You can automate recurring ShrinkTheWeb captures by scheduling a script with cron—but first confirm ShrinkTheWeb’s current API endpoint, authentication, request format, and account availability. The available integration references are old and do not establish a current API contract, so do not copy their historical settings into a new request without checking current vendor documentation. Cron runs the script; the script makes the capture request, saves the result, and reports failures.
What you need before scheduling a capture
- A ShrinkTheWeb account and current API instructions confirming the service is available to you.
- A script that sends a capture request using the endpoint, authentication method, and parameters documented for your account.
- A destination for the output and a way to detect failed requests or invalid captures.
- A Unix-like host with cron, or another scheduler appropriate to your environment.
Historical Drupal integration guides, updated March 4, 2019, describe profile Access and Secret keys and options such as target URL, width, full-length captures, maximum height, viewport dimensions, post-load delay, and image quality. Some features depended on account level. These are historical integration details, not confirmation of current parameter names or request syntax: Drupal 7 integration guide and Drupal 8 integration guide.
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Before writing the request, confirm the current endpoint, credential format, supported capture settings, response format, rate limits, and account terms with ShrinkTheWeb. A targeted search did not establish current official API documentation, so a reliable, runnable ShrinkTheWeb API request cannot be supplied without guessing. The Drupal project page says the module “appears to no longer be supported” as of January 31, 2022; that status applies to the Drupal integration project and does not prove that the ShrinkTheWeb service itself is unavailable: Drupal project status.
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Build and test the capture script
Keep the capture work in a script rather than putting a complicated request directly in the crontab. Once you have verified the current API contract, make the script define the target URL and required capture settings, send the request, check whether it succeeded, and save the returned image or other documented result. Use only parameter names and authentication behavior confirmed by current ShrinkTheWeb documentation.
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Do not treat the old Drupal options as a current API specification. They can help you identify settings you may need to look for, but the available references cannot verify today’s endpoint, request fields, response body, or account limits.
- Save the script at a stable absolute path, such as
/home/your-user/bin/capture-site.sh. Use the actual path and username from your system. - Make it executable if it is a shell script:
chmod 700 /home/your-user/bin/capture-site.sh. - Run it manually as the same operating-system account that will own the crontab. Verify that credentials are available to that account and that the saved output is a valid capture.
- Make failures observable. Have the script return a nonzero exit status on request or save errors, and write useful diagnostic output to a log without exposing credentials.
A manual run matters because cron usually has a smaller environment than an interactive shell. Absolute paths avoid relying on the current working directory or an interactive PATH. General cron guidance recommends testing as the crontab-owning account, logging runs, and checking the first scheduled output: cron job guidance.
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Schedule the script with cron
Only add the schedule after the manual run succeeds. Edit the crontab for the account that should run the capture:
crontab -e
A cron entry has five time fields followed by the command: minute, hour, day of month, month, and day of week. For example, this runs the script every day at 06:30 according to the host’s local time:
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30 6 * * * /home/your-user/bin/capture-site.sh >> /home/your-user/logs/capture-site.log 2>&1
Create the log directory beforehand, substitute real paths, and choose a cadence appropriate to your use. Cron starts the job at the configured time; it does not render the screenshot, validate the result, or automatically recover a failed request. Check the host’s timezone and the first scheduled run rather than assuming the schedule means UTC.
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Troubleshoot failed or missing captures
- No output file: Run the script manually as the crontab owner, inspect its exit status and log, and check that the output directory exists and is writable.
- Works interactively but not in cron: Replace relative paths with absolute paths and make required environment variables or credentials available to the scheduled account using a suitably protected method.
- Request rejected or authentication fails: Verify the current ShrinkTheWeb endpoint, credential type, and request format against current vendor instructions. The 2019 Drupal guides do not establish today’s API syntax.
- Unexpected capture settings: Confirm that the options you send are currently supported for your account. Historical references mention configurable dimensions and delays, but do not verify present availability.
- Job appears to run but the capture is unusable: Check the response and output format according to the current API documentation; a successful cron launch alone does not prove a valid screenshot was returned.
- Drupal integration errors: The Drupal.org project page says the module appeared unsupported as of January 31, 2022. That is a reason to avoid relying on that module for new automation, not evidence that the underlying service has ended.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does the Drupal module’s unsupported status mean ShrinkTheWeb has shut down?
No. Drupal.org’s notice concerns the integration module, not the status of the ShrinkTheWeb service.
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Do so only if current ShrinkTheWeb documentation confirms those credentials and the associated request format for your account.
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