Launch Playwright’s Chromium browser, navigate to a page, then call page.screenshot(). Chromium runs headlessly by default, so a basic capture needs no special headless flag.
Capture a page with Playwright and Chromium
Install Playwright and its Chromium browser, then save a screenshot with this runnable JavaScript example:
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const { chromium } = require('playwright');
(async () => {
const browser = await chromium.launch(); // Headless by default
try {
const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.goto('https://example.com');
await page.screenshot({ path: 'screenshot.png' });
} finally {
await browser.close();
}
})();Save it as screenshot.js and run node screenshot.js. The resulting screenshot.png is a viewport capture. The essential call is await page.screenshot({ path: 'screenshot.png' });; the surrounding steps launch Chromium, open a page, and navigate to the URL. See Playwright’s Page screenshot API and browser documentation.
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Install the Playwright package in your project and install its browser binaries. For headless-shell-only installations, Playwright documents npx playwright install --with-deps --only-shell. Browser build and installation details can change between Playwright releases; consult the browser documentation for the version installed in your project.
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Choose viewport or full-page capture
By default, the screenshot contains the current viewport, not the entire scrollable document. Set fullPage: true to capture the full page:
await page.screenshot({ path: 'full-page.png', fullPage: true });Use viewport capture when you need the visible screen at a specific point in a page. Use full-page capture for a long document or page overview. Full-page output can be substantially taller than a viewport image.
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- QHD Resolution (2560 x 1440) has 1.7 times the pixel density of Full HD for incredibly detailed pinsharp images
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Control output format, quality, and scale
Playwright supports PNG, JPEG, and WebP screenshots. PNG is the default; when saving to a path, Playwright can infer the format from the filename extension.
- PNG: Default format. The quality setting does not apply.
- JPEG: Specify
type: 'jpeg'and optionally aqualityvalue. The documented default quality is 80. - WebP: Specify
type: 'webp'and optionally aqualityvalue. The documented default is 100, which is lossless.
await page.screenshot({
path: 'page.webp',
type: 'webp',
quality: 85,
scale: 'css'
});scale: 'css' creates one image pixel per CSS pixel. scale: 'device' uses device pixels and may create larger, high-DPI images; it is the documented default. Pick the scale according to whether the output should match CSS layout dimensions or retain device-pixel detail.
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Save the image or use it in memory
Providing path writes the image to disk. Without path, page.screenshot() returns an image buffer instead:
const image = await page.screenshot();
// Pass image to code that accepts a Buffer, or write it yourself.This is useful when a script needs to upload the image, attach it to a report, or process it without first choosing a screenshot path in the API call.
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Make captures more repeatable
For stable captures, reduce movement and control the browser environment. The screenshot API offers animations: 'disabled' to disable CSS animations, transitions, and Web Animations during capture. Finite animations are fast-forwarded; infinite animations are canceled to their initial state for the screenshot. Playwright resumes animations afterward.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsawait page.screenshot({
path: 'stable.png',
animations: 'disabled',
style: '*, *::before, *::after { caret-color: transparent !important; }'
});The optional style value injects CSS for the capture, letting you hide or alter dynamic content when appropriate. Screenshots can still differ across operating systems, browser versions, settings, hardware, power sources, and headless modes. For visual baselines, create and compare images in the same environment. Playwright explains these sources of variation in its visual comparisons guide.
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Direct screenshots versus visual assertions
Use page.screenshot() when you need an image file or buffer. For automated visual regression tests, Playwright Test provides expect(page).toHaveScreenshot(). It waits until two consecutive screenshots match and then compares the result with an expected snapshot. Screenshot assertions are for the Playwright Test runner, rather than a replacement for the ordinary screenshot API.
Common problems and fixes
- No image appears on disk: Check that the script reached the screenshot call and that the process has permission to write to the selected directory. Use an explicit path if the current working directory is unclear.
- Only the visible area is captured: This is the default. Pass
fullPage: trueto capture the full scrollable page. - The screenshot looks soft or is unexpectedly large: Check the
scaleoption. The defaultdevicescale uses device pixels;cssgives one output pixel per CSS pixel. - Output format or quality is unexpected: Confirm the path extension or set
typeexplicitly. Quality affects JPEG and WebP, not PNG. - Captures differ between runs or machines: Disable animations when appropriate and keep the operating system, Playwright/browser version, settings, and execution environment consistent.
- Chromium is missing or the requested installation is too large: Install the browser build required by your Playwright version. The documented headless-shell-only command is
npx playwright install --with-deps --only-shell; check the browser docs before choosing an installation mode.
Or skip the browser setup
For a one-request screenshot without managing Playwright or Chromium, ScreenshotNeo accepts a URL and returns an image or PDF. Its screenshot API can remove cookie and consent banners, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture; those cleanup steps can be turned off. Bot checks, blank pages, failed loads, timeouts, and cache hits are not billed, and response headers report the page verdict and billing status. ScreenshotNeo also provides an MCP server with screenshot tools for AI agents.
Example cURL request (see the ScreenshotNeo API documentation):
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does Playwright launch Chromium headlessly by default?
Yes. Playwright documents Chromium as headless by default. Its regular Chromium build and headless shell are separate options, and browser behavior can vary by Playwright release.
Can I get a screenshot without writing a file?
Yes. Omit the path option; page.screenshot() returns a buffer.
Quick Recap
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