Use a systemd .timer unit to activate a matching .service, and let that one-shot service run a browser script that saves the screenshot to an absolute path. For a daily 2 a.m. capture, the example below uses Playwright in headless Chromium, a calendar timer, and Persistent=true for a limited catch-up when the timer was inactive. Replace the account, paths, URL, and schedule for your server.
How the timer and screenshot service fit together
systemd timers schedule units rather than running browser code themselves. A timer named site-screenshot.timer activates site-screenshot.service by default because the unit names share a base name. The service is Type=oneshot: it starts the capture script and finishes when that process exits.
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This separates the schedule from the browser work. You can change when captures run without embedding scheduling logic in the script, and you can run or inspect the service independently when diagnosing problems.
Install the browser and prepare stable paths
Install Playwright and its Chromium build
Install Playwright in the project environment using its official setup instructions, then install the browser build and Linux dependencies compatible with that Playwright version. The Playwright browser guide documents npx playwright install --with-deps chromium for installing Chromium and dependencies on supported Linux environments: Playwright browser management. If you upgrade Playwright, install the browser binaries matching the new version as well.
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Playwright runs browsers headless by default, so a server without a desktop can usually run the capture directly. A headed Linux browser needs a display server such as Xvfb; use that only if the job specifically needs headed operation.
Choose the service account and output directory
Create the project and output directories, and ensure the service account can read the script and write the output. The example uses screenshot as the account and /var/lib/site-screenshot for the image; those names are examples, not required system paths. Use absolute executable, script, and screenshot paths. Playwright resolves a relative screenshot path from the process’s current working directory, which may differ from an interactive shell’s directory.
Create the capture script
Save this as /opt/site-screenshot/capture.js after installing the playwright package in the execution environment:
const { chromium } = require('playwright');
(async () => {
const browser = await chromium.launch();
try {
const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.goto('https://example.com');
await page.screenshot({
path: '/var/lib/site-screenshot/latest.png',
fullPage: true
});
} finally {
await browser.close();
}
})();The example navigates to one URL, captures the full page, and closes Chromium even if capture work fails. For a viewport-only image, omit fullPage: true. Playwright’s Page API documents navigation and screenshot options at Page API.
Before scheduling, run the script as the same Unix account the service will use and confirm that the output file is created. This exposes missing browser dependencies, incorrect permissions, or a bad path before those failures become unattended timer runs.
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Define the systemd service and timer
Service unit
Create /etc/systemd/system/site-screenshot.service:
[Unit]
Description=Capture a website screenshot
[Service]
Type=oneshot
User=screenshot
WorkingDirectory=/opt/site-screenshot
ExecStart=/usr/bin/node /opt/site-screenshot/capture.jsAdjust User, WorkingDirectory, and ExecStart to match the account, project location, and Node.js executable on your host. If Node.js or the browser package is managed through a per-user version manager, systemd may not inherit the interactive shell’s modified PATH; use the actual executable path and provide any required environment explicitly.
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Create /etc/systemd/system/site-screenshot.timer:
[Unit]
Description=Schedule website screenshots
[Timer]
OnCalendar=*-*-* 02:00:00
Persistent=true
[Install]
WantedBy=timers.targetOnCalendar=*-*-* 02:00:00 means a daily wall-clock run at 02:00 in the host’s local time zone. Check the proposed expression on the target server with systemd-analyze calendar '*-*-* 02:00:00'; calendar parsing and supported features can depend on the installed systemd version.
Choose the schedule and missed-run behavior
Wall-clock schedule or interval
Use OnCalendar= when the requirement is tied to a civil time, such as every day at 02:00 or a particular weekday. Timer units also support monotonic scheduling, which is based on elapsed time rather than a wall-clock appointment. Choose according to whether the capture should occur at a named clock time or after an interval; do not treat those schedule types as interchangeable.
What Persistent=true does
With a calendar timer, Persistent=true records when the service was last triggered and can cause one activation when the timer starts again if an eligible calendar event elapsed while it was inactive. It is useful when a server was powered down or the timer was stopped at the scheduled time, but it does not replay every missed daily occurrence. Omit it if missed captures should simply be skipped.
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Timing is not exact to the second
A timer expiration is not a guarantee that the service begins at the exact configured instant. AccuracySec= allows a timing window; the installed systemd documentation describes the default behavior for that version. Current upstream documentation also describes ordering calendar timers after time-setting and time-synchronization targets so a timer does not fire against an unset clock. Host configuration and systemd version affect the details. See systemd.timer and systemd.time.
Load, enable, and verify the timer
-
Reload unit definitions:
sudo systemctl daemon-reload. -
Check the calendar expression on the server:
systemd-analyze calendar '*-*-* 02:00:00'. -
Enable the timer at boot and start it now:
sudo systemctl enable --now site-screenshot.timer. -
Inspect its next and previous trigger information:
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Run the service immediately for a manual test:
sudo systemctl start site-screenshot.service. -
Check the service result and recent output:
systemctl status site-screenshot.serviceandjournalctl -u site-screenshot.service.
Timer and service names must match the files you installed. Commands and unit locations shown here are typical systemd administration; verify them against the distribution and installed systemd version on the target host.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Keep captures useful and comparable
Set the viewport, browser version, host image, fonts, and capture settings consistently if you compare screenshots over time. Rendering can vary with host operating system, browser version, settings, hardware, power source, and headless mode, so a changed image is not necessarily evidence that the website changed. Playwright discusses these sources of variation in its visual comparisons guidance.
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Full-page capture can include content beyond the initial viewport, but lazy-loaded images may not appear unless the page has loaded them before capture. If that matters, use a deliberate page-loading strategy and validate its result on the target site rather than assuming navigation alone loads every off-screen asset. Keep output naming intentional: overwriting latest.png preserves only the newest capture; timestamped names preserve a history but require a retention policy so the output directory does not grow indefinitely.
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Troubleshoot common failures
-
The timer does not appear or has no next run: confirm the unit file names, run
sudo systemctl daemon-reload, checksystemctl status site-screenshot.timer, and validate the calendar expression withsystemd-analyze calendar. -
The timer ran but no screenshot was saved: inspect
systemctl status site-screenshot.serviceandjournalctl -u site-screenshot.service. Confirm the service account can write the output directory and that the script’s screenshot path is absolute and correct. -
It works in a shell but fails under systemd: the unit does not necessarily inherit your shell’s current directory, environment, or version-manager path. Set
WorkingDirectory=, use absolute paths, and explicitly configure any required environment.Recommended Free Tools
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Chromium fails to launch: install the browser binaries that match the installed Playwright package and the Linux dependencies. Re-run the documented browser installation after Playwright upgrades; read the service journal for the specific missing library or executable.
-
The service runs at an unexpected local time: check the host time zone and clock synchronization, then inspect the parsed expression and the timer’s next trigger. Calendar timers use wall-clock scheduling, whose interpretation depends on system time configuration.
-
The image differs between runs: stabilize the operating system image, browser build, fonts, viewport, and headless configuration. Dynamic site content can also change independently of the capture setup.
Or skip the browser setup
Instead of maintaining a Linux browser installation and systemd capture script, a scheduled task can call ScreenshotNeo’s screenshot API. For example, save this cURL command in a script and schedule that script with the timer above; the returned image is written to shot.webp. See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for parameters and response details.
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