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Freedom251 › Blog › Chromium

Puppeteer Screenshot Has a White Strip at the Bottom: How to Fix It

By Freedom251 Team · · 5 min read

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A white strip at the bottom is a symptom, not a single Puppeteer error. First check whether you intended a viewport or full-page screenshot; then measure the page height, wait for the content that must appear, and compare device scale and browser compatibility. The right fix depends on which of those checks identifies the mismatch.

1. Check whether you asked for a viewport or full-page screenshot

page.screenshot() captures the viewport by default. Set fullPage: true when you want the full page. Puppeteer’s current ScreenshotOptions documentation lists fullPage as defaulting to false (ScreenshotOptions).

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// Viewport only
await page.screenshot({ path: 'capture.png' });

// Full page
await page.screenshot({ path: 'capture.png', fullPage: true });

If the output includes more vertical space than you expected, do not assume the screenshot API added it: first find out whether the document itself is that tall. Puppeteer’s screenshot guide also shows how to capture a specific element.

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2. Measure the rendered page and compare it with the image

Before changing capture options, inspect the viewport and both common document-height measurements. This helps distinguish a capture-region mismatch from excess space in the page layout.

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const dimensions = await page.evaluate(() => ({
  viewportHeight: window.innerHeight,
  documentHeight: document.documentElement.scrollHeight,
  bodyHeight: document.body.scrollHeight,
  viewportWidth: window.innerWidth,
  documentWidth: document.documentElement.scrollWidth,
}));
console.log(dimensions);

Compare these values with the PNG’s pixel width and height. A full-page image taller than the visible content may reflect empty footer or container space, bottom padding or margin, positioned elements, or responsive CSS. Those are layout checks to investigate, not a universal explanation for every white strip.

  • If the document height is unexpectedly large, inspect the page’s bottom-most elements and computed styles for blank containers, padding, margins, and positioned content.
  • If the document height looks right but the image dimensions do not, repeat the capture with the intended viewport and screenshot options clearly specified.
  • If the strip appears only in full-page mode, compare that result with a viewport capture to narrow the issue to full-page extent or content beyond the viewport.

3. Wait for the content the screenshot needs

Navigation finishing does not guarantee that lazy-loaded images, embedded frames, or other delayed components are ready. A Puppeteer issue documented missing content in a full-page capture involving lazy-loaded images and an iframe, even with networkidle2 (issue #3202, opened September 5, 2018).

Wait for the specific element that must be present, then capture. Use the actual selector and readiness condition for the page you control:

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await page.goto('https://example.com', { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' });
await page.waitForSelector('.report-content');
await page.screenshot({ path: 'capture.png', fullPage: true });

For a lazy image, waiting for its element to exist may not mean the image has finished loading. Check its load state when that matters:

await page.waitForSelector('#hero-image');
await page.waitForFunction(() => {
  const image = document.querySelector('#hero-image');
  return image && image.complete && image.naturalWidth > 0;
});
await page.screenshot({ path: 'capture.png', fullPage: true });

Replace the example URL and selectors with those for your page. A fixed sleep can help diagnose timing, but it is not a guarantee that rendering is complete; prefer a condition tied to the content you need.

4. Compare device scale and check browser compatibility

Run a controlled device-scale comparison

Keep the URL, viewport, browser, Puppeteer version, and all other options unchanged; compare your current deviceScaleFactor with 1. One site-specific report found a white output with deviceScaleFactor: 2 in 2018, but that report does not establish a general fix (issue #3169, opened September 1, 2018).

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await page.setViewport({ width: 1280, height: 800, deviceScaleFactor: 1 });
await page.screenshot({ path: 'scale-1.png', fullPage: true });

If the strip changes, record that result and test the actual page and browser pairing further; do not treat scale factor 1 as a universal remedy.

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Verify Puppeteer and Chromium are a supported pair

Log the browser version and check it against the compatibility information for your installed Puppeteer release:

console.log(await browser.version());

In a 2023 issue, a Puppeteer maintainer identified an unsupported pairing: the reporter used Puppeteer 18.1.0 with Chromium 119 (issue #11514, opened December 7, 2023). That diagnosis applies to that report, not every white strip. Avoid pairing an old Puppeteer release with a newer system Chromium unless that combination is supported.

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5. Use transparency only to diagnose the background

Puppeteer documents white as the default page screenshot background. omitBackground: true omits that default and allows transparency (ScreenshotOptions):

await page.screenshot({
  path: 'transparent.png',
  fullPage: true,
  omitBackground: true,
});

If the strip becomes transparent, that helps establish that the pixels were background-colored. This option does not crop the capture, shorten the document, or remove excess layout space.

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6. Keep the historical height report in perspective

A 2017 Puppeteer issue discussed very tall full-page screenshots and a 16,384-pixel cap in that historical environment (issue #359, opened August 17, 2017). It is not evidence of a current general height limit. If your page is exceptionally tall, reproduce the behavior on your installed Puppeteer and browser versions before attributing a strip or blank area to a capture-height cap.

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7. Troubleshoot by symptom

What you observe What to check next
Extra space appears only with fullPage: true. Measure document height and inspect the page’s bottom layout; compare with a viewport screenshot.
Content is missing or blank near the bottom. Wait for the specific image, iframe, or page component needed by the capture rather than relying only on navigation completion.
The output changes when device scale changes. Repeat a controlled comparison at deviceScaleFactor: 1 and record the complete configuration.
The browser is a separately installed Chromium build. Check that its version is supported by the installed Puppeteer release; record await browser.version().
The strip changes with omitBackground: true. Investigate background color versus transparent pixels; remember that transparency does not change the capture region.

8. Share a minimal reproduction if the cause remains unclear

A useful bug report should let someone reproduce the same capture conditions. Include:

  • Puppeteer version and the output of await browser.version().
  • Operating system, target URL or a minimal local HTML reproduction, and page.setViewport() values, including deviceScaleFactor.
  • The exact page.screenshot() options and whether fullPage was enabled.
  • The PNG’s pixel width and height, plus the measured viewport, document-element, and body heights.
  • Which content was expected at the bottom and what readiness condition you waited for.

Or skip the browser setup

ScreenshotNeo is a website screenshot API and MCP server. A GET request can return an image or PDF without you setting up Puppeteer for the capture:

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 banners are accepted and removed before capture, along with known newsletter popups and chat widgets; those steps can be turned off. Bot checks, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits cost nothing, and response headers identify the page verdict and billing status. Its MCP server provides take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf for AI agents. The Free plan includes 1,000 screenshots a month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 shots.

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Sign up for ScreenshotNeo’s free plan.

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ChromiumPuppeteerscreenshotsTroubleshootingWeb development

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