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Run Selenium with a compatible headless Chromium bundle inside Lambda, navigate to the page, wait for the content you need, then save or return the screenshot before the invocation ends. The central challenge is packaging a browser, driver and native libraries that match your Lambda runtime and architecture; the Selenium capture call itself is straightforward.
What you need to make work
A Lambda screenshot function combines four parts: your Python handler, Selenium, a Chromium browser and its matching WebDriver. The browser and driver must run with the selected Lambda operating system, runtime and instruction-set architecture. Native libraries must be compatible too. AWS supports ZIP deployment packages (with dependencies in the ZIP or a layer) and container images, but the official guidance does not specify a universally compatible Chromium bundle or launch-flag set. Pin and verify the browser, driver and dependencies together for your build rather than assuming an older community layer works.
AWS explains that native-code packages need a compatible build environment and documents both ZIP and container-image deployment options in its Python deployment package documentation.
Choose ZIP and layers or a container image
| Choice or limit | Current AWS value or guidance | What it means for Selenium |
|---|---|---|
| ZIP package, including layers | 250 MB unzipped — Amazon Web Services, checked 2026-10-03; see Lambda quotas. | Count the combined unzipped contents of the function package and its layers, including browser-related dependencies. |
| Container image, including layers | 10 GB maximum uncompressed image size — Amazon Web Services, checked 2026-10-03; see Lambda quotas. | Provides substantially more packaging headroom, but does not remove runtime, architecture or native-library compatibility requirements. |
| Function timeout | 900 seconds (15 minutes) maximum — Amazon Web Services, checked 2026-10-03; see Lambda quotas. | Allow for browser startup and page navigation, and set a finite Selenium page-load timeout. |
| Ephemeral storage | 512 MB to 10,240 MB — Amazon Web Services, checked 2026-10-03; see Lambda quotas and ephemeral storage configuration. | Choose capacity for browser files, temporary downloads and screenshots, based on the actual workload. |
Use ZIP and layers when the compatible browser bundle fits the package limit and is manageable in your build workflow. Consider a container image when maintaining the browser and system dependencies as an image is more practical. AWS publishes limits, not a Selenium performance comparison between these deployment choices, so select based on packaging and operational needs rather than presumed speed.
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Build and configure the Lambda browser bundle
- Choose the runtime and architecture. Record the Lambda runtime and instruction-set architecture first. Build or obtain Selenium, Chromium, the driver and native libraries for that environment, and pin their versions in your deployment process.
- Package the function. Put your handler and dependencies in the expected ZIP layout, optionally using a layer, or assemble them into a Lambda-compatible container image. Check the complete unzipped package or image size against the relevant quota.
- Set executable paths. Configure Selenium with the browser binary and driver paths used by your bundle. The locations depend on how you package them; do not copy paths from an unrelated layer or image.
- Set launch arguments for that build. Configure headless operation and any sandbox or runtime arguments required by the specific Chromium build. Validate the selected flags against the browser and Lambda environment; there is no single official flag list established for every bundle.
- Allocate temporary storage and timeout. Set Lambda’s ephemeral-storage allocation to cover the browser’s scratch needs and output files. Set an invocation timeout and Selenium navigation timeout appropriate to your target pages, within Lambda’s 900-second maximum.
Capture a page with Selenium in Python
This handler shows the capture and cleanup flow. It assumes your deployment bundle supplies a compatible Selenium installation, browser, driver and native dependencies. Replace the executable paths and the browser-specific service/options setup with the locations and launch configuration verified for your bundle. The example returns PNG bytes in the Lambda response as base64-encoded data; it is not a claim that a particular Chromium package or flag set has been tested.
import base64
import os
from selenium import webdriver
from selenium.webdriver.chrome.service import Service
def lambda_handler(event, context):
url = event["url"]
driver = None
options = webdriver.ChromeOptions()
options.binary_location = os.environ["CHROME_BINARY"]
options.add_argument("--headless") # Verify flags for your Chromium build.
service = Service(os.environ["CHROMEDRIVER_PATH"])
try:
driver = webdriver.Chrome(service=service, options=options)
driver.set_page_load_timeout(60)
driver.get(url)
# Add an application-specific readiness check here if the content
# you need is rendered after the page-load event.
png = driver.get_screenshot_as_png()
return {
"statusCode": 200,
"headers": {"Content-Type": "image/png"},
"isBase64Encoded": True,
"body": base64.b64encode(png).decode("ascii"),
}
finally:
if driver is not None:
driver.quit()Supply CHROME_BINARY and CHROMEDRIVER_PATH as environment variables pointing to the executables in your bundle. Adapt the response integration to the caller: a synchronous Lambda response has payload-size constraints, so for larger output or durable access, upload the PNG to an appropriate storage destination and return a reference instead. Do not treat a file in /tmp as durable storage.
