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For ScreenshotOne, add reduced_motion=true to the request to emulate the visitor’s prefers-reduced-motion: reduce setting. For example: https://api.screenshotone.com/take?reduced_motion=true&url=https://example.com/&access_key=<your access key>. This is an illustrative request shape, not a credentialed or tested request. The setting asks the page to honor the preference; it does not guarantee that all motion stops.
What the reduced-motion setting does
The CSS media feature is prefers-reduced-motion, and its reduced value is reduce. A site can use that preference to simplify or disable animations for visitors who have requested less motion. With ScreenshotOne’s reduced_motion=true, the rendered page receives that preference and decides how to respond. A page may honor it, ignore it, or change only some effects. ScreenshotOne’s documentation says: “This option does not itself pause animations, videos, or carousels.” (ScreenshotOne documentation.)
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That makes preference emulation useful when checking accessibility behavior: it shows what the site does when the browser reports a reduced-motion preference. It is not a universal animation freeze switch, and the result may vary with the site’s implementation.
Choose between preference emulation and active reduction
ScreenshotOne has a second, similarly named option, reduce_motion=true. It also enables the reduced-motion preference, but additionally attempts to settle or pause supported motion before capture. ScreenshotOne describes this intervention as best-effort.
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| Option | What it requests | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
reduced_motion=true |
Emulates prefers-reduced-motion: reduce; the page determines its response. |
When evaluating how a site honors the visitor’s setting. |
reduce_motion=true |
Emulates the preference and attempts to finish finite CSS or Web Animations effects, pause looping animation and native media, and stop autoplay in supported animation libraries or sliders. | When supported motion should be settled or paused for a capture. |
Active reduction can still miss custom JavaScript effects, canvas animation, and animated images. As ScreenshotOne puts it, “Motion reduction is best-effort.” Since reduce_motion already enables the preference, the vendor recommends not setting both parameters. These behaviors are documented by ScreenshotOne, not independently tested here; they should not be taken as a guarantee of a motionless or pixel-identical image.
Other ways to emulate reduced motion
The right route depends on whether you need a hosted screenshot, automated tests, a command-line capture, or manual browser inspection. These options emulate a preference in different workflows; they do not all actively intervene in animation.
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| Method | How to set it | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Playwright Test | Set use: { reducedMotion: 'reduce' }. The documented setting accepts reduce or no-preference and was added in v1.50. |
Configures the preference for automated browser tests. The related page-level API is emulateMedia. See the Playwright Test options documentation. |
| shot-scraper | Use --reduced-motion. |
Emulates the media feature in the CLI; this option is listed in the version 1.4 documentation. See shot-scraper 1.4 documentation. |
| Chrome DevTools | In Rendering, choose prefers-reduced-motion: reduce under CSS media-feature emulation. |
Manual inspection in a browser, rather than an API request setting. See the Chrome DevTools guide. |
| Microsoft Edge DevTools | Use the Rendering tool’s reduced-motion emulation. | Manual inspection. Microsoft notes that some other animations in its demonstration remain active, illustrating that preference emulation does not freeze everything. See Microsoft’s Edge DevTools guide. |
Why a client hint is not the default API method
For server-rendered variation, MDN documents the Sec-CH-Prefers-Reduced-Motion client hint, negotiated through Accept-CH, with cache behavior to consider through Vary. MDN marks it experimental and not broadly available, so compatibility-sensitive client hints are not a substitute for a screenshot API’s documented request option. See MDN’s client-hint reference.
Or skip the browser setup
ScreenshotNeo uses a single GET request to return a screenshot, and also offers an MCP server for AI agents. Its documented options do not establish a reduced-motion emulation setting, so use a tool with that documented control when testing a site’s response to this preference.
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For a standard capture, this cURL request saves a WebP image:
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curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://example.com -o shot.webpSee the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for request options. ScreenshotNeo removes cookie banners, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture; bot checks, blank pages, failed loads, and cache hits are not billed. AI agents can take screenshots through its MCP server. The Free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month with no card, and paid plans start at $5 for 3,000. Learn about ScreenshotNeo or sign up for 1,000 free screenshots a month with no card.
Troubleshooting
- The page still animates: With
reduced_motion=true, the site controls its response and may leave effects running. Check its reduced-motion styles and behavior rather than assuming the API setting pauses media. - Some movement remains with
reduce_motion=true: The intervention is best-effort; custom JavaScript, canvas, and animated images may not be stopped. - You set both parameters: Remove one. For preference testing, keep
reduced_motion=true; for supported active reduction, usereduce_motion=true. - You cannot find a matching setting in another API: Parameter names are vendor-specific. The option names described here are ScreenshotOne’s; consult the chosen provider’s documentation rather than assuming the same names work elsewhere.
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