Use Python’s built-in csv module to read the URLs and Playwright to capture each page, then use Pillow to resize and arrange the images into a labeled grid. The workflow below preserves the CSV order, records failures instead of stopping at the first bad URL, and creates both individual screenshots and one PNG contact sheet.
What you need and what the script creates
You need Python, Playwright, and Pillow. The script reads a CSV with a url column, saves one screenshot per nonblank URL, writes a manifest mapping each CSV row to its image and status, and assembles a contact sheet in CSV order. It uses viewport screenshots by default so page previews have consistent dimensions.
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Install the dependencies and Playwright’s Chromium browser:
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchespython -m pip install playwright pillow
python -m playwright install chromiumPlaywright’s screenshot API supports PNG, JPEG, and WebP, and can capture either the viewport or the full scrollable page. See the Playwright Python screenshots guide and Page.screenshot API reference.
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Prepare the CSV
Save the input as urls.csv with a header named url and one address per row:
url
https://example.com/
https://www.python.org/
https://playwright.dev/The script also accepts a different URL-column name, delimiter, and encoding through command-line options. It strips surrounding whitespace, skips blank URL cells, and keeps each original URL in the manifest. CSV applications may vary in delimiter and encoding, so specify those options when the file is not comma-delimited UTF-8.
Run this complete script
Save the following as csv_contact_sheet.py. It captures screenshots sequentially, continues after per-URL navigation or capture errors, and includes a labeled error tile for each failed row in the contact sheet.
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import argparse
import asyncio
import csv
import re
from pathlib import Path
from urllib.parse import urlparse
from PIL import Image, ImageDraw, ImageFont
from playwright.async_api import async_playwright
def safe_stem(url: str) -> str:
"""Create a readable, filesystem-safe fragment for an output filename."""
host = urlparse(url).netloc or "url"
host = re.sub(r"[^A-Za-z0-9.-]+", "_", host).strip("._") or "url"
return host[:60]
def load_font(size: int):
try:
return ImageFont.truetype("DejaVuSans.ttf", size)
except OSError:
return ImageFont.load_default()
def make_contact_sheet(items, output_path: Path, columns: int, thumb_width: int,
thumb_height: int, label_height: int, gap: int):
if not items:
print("No nonblank URL rows to include in the contact sheet.")
return
rows = (len(items) + columns - 1) // columns
cell_width = thumb_width + 2 * gap
cell_height = thumb_height + label_height + 2 * gap
sheet = Image.new("RGB", (columns * cell_width, rows * cell_height), "white")
draw = ImageDraw.Draw(sheet)
font = load_font(14)
for position, item in enumerate(items):
col, row = position % columns, position // columns
x = col * cell_width + gap
y = row * cell_height + gap
if item["status"] == "ok":
with Image.open(item["path"]) as source:
thumb = source.convert("RGB")
thumb.thumbnail((thumb_width, thumb_height), Image.Resampling.LANCZOS)
preview = Image.new("RGB", (thumb_width, thumb_height), "#eeeeee")
preview.paste(thumb, ((thumb_width - thumb.width) // 2,
(thumb_height - thumb.height) // 2))
sheet.paste(preview, (x, y))
label = f"Row {item['row']}: {item['url']}"
else:
draw.rectangle((x, y, x + thumb_width, y + thumb_height), fill="#f3e5e5")
draw.text((x + 10, y + 10), "CAPTURE FAILED", fill="#8b0000", font=font)
label = f"Row {item['row']}: {item['url']}"
label = label.replace("n", " ")
draw.text((x, y + thumb_height + 6), label[:110], fill="black", font=font)
sheet.save(output_path, format="PNG")
async def main(args):
input_path = Path(args.csv)
output_dir = Path(args.output)
output_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
screenshots_dir = output_dir / "screenshots"
screenshots_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
with input_path.open("r", newline="", encoding=args.encoding) as handle:
reader = csv.DictReader(handle, delimiter=args.delimiter)
if not reader.fieldnames or args.column not in reader.fieldnames:
raise SystemExit(