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Wait for the right content before capture
Selenium’s driver.get(url) waits for the page-load event, but that does not guarantee that every page has finished rendering the specific content you want. A client-rendered chart, image or delayed component may appear later. Prefer a condition tied to the page’s actual readiness—for example, waiting for a known selector with Selenium’s explicit-wait facilities—rather than relying on a fixed sleep, which can be too short on a slow run and waste time on a fast one. Use set_page_load_timeout to bound navigation; a timeout is a signal to handle or report, not proof that a useful screenshot was captured. See Selenium’s Chrome WebDriver documentation and Chromium WebDriver API.
Save, return or persist the screenshot
Write a PNG file
Use driver.save_screenshot('/tmp/page.png') or driver.get_screenshot_as_file('/tmp/page.png'). Selenium returns True when the file is saved and False for an I/O error. The Lambda /tmp directory is temporary storage associated with an execution environment. AWS notes that it may be available to a reused environment, but it is not a durable place to keep results across invocations. Upload a screenshot that must persist, or include it in the response before the invocation ends. AWS describes Lambda ephemeral storage and states: “Lambda provides ephemeral storage for functions in the /tmp directory.”
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Return image bytes or base64
Use driver.get_screenshot_as_png() to obtain PNG bytes, as in the handler above, or driver.get_screenshot_as_base64() if the downstream interface specifically requires base64 text. Make sure the receiving integration expects the corresponding content type and encoding.
Store for later access
If a screenshot must be available after the invocation, send it to a durable destination and return a location or identifier. Keep browser scratch files and temporary captures in /tmp; configure Lambda’s ephemeral storage for their combined needs, not as a substitute for persistent storage.
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Close the browser even when a step fails
Call driver.quit() after capture and in error paths. The finally block in the example ensures cleanup once a driver has been created. Selenium documents quit() as closing the browser and driver executable in its Chromium WebDriver API.
Troubleshoot common failures
- Browser or driver fails to start: Check that both executables exist at the configured paths, are executable, match the selected runtime architecture and are compatible with each other. Confirm that the native shared libraries required by the browser are present in the deployment environment.
- Function reports a missing shared library: The browser bundle’s native dependencies do not match what Lambda provides. Rebuild or package compatible libraries for the chosen runtime and architecture; changing only the Selenium Python package will not supply missing system libraries.
- Navigation hangs or exceeds the function timeout: Set a finite page-load timeout and review the Lambda timeout budget. Slow targets, browser startup and post-load readiness checks all consume invocation time.
- Screenshot is blank or lacks a component: Check whether the target content is rendered after the page-load event. Wait for a page-specific selector or other explicit readiness condition before capture.
- Screenshot file is missing: Confirm the output path is writable and under
/tmp, then check the Boolean result fromsave_screenshotorget_screenshot_as_file. - Result disappears after the invocation: This is expected for temporary storage. Upload the image to durable storage or return it as part of the invocation response.
- Deployment package is rejected or too large: Recalculate the unzipped ZIP and layer contents, or the uncompressed container image size. If the browser bundle does not fit a ZIP deployment, assess a container image and its maintenance requirements.
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If you need a screenshot rather than a Lambda-hosted Selenium browser, ScreenshotNeo offers a website screenshot API and MCP server. One GET request can return a PNG, JPEG, WebP or PDF. The equivalent basic request is:
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FAQ
Can a Lambda screenshot survive a warm invocation?
A reused execution environment may retain temporary files, but AWS defines /tmp as ephemeral storage. Do not rely on it for durable delivery; persist the image separately if it must remain available.
Does this example guarantee a screenshot of a fully rendered page?
No. It waits for the browser’s page-load behavior; pages that render important content later need a readiness condition specific to that page.
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