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Capture a Website Screenshot in PHP with Laravel Dusk

Use Laravel Dusk’s screenshot methods to capture a page, a selected element, or responsive breakpoint screenshots in PHP browser tests.
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In a Laravel Dusk browser test, call $browser->screenshot('homepage'). Laravel documents the output directory as tests/Browser/screenshots. For a single element use screenshotElement(); for a series across responsive breakpoints use responsiveScreenshots(). These instructions follow Laravel’s 13.x Dusk documentation, consulted October 3, 2026.

Set up Laravel Dusk

Dusk runs browser automation tests against your application. Laravel’s 13.x documentation describes Google Chrome with a standalone ChromeDriver installation as the default setup.

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  1. Install Dusk as a development dependency:

    composer require laravel/dusk --dev
  2. Install its scaffolding and ChromeDriver binary:

    php artisan dusk:install

    This creates the tests/Browser directory and an example browser test.

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  3. Set APP_URL to the application URL that the browser should visit. If you use Laravel Sail, follow Laravel’s Dusk configuration instructions for Sail.

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Laravel currently recommends Pest for browser testing in new projects, citing performance and usability improvements in Pest 4. Dusk remains relevant for existing Dusk suites and teams that have selected it. See the Laravel 13.x Dusk documentation for installation and environment-specific details.

Capture a full-page browser screenshot

Call screenshot() in a Dusk browser test after navigating to the page you want to capture:

<?php

namespace TestsBrowser;

use LaravelDuskBrowser;
use TestsDuskTestCase;

class HomepageScreenshotTest extends DuskTestCase
{
    public function test_homepage_screenshot(): void
    {
        $this->browse(function (Browser $browser) {
            $browser->visit('/')
                ->screenshot('homepage');
        });
    }
}

Laravel documents screenshots under tests/Browser/screenshots. The documented API takes a filename; check the behavior of your installed Dusk version if you need to rely on a particular file extension or overwrite rule.

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Choose the capture scope

Capture the browser page

$browser->screenshot('homepage') saves a screenshot of the page currently open in the browser.

Capture one element

Pass a CSS selector and a filename to capture a selected element:

$browser->screenshotElement('#checkout-summary', 'checkout-summary');

Use a selector that matches the element you intend to capture. If it does not match the page, confirm the selector and that the page has finished rendering before the capture call.

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Capture responsive breakpoints

To create a series of screenshots at different responsive breakpoints, call:

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$browser->responsiveScreenshots('homepage');

The Laravel documentation describes a series at various breakpoints but does not specify their values in the material cited here. Do not assume particular viewport widths without checking the behavior of the Dusk version in your project.

Keep failure screenshots separate from deliberate captures

Dusk also takes a screenshot when a test fails. Before that failure screenshot, it automatically resizes the browser to fit the content. This is different from an explicit screenshot() call in a test. To turn off the failure behavior, use disableFitOnFailure as documented for your Dusk version. It does not replace or disable deliberate screenshot calls.

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Match ChromeDriver to the browser environment

Browser and driver compatibility changes over time, so use the versions installed in your project environment rather than copying a version number from an older guide. Laravel documents this command to install a driver matching the detected Chrome or Chromium version:

php artisan dusk:chrome-driver --detect

Dusk can also be configured to use a developer-managed Selenium server and another Selenium-compatible driver. Choose that route when it better fits the browsers or infrastructure used by your test environment.

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Troubleshoot common capture problems

  • The screenshot is not where expected: Check tests/Browser/screenshots, Laravel’s documented location, and confirm the test completed far enough to execute the capture call.

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  • The browser does not start: Check that Chrome or Chromium is available and that the ChromeDriver is compatible. Run php artisan dusk:chrome-driver --detect to install a matching driver, or verify the Selenium server and configured driver if you use that setup.

  • The captured element is missing: Verify the CSS selector passed to screenshotElement() and that the element exists when the method runs.

  • A failure screenshot has a different size than expected: Dusk fits the browser to the content before capturing a failed test. Disable that behavior with disableFitOnFailure if it is not appropriate for your test.

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  • Responsive captures do not match expected widths: The cited Laravel documentation does not enumerate the breakpoint values. Check the behavior of the installed Dusk version rather than assuming a fixed list.

Or skip the browser setup

If your goal is an image or PDF from a URL rather than a screenshot inside a Dusk test, ScreenshotNeo offers a website screenshot API and MCP server. Its one-call API example is:

curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webp

See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for request options. Before capture, it accepts cookie or consent banners and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets; each of those steps can be turned off. Bot checks or CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits are not billed, and the response identifies the page verdict and billing status in headers. AI agents can use its MCP server tools, including take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf. The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots a month without a card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 shots. Sign up for the free plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does Laravel Dusk call its screenshot method?

Use $browser->screenshot('filename').

Can Dusk capture just one element instead of the whole page?

Yes. Use $browser->screenshotElement('#selector', 'filename') with the element’s CSS selector.

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