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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →To capture a page protected by HTTP Basic Authentication with Urlbox, Base64-encode the complete username:password pair and pass it as the destination page’s Authorization header using Urlbox’s header render option. Separately, authenticate your Urlbox API request with your Urlbox project secret as a Bearer token. These are two different credentials for two different systems.
Send Basic Authentication credentials to the destination page
Urlbox’s guide demonstrates a synchronous JSON request to https://api.urlbox.com/v1/render/sync. For its example destination, https://httpbin.org/basic-auth/foo/bar, the credentials are foo:bar. Base64-encoding the entire string, including the colon, produces Zm9vOmJhcg==. Urlbox’s render options then include "header": "Authorization=Basic Zm9vOmJhcg==" and "full_page": true. Use credentials for a site you are authorized to access; the example pair is illustrative, not a credential for other sites. Urlbox’s guide describes this pattern.
Keep the two authorization layers separate
- Urlbox API authorization: send
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_URLBOX_SECRETas an HTTP header on the request to Urlbox. - Destination-page authorization: set the Urlbox render option
headertoAuthorization=Basic BASE64_USERNAME_COLON_PASSWORD. Urlbox applies this header when loading the destination URL.
The Urlbox secret grants access to the API; the Basic credentials grant access to the protected page. Do not put the destination password in the Urlbox API Bearer token, or use your Urlbox secret as the destination’s Basic credentials. Urlbox’s API-authentication documentation describes the Bearer-token layer: Urlbox API documentation.
Check that your Urlbox plan includes the header option
Urlbox’s render-options documentation lists the header option as requiring a HiFi plan. Check the entitlement on the account you will use before building a workflow around it; plan details can change. See Urlbox render options.
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Distinguish Basic Authentication from a login form
Use the Basic header method when the site uses HTTP Basic Authentication—typically, the browser displays its built-in username-and-password prompt. A normal webpage login form is different: submitting the form usually establishes a session represented by one or more cookies. Sending a Basic header to such a page will not, by itself, log in.
- HTTP Basic Authentication: encode
username:passwordand sendAuthorization: Basic …through Urlbox’sheaderrender option. - Form-based session: log in through the site’s normal process and provide the relevant session cookies using Urlbox’s
cookieoption. Treat session cookies as credentials and protect them accordingly. - Site-supported token or header: use one only if the destination explicitly supports it. If you control the site, Urlbox’s guide recommends a rotating temporary token in an Authorization header when possible.
Urlbox documents both header and cookie render options in its render-options reference. A URL parameter can work only if the target application supports that authentication method; it is generally a poor place for credentials because URLs may be logged.
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Make a full-page capture
Set full_page: true in the render options when you need the whole page rather than just the visible viewport. Urlbox documents two full-page modes: stitch, the default and accuracy-oriented mode, and native, a faster mode that may not work well on every site. Prefer stitch when capture fidelity matters; try native when speed matters and verify the output for your target page. See Urlbox screenshot documentation.
Protect credentials and verify access
- Base64 is an encoding, not encryption. Anyone who obtains the encoded value can decode it to recover the username and password.
- Use HTTPS for the destination and API request, keep the Urlbox secret and destination credentials out of source control and public logs, and restrict access to any saved request data.
- Use an authorized test target first. Check the resulting capture to confirm that the page loaded after authentication rather than returning a login prompt or access-denied page.
- If you control the destination, prefer a short-lived, rotating token where supported instead of a long-lived password.
Troubleshoot common failures
- The capture shows a login prompt or unauthorized response: confirm the target uses HTTP Basic Authentication, that the encoded value represents the exact
username:passwordpair (including the colon), and that the render option is formatted asAuthorization=Basic …. - The Urlbox request is rejected: check that the API request includes
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_URLBOX_SECRET, independently of the destination header, and that the secret belongs to the account being used. - The header option is unavailable: verify that the account’s current plan includes the documented
headeroption; Urlbox lists a HiFi plan requirement. - A regular login form remains visible: the site likely uses a form-based session, not Basic Authentication. Use the necessary session cookies through the documented
cookieoption, subject to the site’s authentication rules. - The screenshot is incomplete or unreliable: confirm that
full_page: trueis set if the full document is required. Compare the documentedstitchandnativemodes on an authorized target; native is faster but may not suit every site.
Urlbox’s guide is dated July 26, 2024, while its options documentation is live. Confirm current account entitlement and behavior with a request to a site you are authorized to access.
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Or skip the browser setup
ScreenshotNeo is a screenshot API that accepts a URL in one GET request and can return a screenshot or PDF. Its API supports custom headers, including Authorization, for pages that permit header-based access. For a target that uses HTTP Basic Authentication, supply the destination’s Basic Authorization header using the service’s documented header parameter. Do not treat this as a way to bypass a site’s access controls.
ScreenshotNeo removes cookie and consent banners, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture; bot checks, blank pages, and failed loads are not billed. It also offers an MCP server for AI agents to take screenshots. The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000. See the ScreenshotNeo documentation for request parameters and authentication details.
For example, a public page can be captured with this cURL request:
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curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webpFor a protected page, consult the documentation for the supported custom-header parameter and pass the destination’s properly formed Basic Authorization header; the example above does not include credentials. Sign up for ScreenshotNeo’s free plan to get 1,000 screenshots a month with no card.
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