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World desk4 min

How to Capture Bulk Screenshots on a Raspberry Pi with Chromium

Use Chromium headless to capture one image per URL on a Raspberry Pi, with a unique output filename for every page.

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For a batch of web-page screenshots on a Raspberry Pi, run Chromium headlessly once per URL with --screenshot, set the viewport with --window-size, and move each generated screenshot.png to a unique filename before the next run. The default filename is fixed, so otherwise later captures can overwrite earlier ones.

Capture one page first

Check which Chromium executable is installed before building a batch. Linux examples may use chromium-browser, but Raspberry Pi installations can expose a different command name. Chromium’s guidance notes that chrome://version displays the complete effective command line; on a headless Pi, confirm the binary and accepted switches using the tools available in your installation.

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Try a single capture from a terminal:

chromium --headless --screenshot --window-size=1280,1696 https://example.com

Replace chromium with the executable on your system and change the URL or viewport as needed. Chromium writes screenshot.png to the current working directory by default. See the Chromium Headless documentation and Chrome command-line switch guidance for the current behavior and switch details.

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Run a batch without overwriting screenshots

Put one URL per line in urls.txt. The following is an illustrative shell pattern, not a tested Raspberry Pi script:

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mkdir -p captures
while IFS= read -r url; do
  chromium --headless --screenshot --window-size=1280,1696 --timeout=5000 "$url"
  # Move screenshot.png to a unique, sanitized filename here before the next iteration.
done < urls.txt

The essential step is replacing the comment with logic that gives each image a unique destination. For example, you can create a separate working directory for each invocation, or move the default output into captures/ after every capture. If you derive filenames from URLs, sanitize them first: URL characters such as slashes and query delimiters can create invalid or unintended paths. The fixed default filename and the need to avoid collisions follow from Chromium’s documented output behavior; no particular naming script or batch performance is implied.

Set the viewport and wait time

Viewport dimensions

--window-size=1280,1696 sets the browser viewport dimensions for a capture. Choose dimensions that match the layout you need to inspect; a different viewport may cause responsive pages to rearrange content. The screenshot switch captures a page image, not necessarily every item on an indefinitely long page.

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Capture timeout

The documented example --timeout=5000 specifies a wait in milliseconds before capture. Treat it as a maximum wait, not a guarantee that a site’s JavaScript, lazy-loaded images, or other delayed content has finished. Review sample images from representative sites and adjust the wait for the pages you are capturing.

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Check Chromium’s headless mode on your installed version

The Chromium Headless documentation says that from M132 the old Headless shell functionality is no longer part of the Chrome binary, so --headless=old has no effect. The documented current approach is --headless; users who specifically need the old implementation are directed to chrome-headless-shell. Raspberry Pi packages may not match Chrome release timing or naming, so check the installed version and binary rather than assuming all Pi builds behave alike. Switches can change or be removed, as the command-line guidance cautions.

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Headless page capture or desktop screenshot?

Method What it captures Best suited to
Chromium headless with --screenshot A rendered web page at the chosen browser viewport Repeated URL-based page captures without a visible browser window
Scrot The visible Raspberry Pi desktop Capturing the screen state in an active desktop session

These are different tasks: a Chromium page image is not a screenshot of the Pi desktop. Raspberry Pi Official Magazine describes Scrot as a desktop screenshot option: How to capture screenshots on Raspberry Pi.

Troubleshoot missing or unusable captures

  • The command is not found: the installed executable may have another name. Identify the local Chromium command and use that in place of chromium.
  • Every file looks the same or only one remains: repeated runs are writing the default screenshot.png in the same working directory. Move or rename it after each run, or isolate runs in distinct directories.
  • The page is blank or incomplete: the timeout may have elapsed before the page’s content was ready. Increase the wait as appropriate, then inspect representative output rather than assuming a timeout guarantees readiness.
  • A switch is rejected or behaves differently: check the version and command-line guidance for the binary actually installed. Chromium switches can change, and Raspberry Pi packages may differ from current Chrome releases.
  • The capture is not the visible desktop: headless mode renders a page without showing a browser window. Use a desktop screenshot utility such as Scrot when the target is the active Pi screen.

Plan storage and batch size conservatively

A large set of local image files needs storage space; a microSD card is one possible destination, but the available sources do not establish a required capacity or speed class. They also do not establish a recommended batch size, Raspberry Pi-specific throughput, or performance figures. Run a representative set on the actual Pi, inspect dimensions and content readiness, and check available storage before scheduling a large batch.

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Or skip the browser setup

ScreenshotNeo is a website screenshot API and MCP server from Yorker Media. Its one-request workflow can save a screenshot without installing and managing a local Chromium batch loop:

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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.webp

See the ScreenshotNeo documentation for API details. ScreenshotNeo accepts cookie or consent banners and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture; those steps can be turned off. Bot checks, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits are not billed, and response headers identify the page verdict and billing status. Its MCP server offers take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf tools for AI agents. The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 shots.

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