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

Learn three ways to take website screenshots with Python. Compare Selenium, Playwright, and ScreenshotAPI with working code examples.

Last updated: 2026-03-25

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Taking a website screenshot with Python is a common task for monitoring, testing, and generating previews. This guide walks through three approaches: Selenium, Playwright, and a dedicated screenshot API. Each has trade-offs in complexity, reliability, and scalability.

The Hard Way: Selenium

Selenium is the oldest browser automation library for Python. It works, but it requires a matching ChromeDriver binary and a local Chrome installation.

Install dependencies


bash
pip install selenium webdriver-manager

Basic screenshot


python
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.service import Service
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.options import Options
from webdriver_manager.chrome import ChromeDriverManager

options = Options()
options.add_argument("--headless=new")
options.add_argument("--window-size=1440,900")

service = Service(ChromeDriverManager().install())
driver = webdriver.Chrome(service=service, options=options)

driver.get("https://example.com")
driver.save_screenshot("screenshot.png")
driver.quit()

Full-page screenshot with Selenium

Selenium does not natively support full-page screenshots in headless Chrome. You need to resize the window to the full document height first:


python
total_height = driver.execute_script("return document.body.scrollHeight")
driver.set_window_size(1440, total_height)
driver.save_screenshot("full_page.png")

This approach breaks on pages with lazy-loaded content because the scroll height changes as new elements load.

Problems with Selenium

ChromeDriver version must match your Chrome version exactly
webdriver-manager helps but adds another dependency
No built-in full-page screenshot support
Crashes on memory-constrained servers
No native support for waiting on network idle

The Better Hard Way: Playwright

Playwright is the modern alternative to Selenium. It ships its own browser binaries, has a cleaner API, and supports full-page screenshots natively.

Install dependencies


bash
pip install playwright
playwright install chromium

Basic screenshot


python
from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright

with sync_playwright() as p:
    browser = p.chromium.launch()
    page = browser.new_page(viewport={"width": 1440, "height": 900})
    page.goto("https://example.com", wait_until="networkidle")
    page.screenshot(path="screenshot.png")
    browser.close()

Full-page screenshot


python
page.screenshot(path="full_page.png", full_page=True)

Wait for specific elements


python
page.goto("https://example.com")
page.wait_for_selector("#main-content")
page.screenshot(path="screenshot.png")

Dark mode screenshot


python
browser = p.chromium.launch()
context = browser.new_context(
    viewport={"width": 1440, "height": 900},
    color_scheme="dark"
)
page = context.new_page()
page.goto("https://example.com")
page.screenshot(path="dark_mode.png")

Async variant


python
import asyncio
from playwright.async_api import async_playwright

async def capture():
    async with async_playwright() as p:
        browser = await p.chromium.launch()
        page = await browser.new_page(viewport={"width": 1440, "height": 900})
        await page.goto("https://example.com", wait_until="networkidle")
        await page.screenshot(path="screenshot.png")
        await browser.close()

asyncio.run(capture())

Problems with Playwright

Chromium binary is ~150 MB to download
Requires a server with enough RAM to run a browser (512 MB minimum)
Scaling to hundreds of concurrent screenshots requires infrastructure work
Browser processes can leak memory on long-running servers
Docker setup needs additional system dependencies (libnss3, libatk-bridge2.0-0, etc.)

The Easy Way: ScreenshotAPI

ScreenshotAPI handles browser management, scaling, and rendering in the cloud. You send an HTTP request and receive an image.

Install the Python SDK


bash
pip install requests

Basic screenshot


python
import requests

response = requests.get(
    "https://screenshotapi.to/api/v1/screenshot",
    params={
        "url": "https://example.com",
        "width": 1440,
        "height": 900,
        "type": "png"
    },
    headers={
        "x-api-key": "sk_live_your_api_key"
    }
)

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

Full-page screenshot


python
response = requests.get(
    "https://screenshotapi.to/api/v1/screenshot",
    params={
        "url": "https://example.com",
        "width": 1440,
        "fullPage": True,
        "type": "png"
    },
    headers={
        "x-api-key": "sk_live_your_api_key"
    }
)

Dark mode screenshot


python
response = requests.get(
    "https://screenshotapi.to/api/v1/screenshot",
    params={
        "url": "https://example.com",
        "width": 1440,
        "height": 900,
        "colorScheme": "dark",
        "type": "png"
    },
    headers={
        "x-api-key": "sk_live_your_api_key"
    }
)