f"CSV must have a header named {args.column!r}. "
f"Found: {reader.fieldnames}"
)
rows = list(reader)
items = []
manifest_path = output_dir / "manifest.csv"
async with async_playwright() as playwright:
browser = await playwright.chromium.launch()
page = await browser.new_page(viewport={"width": args.width, "height": args.height})
page.set_default_navigation_timeout(args.timeout * 1000)
page.set_default_timeout(args.timeout * 1000)
for row_number, row in enumerate(rows, start=2):
original_url = (row.get(args.column) or "").strip()
if not original_url:
items.append({"row": row_number, "url": "(blank URL)",
"status": "skipped", "path": None,
"error": "blank URL"})
continue
filename = f"{row_number:04d}-{safe_stem(original_url)}.png"
image_path = screenshots_dir / filename
try:
response = await page.goto(original_url, wait_until=args.wait_until)
await page.screenshot(path=str(image_path), full_page=args.full_page)
status = "ok"
error = ""
if response is not None and response.status >= 400:
status = "ok_http_error"
error = f"HTTP {response.status}"
items.append({"row": row_number, "url": original_url,
"status": status, "path": image_path,
"error": error})
print(f"{status}: CSV row {row_number} -> {image_path}")
except Exception as exc:
items.append({"row": row_number, "url": original_url,
"status": "failed", "path": None,
"error": str(exc)})
print(f"failed: CSV row {row_number} ({original_url}): {exc}")
await browser.close()
with manifest_path.open("w", newline="", encoding="utf-8") as handle:
fields = ["row", "url", "filename", "status", "error"]
writer = csv.DictWriter(handle, fieldnames=fields)
writer.writeheader()
for item in items:
path = item.get("path")
writer.writerow({
"row": item["row"],
"url": item["url"],
"filename": str(path.relative_to(output_dir)) if path else "",
"status": item["status"],
"error": item["error"],
})
make_contact_sheet(
items, output_dir / "contact-sheet.png", args.columns,
args.thumb_width, args.thumb_height, args.label_height, args.gap
)
print(f"Manifest: {manifest_path}")
print(f"Contact sheet: {output_dir / 'contact-sheet.png'}")
if __name__ == "__main__":
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="Capture CSV URLs and create a contact sheet")
parser.add_argument("csv", help="Input CSV path")
parser.add_argument("--column", default="url", help="URL header name (default: url)")
parser.add_argument("--output", default="captures", help="Output directory")
parser.add_argument("--encoding", default="utf-8-sig", help="CSV text encoding")
parser.add_argument("--delimiter", default=",", help="CSV delimiter")
parser.add_argument("--width", type=int, default=1280, help="Browser viewport width")
parser.add_argument("--height", type=int, default=800, help="Browser viewport height")
parser.add_argument("--timeout", type=int, default=30, help="Per-navigation timeout in seconds")
parser.add_argument("--wait-until", choices=["load", "domcontentloaded", "networkidle", "commit"],
default="domcontentloaded", help="Navigation readiness condition")
parser.add_argument("--full-page", action="store_true", help="Capture the full scrollable page")
parser.add_argument("--columns", type=int, default=3, help="Contact sheet grid columns")
parser.add_argument("--thumb-width", type=int, default=400, help="Thumbnail width in pixels")
parser.add_argument("--thumb-height", type=int, default=250, help="Thumbnail height in pixels")
parser.add_argument("--label-height", type=int, default=42, help="Space below each thumbnail for labels")
parser.add_argument("--gap", type=int, default=12, help="Padding around each grid cell in pixels")
asyncio.run(main(parser.parse_args()))Run it from the directory containing the file and CSV:
python csv_contact_sheet.py urls.csvThe output directory contains screenshots/, manifest.csv, and contact-sheet.png. To use a full-page capture and five columns, for example:
python csv_contact_sheet.py urls.csv --full-page --columns 5Choose capture and contact-sheet settings
Viewport or full page
The default viewport capture produces consistent previews that are easier to compare in a grid. Add --full-page when below-the-fold content matters. Playwright describes a full-page screenshot as a capture of the entire scrollable page, as if it fit on a very tall screen. Such captures can become unusually tall; shrinking them into a fixed thumbnail may make text hard to read.
