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Start your local development server, then navigate Puppeteer to its full URL—such as http://localhost:3000—and save the page with page.screenshot(). Set an explicit wait condition and viewport when the image needs to be complete and repeatable.
Take a screenshot of a page on localhost
In a Node.js project configured to use ES modules, install Puppeteer with npm install puppeteer, start your development server, and save this as screenshot.mjs:
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import puppeteer from 'puppeteer';
const browser = await puppeteer.launch();
try {
const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.goto('http://localhost:3000', { waitUntil: 'networkidle2' });
await page.screenshot({ path: 'page.png', fullPage: true });
} finally {
await browser.close();
}Run it with node screenshot.mjs. Replace the URL, port, and output filename as needed. The URL must include a scheme such as http:// or https://. Puppeteer’s documented screenshot workflow uses Page.screenshot(); its Screenshots guide is at pptr.dev/guides/screenshots, and the navigation requirements are described in the Page.goto() reference.
Choose what to capture
Visible viewport
Omit fullPage to capture only the currently visible viewport:
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await page.screenshot({ path: 'viewport.png' });Full document
Set fullPage: true to capture the full page rather than just the viewport:
await page.screenshot({ path: 'full-page.png', fullPage: true });One element
To capture a specific element, select it and use its screenshot method:
const card = await page.$('.product-card');
if (!card) throw new Error('Could not find .product-card');
await card.screenshot({ path: 'product-card.png' });Puppeteer scrolls the element into view if necessary. The operation throws if the element has been detached from the DOM. See the ElementHandle.screenshot() reference.
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Wait until the content is ready
waitUntil: 'networkidle2' is a useful navigation starting point, but network quiet does not guarantee that an application has finished rendering, running animations, or loading delayed assets. For a dynamic page, wait for the content that matters:
await page.goto('http://localhost:3000', { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' });
await page.waitForSelector('[data-testid="dashboard-ready"]');
await page.screenshot({ path: 'dashboard.png', fullPage: true });Replace the example selector with an element or readiness signal your application exposes. If the page depends on a known delay, Puppeteer also supports an explicit wait:
await page.goto('http://localhost:3000');
await new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, 1000));
await page.screenshot({ path: 'delayed.png' });A fixed delay is simple but can make capture slower or unreliable when load time varies. A meaningful selector or app-ready signal is generally a better fit when available.
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Set a repeatable viewport
For consistent screenshot dimensions, set the viewport before navigation. Puppeteer’s screen configuration guide says the default headless screen is 800 × 600 when neither --screen-info nor --window-size is supplied. Define the dimensions explicitly if layout differences matter:
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await page.setViewport({ width: 1440, height: 900, deviceScaleFactor: 1 });
await page.goto('http://localhost:3000', { waitUntil: 'networkidle2' });
await page.screenshot({ path: 'desktop.png', fullPage: true });See Puppeteer’s screen configuration guide. The viewport affects responsive layout; choose dimensions that match the screen size you want to test.
Or skip the browser setup
If you need a screenshot from a reachable URL without managing a local Puppeteer browser, ScreenshotNeo offers a screenshot API and MCP server. It captures URLs, returning PNG, JPEG, WebP, or PDF; it cannot reach a site that is only available inside your computer’s localhost environment. To use it with a development page, expose that page at a URL the API can access.
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For example, this cURL request captures a publicly reachable page:
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webpSee the ScreenshotNeo documentation for API options and setup. Cookie banners are accepted before capture, and known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets are removed; each step can be turned off. Bot checks, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits cost nothing, with response headers indicating the page verdict and billing status. Its MCP server provides screenshot tools for AI agents. The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000.
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Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Troubleshooting
Navigation fails or Puppeteer cannot connect
- Confirm the development server is running and listening on the expected port.
- Use the complete URL, including scheme and port, for example
http://localhost:3000. - Make sure the process running Puppeteer can reach that server. In containerized or remote setups,
localhostrefers to the environment running Puppeteer, not necessarily your host machine.
The screenshot is blank or shows an error page
page.goto() does not throw solely because a response has a valid HTTP error status, such as 404 or 500, in headless shell mode. Inspect the returned response when diagnosing an error page:
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const response = await page.goto('http://localhost:3000', { waitUntil: 'networkidle2' });
console.log('HTTP status:', response?.status());Content or images are missing
Wait for a selector or readiness signal tied to the missing content rather than assuming that navigation completion means every asset or client-side render is finished. Check the browser console and application logs if the content never appears.
The element screenshot throws
Check that the selector matched an element and that the element remains attached to the page until the screenshot completes. A page update that replaces the selected element can detach the handle.
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Keep navigation and capture inside a try block and close the browser in finally, as in the runnable example. This ensures the browser-close attempt runs if navigation or screenshot capture fails.
Browser mode and compatibility
Puppeteer documents headless: true as its new headless mode and headless: 'shell' as the old headless mode. Prefer Puppeteer’s bundled browser unless you have a reason to override it: the documentation cautions that using a custom executablePath is outside its browser compatibility guarantee. See the LaunchOptions reference.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where does Puppeteer save the screenshot?
The path passed in the path option is relative to the Node.js process’s current working directory unless you provide an absolute path.
What does page.screenshot() return if I do not set a path?
It returns screenshot image data as a Uint8Array by default. Puppeteer can also return base64-encoded data when requested.
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