Wait for JavaScript content


python
response = requests.get(
    "https://screenshotapi.to/api/v1/screenshot",
    params={
        "url": "https://example.com",
        "waitUntil": "networkidle",
        "waitForSelector": "#main-content",
        "type": "png"
    },
    headers={
        "x-api-key": "sk_live_your_api_key"
    }
)

Batch screenshots with a helper function


python
import requests
from pathlib import Path

API_KEY = "sk_live_your_api_key"
BASE_URL = "https://screenshotapi.to/api/v1/screenshot"

def take_screenshot(url: str, filename: str, **kwargs) -> Path:
    params = {"url": url, "type": "png", **kwargs}
    headers = {"x-api-key": API_KEY}

    response = requests.get(BASE_URL, params=params, headers=headers)
    response.raise_for_status()

    output = Path(filename)
    output.write_bytes(response.content)
    return output

urls = [
    "https://github.com",
    "https://stripe.com",
    "https://linear.app",
]

for url in urls:
    domain = url.split("//")[1].replace(".", "_")
    path = take_screenshot(url, f"{domain}.png", width=1440, height=900)
    print(f"Saved: {path}")

Comparison Table

Feature	Selenium	Playwright	ScreenshotAPI
Setup time	10-15 min	5-10 min	2 min
Browser required	Yes (Chrome)	Yes (Chromium)	No
Full-page support	Manual workaround	Native	Native
Dark mode	Not supported	Native	Native
Wait for selector	Manual polling	Native	Native
Concurrent scaling	Difficult	Difficult	Automatic
Docker image size	~1.5 GB	~800 MB	N/A
Memory per capture	~200 MB	~150 MB	0 (cloud)
Cost	Free + infra	Free + infra	Pay per credit

When to Use Each Approach

Choose Selenium if you already have a Selenium test suite and need screenshots as part of existing browser automation workflows.

Choose Playwright if you need precise control over browser behavior, are comfortable managing browser infrastructure, and do not need to scale beyond a few concurrent captures.

Choose ScreenshotAPI if you need reliable screenshots without managing browsers, want to scale to thousands of captures, or are building a feature like link previews or OG image generation where uptime matters.

Next Steps

Read the full API documentation for all available parameters
Try the JavaScript SDK if you are working in a Node.js environment
Learn how to generate OG images from URLs using Python

Frequently asked questions

What is the easiest way to screenshot a website with Python?

The easiest way is using a screenshot API like ScreenshotAPI. You send an HTTP request with the target URL and receive a PNG, JPEG, or WebP image back. No browser installation, no driver management, and no headless Chrome configuration required.

Can I take full-page screenshots with Python?

Yes. Playwright supports full_page=True, Selenium requires scrolling logic, and ScreenshotAPI supports a fullPage=true query parameter that handles scrolling and lazy-loaded content automatically.

Do I need Chrome installed to take screenshots with Python?

If you use Selenium or Playwright, yes. Both require a browser binary. Screenshot APIs like ScreenshotAPI run Chrome in the cloud so you do not need any local browser installation.

How do I take screenshots of JavaScript-heavy sites with Python?

Use Playwright's wait_for_selector method or ScreenshotAPI's waitForSelector parameter. Both ensure the page finishes rendering JavaScript content before the screenshot is captured.

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

The Hard Way: Selenium

Install dependencies

Basic screenshot

Full-page screenshot with Selenium

Problems with Selenium

The Better Hard Way: Playwright

Install dependencies

Basic screenshot

Full-page screenshot

Wait for specific elements

Dark mode screenshot

Async variant

Problems with Playwright

The Easy Way: ScreenshotAPI

Install the Python SDK

Basic screenshot

Full-page screenshot

Dark mode screenshot

Wait for JavaScript content

Batch screenshots with a helper function

Comparison Table

When to Use Each Approach

Next Steps

Frequently asked questions

What is the easiest way to screenshot a website with Python?

Can I take full-page screenshots with Python?

Do I need Chrome installed to take screenshots with Python?

How do I take screenshots of JavaScript-heavy sites with Python?

Related resources

How to Take Screenshots with JavaScript

Python Integration Guide

How to Take Full-Page Screenshots

ScreenshotAPI vs Puppeteer

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