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If ScreenshotMachine returns invalid_key, first confirm that your request sends your customer key in the key parameter to the official API endpoint. Then check the response header and your account’s secret-phrase setting: a missing key, an invalid key, and an incorrect hash are separate errors with different fixes.
Read the API error before changing credentials
ScreenshotMachine documents API error codes in the X-Screenshotmachine-Response response header. Inspect it before regenerating requests or changing account settings. The API may also return an error image containing text, but the header is the explicit code-bearing signal in the documentation.
| Response code | Meaning | Next step |
|---|---|---|
invalid_key |
The specified customer key is invalid. | Check the key against the one issued for the intended account; if it still fails, contact ScreenshotMachine. |
missing_key |
The request did not include a customer key. | Send the key in the key query parameter. |
invalid_hash |
The supplied hash is invalid. | Check whether a secret phrase is configured and calculate the hash from the exact URL value sent. |
no_credits |
The account has exhausted its credits. | Address account credits; this is not an invalid-key error. |
invalid_url |
The URL is bad or the target requires authorization. | Check the target URL and whether it requires authentication. |
These meanings are from ScreenshotMachine’s API documentation. Do not treat no_credits or invalid_url as evidence that the key itself is wrong.
Check the endpoint and parameter names
The documented website screenshot API uses HTTP GET at https://api.screenshotmachine.com/. Send the customer key as key and the page to capture as url. A key sent as access_key, placed only in a header, or omitted from the request does not match the documented parameter scheme.
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curl -G "https://api.screenshotmachine.com/"
--data-urlencode "key=YOUR_CUSTOMER_KEY"
--data-urlencode "url=https://example.com"
-o screenshot.pngReplace YOUR_CUSTOMER_KEY with the customer key for your account. The example saves the response body to a file; check the response header as well to distinguish a successful capture from an API error response.
Check whether your account uses a secret phrase
If a secret phrase is configured in account settings, ScreenshotMachine requires a hash. Its documented hash is the MD5 digest of the URL parameter value concatenated directly with the secret phrase. The URL value used to calculate the hash must be exactly the same value sent in the url parameter. The documentation says requests with a missing or incorrect hash are ignored when a secret phrase is set.
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For example, if the request sends https://example.com/page, the string to hash is that exact URL followed immediately by the secret phrase, with no separator unless one is part of either value. URL-encode the parameter when transmitting it, but calculate the hash from the URL parameter value, not from its percent-encoded representation. If the account has no secret phrase, the official code samples leave the phrase empty and omit hash.
Because the hash must match the exact URL value, changes such as adding a trailing slash, changing query parameters, or using a different URL encoding can result in a hash that does not correspond to the request. Generate it from the same application variable that supplies url.
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Follow this troubleshooting sequence
- Read
X-Screenshotmachine-Response. Record the exact code returned before making changes. - Verify endpoint and parameters. Use
https://api.screenshotmachine.com/with GET; send the customer key askeyand the target page asurl. - Apply the branch matching the code. For
missing_key, add the parameter. Forinvalid_hash, check secret-phrase configuration and hash calculation. Forinvalid_key, confirm the account key itself. - Confirm the intended account. The key is issued after signup. Compare the value in the request with the customer key shown for the account you intend to use, taking care not to mix credentials across environments or accounts.
- Escalate an unresolved
invalid_key. Public documentation cannot determine whether a particular account key remains valid, has been disabled, or has otherwise changed. Ask ScreenshotMachine support to verify account-specific status.
ScreenshotMachine’s contact page directs API questions to its contact form.
Common causes and fixes
- Wrong parameter name: The documented field is
key, not a differently named access-key parameter. Rename it and retry. - Key omitted during request construction: Check the final URL or request parameters after configuration has been applied; a variable existing in code does not guarantee it was transmitted.
- Key copied from another account: Verify the key in the account intended for this integration. The public API docs do not provide a way to inspect the validity of an individual key.
- Hash built from a different URL: Calculate MD5 using the precise
urlvalue sent, concatenated with the configured secret phrase. - Credit exhaustion mistaken for authentication failure: If the header says
no_credits, resolve the account-credit issue rather than changing the key. - Protected or malformed target mistaken for authentication failure: If the code is
invalid_url, validate the target and its access requirements instead.
Or skip the browser setup
If your actual goal is to capture a page rather than troubleshoot a ScreenshotMachine credential, ScreenshotNeo offers a separate screenshot API. Its one-call request returns an image or PDF, and its parameter names also work with names used by other screenshot APIs, which can make switching easier. See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation.
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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.webpScreenshotNeo removes cookie banners, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture; bot checks, blank pages, and failed loads are not billed. It also has an MCP server for AI agents, and the free plan includes 1,000 screenshots a month with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000. Learn more at ScreenshotNeo, or sign up for 1,000 free screenshots a month with no card.
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