore the cURL guide for quick testing
Learn about automating screenshots for batch processing

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Java library for website screenshots?

Selenium WebDriver is the most mature option with extensive documentation. Playwright for Java is newer but has better auto-waiting and a cleaner API. For production use without managing browsers, a REST API is the simplest approach.

Can I take screenshots in Spring Boot without Chrome?

Yes. ScreenshotAPI provides a REST endpoint. Use Java's HttpClient or Spring's RestTemplate/WebClient to make a GET request and receive an image response.

How do I handle ChromeDriver version mismatches?

Use WebDriverManager to automatically download the correct ChromeDriver version for your Chrome installation. Add io.github.bonigarcia:webdrivermanager to your dependencies.

Can Java take full-page screenshots?

Selenium requires a workaround by resizing the window to the document height. Playwright for Java supports full-page screenshots natively. ScreenshotAPI accepts a fullPage=true parameter.

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How to Take Screenshots with Java: Selenium, Playwright, and API

The Hard Way: Selenium WebDriver

Maven dependencies

Basic screenshot

Wait for elements

Selenium limitations

The Better Hard Way: Playwright for Java

Maven dependency

Basic screenshot

Full-page screenshot

Dark mode

The Easy Way: ScreenshotAPI

Basic screenshot (Java 11+)

Reusable service class

Spring Boot integration

Spring Boot REST controller

Comparison Table

When to Use Each

Next Steps

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Java library for website screenshots?

Can I take screenshots in Spring Boot without Chrome?

How do I handle ChromeDriver version mismatches?

Can Java take full-page screenshots?

Related resources

How to Take Screenshots with Python

API Documentation

How to Automate Website Screenshots

Start capturing screenshots today