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How to Record Puppeteer Browser Sessions as MP4 Video

Use Puppeteer’s experimental page.record() API to save browser actions as MP4, with a safe start-stop lifecycle and guidance on screenshots, traces, and older screencast examples.

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Use Puppeteer’s page.record() to record a page session as an MP4. Navigate to the page, start recording, perform the browser actions you want to capture, then call stop() before closing the browser. The current Puppeteer API reference marks this feature experimental, so check it against the Puppeteer version and browser environment your project uses.

Record a Puppeteer session to MP4

This runnable ES module follows Puppeteer’s documented recording lifecycle: start the browser, open a page, navigate, record, perform actions, stop the recording, and close the browser. Install Puppeteer in your project first, then save this as an .mjs file and run it with Node.js.

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import puppeteer from 'puppeteer';

const browser = await puppeteer.launch();
try {
  const page = await browser.newPage();
  await page.goto('https://www.example.com');

  const recorder = await page.record({path: 'recording.mp4'});
  // Perform the browser actions to capture here.
  await recorder.stop();
} finally {
  await browser.close();
}

The recording is saved to recording.mp4 and the API outputs an MP4 video stream. Replace the example URL and the comment with the navigation and interactions you need to capture. See Puppeteer’s Page.record() API reference.

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Keep the recording lifecycle in order

  1. Navigate and prepare the page before starting the recording if you do not want setup activity in the video.
  2. Call page.record({path: 'recording.mp4'}) and await the returned recorder.
  3. Perform the interactions that should appear in the video.
  4. Call and await recorder.stop() before closing the browser, allowing the recording stream to finish.
  5. Close the browser in a finally block so it is cleaned up if navigation or another operation fails.

Choose the right Puppeteer capture method

Use the method that produces the artifact you actually need. A recording is a visual replay; a screenshot is a still image; a trace is diagnostic timeline data.

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Need Puppeteer method Output and distinction
Video of page actions Page.record() MP4 video stream. The current API reference labels it experimental. Puppeteer API reference
A still image of the page Page.screenshot() Image capture saved to a path; screenshot options include full-page capture. The screenshots guide also demonstrates waiting for navigation before saving. Puppeteer screenshots guide
Performance or debugging timeline page.tracing.start() and page.tracing.stop() A trace that can be opened in Chrome DevTools or a timeline viewer. Categories, output path, and optional screenshots can be configured; only one trace may be active per browser. It is not the MP4 session video. Puppeteer tracing API

Account for experimental status and older screencast guidance

The current API reference marks Page.record() experimental. Verify its availability and behavior with the Puppeteer version and browser/protocol environment used by your project rather than assuming the API is stable across setups. Puppeteer API reference

Older Puppeteer guidance may mention Page.screencast(). The Puppeteer next API reference marks that method deprecated and directs users to Page.record(). Its older flow is described as WebM using VP9 by default at 30 FPS and requires ffmpeg; treat those details as migration context for the deprecated method, not as specifications for Page.record(). Puppeteer next API reference: Page.screencast()

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page.record() returns a ScreenRecording, documented as a readable stream with a stop() method. Obtain it from page.record(); the class constructor is internal and is not intended to be called by application code. Puppeteer ScreenRecording API

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Troubleshoot recording issues

  • The recording is missing or incomplete: Confirm that the script awaited page.record(), awaited recorder.stop(), and stopped the recorder before closing the browser. These are the documented start/stop steps.
  • The API is unavailable or behaves differently in your setup: Check the Puppeteer version and browser/protocol environment, because the current API is experimental.
  • You expected a still image or diagnostic timeline: Use Page.screenshot() for an image or tracing APIs for diagnostic timeline data; neither is interchangeable with an MP4 session recording.
  • You followed an older Page.screencast() example: The next API reference marks it deprecated and points to Page.record(). Rework new recording code around the current method and validate it in your target environment.
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Or skip the browser setup

If you need a static screenshot of a URL rather than a video of browser actions, ScreenshotNeo provides a website screenshot API and MCP server. Its one-call request returns an image or PDF; it does not record a session video. For an MP4 of interactions, use Puppeteer’s recording method above.

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For example, this cURL request captures a webpage as WebP. See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for the available parameters.

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

ScreenshotNeo accepts cookie and consent banners before capture and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets; each step 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 for AI agents. The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots a month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000.

Sign up for ScreenshotNeo’s free plan to get 1,000 screenshots a month with no card.

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