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Why Does Browshot Return a 403 Error for My Screenshot Request?

Browshot documents different error behavior by endpoint. Check the exact endpoint and complete response before assuming a 403 means your API key is invalid.
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A Browshot 403 does not point to one confirmed cause. Browshot’s general API documentation says malformed requests return 403, but its simple API response guidance describes invalid requests—including an invalid key—as HTTP 400. Identify the endpoint you called, then inspect the complete response, including its body and any X-Error header, before changing the request. The documentation is API version 1.31; it does not provide a complete status-to-cause map. Browshot API documentation

Why the endpoint matters

Browshot’s general API documentation states, “If the request is malformed, the server replies with a 403 error.” The simple API response section, however, documents HTTP 400 for an invalid request and says an invalid key may be one cause. Those statements refer to different documentation contexts, so a 403 alone is not enough to diagnose the failure.

First determine whether the request went to /api/v1/simple or another endpoint, such as the screenshot-create endpoint. Compare the actual endpoint, HTTP status, response body, and response headers with the instructions for that endpoint. Browshot does not enumerate every malformed parameter or guarantee its exact status.

Check the request in this order

  1. Confirm the endpoint

    Record the full Browshot endpoint used. Do not apply the simple API’s documented 400 behavior to a different endpoint, or assume that the general 403 statement describes every endpoint’s complete error behavior.

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  2. Verify the API key

    Browshot requires an API key on requests, and its documentation says the key is available in the dashboard. Confirm that the request includes the intended key, that it was copied accurately, and that it is not still an example placeholder. Screenshot-create examples include an “Invalid key” error, but the documentation does not establish that every invalid-key response is a 403.

  3. Validate required parameters and values

    For /api/v1/screenshot/create, Browshot lists url and instance_id as required. Check that both are present, correctly spelled, correctly encoded, and contain values accepted by the endpoint. A malformed request may receive 403 according to the general documentation, but not every invalid value has a published status mapping.

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  4. Read the response details

    Keep the status, response body, and headers together while diagnosing the problem. Browshot says the simple API’s error description appears in X-Error. Screenshot-create examples also show JSON error bodies such as “Invalid key” and “Not enough credits.” The detailed message may narrow the issue more than the status code alone.

  5. Check the balance for private or shared instances

    Browshot says requests to private or shared instances require a positive balance. Check the account balance if you use one of those instance types. The documentation’s insufficient-credits example is a separate error clue; it does not say that insufficient credits necessarily produces HTTP 403.

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  6. Handle documented redirects separately

    A 302 can mean that a screenshot is still in progress. Browshot’s curl instructions use -L to follow redirects. Check your client’s redirect behavior if you receive a 302; the documentation does not identify an unfollowed redirect as a cause of 403.

Capture a useful diagnostic record

If the status remains unexplained, send Browshot support the endpoint, sanitized request parameters, status, response body, and relevant response headers. Remove the API key first: do not include it in logs or a support request. Preserve the exact error text, including any X-Error value, rather than reporting only “403.”

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