Overview
This node captures screenshots of web pages using the ScreenshotBase API. It is designed to fetch a visual snapshot of any given URL, which can be useful for monitoring website changes, generating previews, or archiving content visually.
Common scenarios include:
- Automatically capturing website thumbnails for reports or dashboards.
- Archiving visual states of web pages at specific times.
- Generating images for social media previews or marketing materials.
For example, you could input "https://bbc.com" and receive a screenshot image file of the BBC homepage in PNG format.
Properties
| Name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| URL | The web address of the page to capture a screenshot from. |
| File Name | The desired name for the saved screenshot file (e.g., "screenshot.png"). |
| Width | Viewport width in pixels for the screenshot (default 1280). |
| Height | Viewport height in pixels for the screenshot (default 720). |
| Format | Image format of the screenshot; options are PNG, JPEG, or WEBP. |
| Full Page | Whether to capture the entire scrollable page (true) or just the visible viewport (false). |
Output
The node outputs binary data representing the captured screenshot image. The output includes:
- A JSON field containing metadata about the screenshot.
- A binary property holding the image file data named according to the "File Name" input property.
This allows downstream nodes to save, upload, or manipulate the screenshot image as needed.
Dependencies
- Requires an active connection to the ScreenshotBase API service.
- Needs an API authentication token configured in n8n credentials to authorize requests.
- Network access to the target URLs to capture screenshots.
Troubleshooting
- Invalid URL or unreachable site: The node may fail if the provided URL is incorrect or the site is down. Verify the URL and network connectivity.
- API authentication errors: Ensure the API key credential is correctly set up and has sufficient permissions.
- Unsupported image format: Confirm that the selected format is one of PNG, JPEG, or WEBP.
- Large full-page screenshots: Capturing very long pages might cause timeouts or memory issues; consider limiting viewport size or disabling full page capture.
Links and References
- ScreenshotBase API Documentation (for detailed API usage and options)
- n8n Documentation on Creating Custom Nodes