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How to Take a Website Screenshot in Chromium with Playwright

Use Playwright’s page.screenshot() in Chromium to save a viewport, full-page, or element capture, with options for image format, scale, buffers, and visual tests.
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Use Playwright’s page.screenshot() method after navigating Chromium to the page. By default, it saves the visible viewport; add fullPage: true to capture the full scrollable page, or call screenshot() on a locator to capture one element.

Set up Playwright and capture a page

In an existing Playwright project, use its installed package and browser setup. For a small standalone Node.js script, install Playwright and its Chromium browser:

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npm install playwright
npx playwright install chromium

Save this as screenshot.js and run it with node screenshot.js:

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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: 'website.png' });
  } finally {
    await browser.close();
  }
})();

This launches Chromium, opens a page, navigates to the URL, saves a PNG, and closes the browser even if a step fails. Playwright’s Page API documents the screenshot options and return value. The documentation is live rather than pinned to a particular release, so check it against the version installed in your project.

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Choose what to capture

Visible viewport

The basic call captures the currently visible viewport because fullPage defaults to false:

await page.screenshot({ path: 'viewport.png' });

Entire scrollable page

Set fullPage: true to capture the full scrollable document, rather than only the visible viewport:

await page.screenshot({ path: 'website-full.png', fullPage: true });

This is useful for a whole-page reference, but the resulting image can be much taller than a viewport capture.

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One element

Use a locator screenshot when you need a specific component, such as a header or card:

await page.locator('.header').screenshot({ path: 'header.png' });

The locator must match an element on the page. Playwright’s documentation recommends locator screenshots over the discouraged ElementHandle.screenshot() method. See the screenshots guide and ElementHandle API.

Set the image format, quality, and scale

Playwright supports PNG, JPEG, and WebP. When saving to a path, it infers the format from the filename extension; PNG is the default if the path does not indicate a format. For example:

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await page.screenshot({ path: 'page.jpg', type: 'jpeg', quality: 80 });
await page.screenshot({ path: 'page.webp', type: 'webp', quality: 80 });

quality applies to JPEG and WebP, not PNG. To control the pixel dimensions relative to the page’s CSS layout, set scale:

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await page.screenshot({ path: 'page.png', scale: 'css' });

scale: 'css' produces one image pixel per CSS pixel. scale: 'device' uses device pixels and may create substantially larger images on high-DPI displays. Choose based on whether your priority is a smaller, CSS-sized capture or device-pixel detail. The available options are documented in the Page API.

Return image bytes instead of writing a file

Omit path to receive a buffer. You can then pass the image to another part of your Node.js program or write it yourself:

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const image = await page.screenshot({ type: 'png' });
// For example, send `image` to an image-processing or storage function.

The screenshot guide demonstrates capturing into a buffer for post-processing or sending to another component: Playwright screenshots.

Use screenshots for visual regression tests

For screenshot baselines in Playwright Test, use expect(page).toHaveScreenshot() rather than treating a one-off screenshot as an assertion:

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import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';

test('page matches its visual baseline', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('https://example.com');
  await expect(page).toHaveScreenshot();
});

The assertion waits for two consecutive screenshots to match, then compares the last image with the expected snapshot. This feature belongs to Playwright Test; it is not the same as calling page.screenshot() to save an image. See the visual comparisons documentation.

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Keep the baseline and comparison environment consistent. Playwright identifies operating system, browser version, settings, hardware, power source, and headless mode as possible sources of rendering differences. See Playwright’s snapshot guidance.

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Common problems and fixes

  • The screenshot shows only the top part of the page. The default is the visible viewport. Set fullPage: true if you need the full scrollable document.
  • The element screenshot fails to find the target. Check that the locator matches an element on the loaded page, and use the locator screenshot method: page.locator('.header').screenshot(...).
  • The file is larger than expected. Device-pixel scale can increase image dimensions on a high-DPI display. Try scale: 'css' when one pixel per CSS pixel is sufficient.
  • The file format or quality is unexpected. Check the filename extension and, if needed, set type explicitly. The quality option affects JPEG and WebP, not PNG.
  • A visual baseline differs across runs or machines. Keep the operating system, browser version, settings, hardware, power source, and headless mode consistent where possible; these can affect rendering.
  • The screenshot code runs but no file appears. If you omitted path, the method returns image bytes instead of writing a file. Supply a path or handle the returned buffer.

Or skip the browser setup

If you need a screenshot from an API rather than managing Chromium, ScreenshotNeo takes a URL in one GET request and returns an image or PDF. For example, save a WebP response with cURL:

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

See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for request options. Cookie and consent banners, newsletter popups, and chat widgets are removed before capture by default, and each step can be turned off. Bot checks or CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits are not billed; response headers indicate the page verdict and billing status. Its MCP server provides screenshot tools for AI agents. The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month without a card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 shots.

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Sign up for ScreenshotNeo’s free plan: 1,000 screenshots a month, no card required.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Playwright save screenshots as WebP?

Yes. Set the output path to a .webp filename or specify type: 'webp'; quality can be set for WebP.

Does a full-page screenshot include content below the fold?

Yes. Use fullPage: true to capture the full scrollable page instead of only the current viewport.

How can I capture an image without saving it to disk?

Call page.screenshot() without a path; it returns a buffer.

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