API Documentation

Complete reference for the ShotAPI screenshot API. Capture pixel-perfect screenshots with a simple HTTP request.

Quick Start

The simplest way to capture a screenshot is with a GET request:

curl "https://api.shotapi.io/screenshot?url=https://example.com&access_key=YOUR_KEY"

Authentication

ShotAPI supports four authentication methods. Choose the one that works best for your use case:

1. Query Parameter: `access_key`

https://api.shotapi.io/screenshot?url=example.com&access_key=YOUR_KEY

2. Query Parameter: `api_key`

https://api.shotapi.io/screenshot?url=example.com&api_key=YOUR_KEY

3. Authorization Header: Bearer

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY" \
  "https://api.shotapi.io/screenshot?url=example.com"

4. Custom Header: X-Api-Key

curl -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_KEY" \
  "https://api.shotapi.io/screenshot?url=example.com"

Parameters

All parameters are passed as query parameters in the URL.

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`url` *	string	-	Target URL to screenshot
`format`	string	png	Output format: png, jpeg, webp, pdf
`viewport_width`	number	1280	Viewport width in pixels
`viewport_height`	number	1024	Viewport height in pixels
`device_scale_factor`	number	1	Device pixel ratio (1-3)
`full_page`	boolean	false	Capture full scrollable page
`selector`	string	-	CSS selector to screenshot specific element
`image_quality`	number	80	JPEG/WebP quality (0-100)
`delay`	number	0	Wait time in milliseconds before capture
`dark_mode`	boolean	false	Enable dark mode preference
`block_ads`	boolean	false	Block ads and trackers
`block_cookie_banners`	boolean	false	Hide cookie consent banners

Response

Content Types

Format	Content-Type
`png`	image/png
`jpeg`	image/jpeg
`webp`	image/webp
`pdf`	application/pdf

Response Headers

X-RateLimit-Limit - Your total daily quota

X-RateLimit-Remaining - Remaining requests today

X-RateLimit-Reset - Unix timestamp when quota resets

Error Codes

Status	Description
`400`	Bad Request - Missing or invalid parameters
`401`	Unauthorized - Invalid or missing API key
`429`	Too Many Requests - Rate limit exceeded
`500`	Internal Server Error - Something went wrong on our end

Rate Limits

Rate limits reset daily at midnight UTC. Limits are per API key.

Plan	Price	Daily Limit
Anonymous	Free	10 requests/day
Free	$0	100 requests/day
Starter	$9/month	2,500 requests/day
Pro	$29/month	10,000 requests/day

Code Examples

cURL

# Basic screenshot
curl "https://api.shotapi.io/screenshot?url=https://example.com&access_key=YOUR_KEY" \
  -o screenshot.png

# Full page with custom viewport
curl "https://api.shotapi.io/screenshot?url=https://example.com&access_key=YOUR_KEY&full_page=true&viewport_width=1920" \
  -o screenshot.png

# Screenshot specific element
curl "https://api.shotapi.io/screenshot?url=https://example.com&access_key=YOUR_KEY&selector=.hero-section" \
  -o screenshot.png

Node.js (fetch)

const fs = require('fs');

const API_KEY = 'YOUR_KEY';
const url = 'https://example.com';

const response = await fetch(
  `https://api.shotapi.io/screenshot?url=$encodeURIComponent(url)&format=png`,
  
    headers: 
      'Authorization': `Bearer $API_KEY`
    
  
);

const buffer = await response.arrayBuffer();
fs.writeFileSync('screenshot.png', Buffer.from(buffer));

Python (requests)

import requests

API_KEY = 'YOUR_KEY'
url = 'https://example.com'

response = requests.get(
    f'https://api.shotapi.io/screenshot',
    params=
        'url': url,
        'format': 'png',
        'full_page': 'true'
    ,
    headers=
        'Authorization': f'Bearer API_KEY'
    
)

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

Need help or have questions? Check out our guides or reach out through the dashboard.