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Navigation readiness and timeouts
The default domcontentloaded waits for the document’s initial HTML to be parsed without waiting for every image or third-party resource. Choose load when load-event resources matter, or networkidle for pages that settle after network activity. Sites with analytics, polling, or continuously loaded content may never reach network idle. Increase --timeout for slow sites; a timeout is recorded for that row and processing continues.
Image format and grid design
The script saves page captures as PNG, a sensible default for text-heavy previews where preserving crisp text is useful. Playwright also supports JPEG and WebP; those can reduce image size depending on content and encoding settings. This script keeps PNG throughout the contact-sheet workflow. Adjust --thumb-width, --thumb-height, and --columns to balance overview density against readability. Labels show the CSV row number and URL, while the manifest retains the complete URL.
Inspect failures and troubleshoot
- Missing URL column: The header must match
url, including capitalization. Use--column addressif your header is namedaddress. - Wrong delimiter or encoding: If the header appears as one combined field or characters are corrupted, pass the correct
--delimiter(for example,;) or--encoding. The defaultutf-8-sigalso handles a UTF-8 byte-order mark. - Chromium executable missing: Run
python -m playwright install chromiumin the same Python environment used to install Playwright. - Navigation timeout: The site may be slow, waiting indefinitely on background requests, or unreachable. Increase
--timeout, switch fromnetworkidletodomcontentloaded, and verify that the URL opens normally. The script records the failure and proceeds to later rows. - HTTP error or redirect: Redirects are followed by browser navigation. An HTTP response with status 400 or above is still captured when possible and marked
ok_http_error; inspect the manifest’s error field. A failed navigation may not produce a screenshot. - Bot checks, CAPTCHAs, or access denied: Some sites restrict automated browsing. The browser may show a challenge or denial page rather than the intended content; do not treat that image as a successful view of the page.
- Blank or incomplete content: A page may render content after the selected readiness condition. Try a longer timeout or
--wait-until load. Pages that depend on scrolling to trigger lazy-loaded images may require additional interaction before capture; this basic script does not scroll through the page to trigger them. - Contact sheet too large or labels clipped: A large CSV creates a large composite image. Use fewer columns only if you want larger cells; for very large lists, split the input into batches or create multiple sheets. Labels are shortened in the contact sheet, but the full URL remains in
manifest.csv.
Performance, reliability, and cost considerations
This implementation opens one page and processes URLs sequentially, which limits simultaneous browser load and makes row-to-output mapping straightforward. Runtime depends on the number of URLs, site response times, chosen readiness condition, and capture size; there is no universal completion-time figure. For a large input, split the CSV into batches, increase timeouts only where needed, and retain the manifest so reruns can be targeted. Automated access may be blocked by individual sites, and screenshots represent what the browser rendered at capture time, not a guarantee that every element or delayed resource loaded.
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Playwright itself is an open-source browser automation framework; the script does not call a screenshot API. If you use a hosted screenshot service instead, check its current limits and pricing before sending a large batch, and consider whether URLs contain private or authenticated content before transmitting them to a third party.
Or skip the browser setup
ScreenshotNeo can capture a URL with one GET request and return an image or PDF. For a single URL, save the response as an image file; you can adapt the target URL and output filename for your workflow. See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for request options and response details.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does the script preserve the original CSV order?
Yes. It processes rows in order and places contact-sheet tiles in that same order; the manifest records each source row.
Can I use a CSV header other than url?
Yes. Pass the header name with --column, such as --column address.
Quick Recap
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