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Getting Started with SnapAPI

Get your first screenshot in under 5 minutes.

Step 1: Get Your API Key

  1. Go to snapapi.pics/register.html
  2. Sign up — no credit card required
  3. Copy your API key from the Dashboard

Your key looks like: YOUR_API_KEYxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Free tier: 200 API calls/month — enough to explore every feature.

Step 2: Take Your First Screenshot

curl -X POST "https://api.snapapi.pics/v1/screenshot" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://example.com", "format": "png"}' \
  --output screenshot.png

# ✅ screenshot.png saved!

Open screenshot.png — you should see a full-browser screenshot of example.com.

Step 3: Install a SDK (Optional)

For production use, install the SDK for your language:

# JavaScript / TypeScript
npm install @snapapi/sdk

# Python
pip install snapapi

# PHP
composer require snapapi/sdk

# Go
go get github.com/Sleywill/snapapi-go

JavaScript quick test:

const { SnapAPI } = require('@snapapi/sdk');
const fs = require('fs');

const client = new SnapAPI({ apiKey: 'YOUR_API_KEY' });

async function main() {
  const screenshot = await client.screenshot({
    url: 'https://example.com',
    format: 'png'
  });
  fs.writeFileSync('screenshot.png', screenshot);
  console.log('✅ Screenshot saved!');
}

main();

Step 4: Try Each Endpoint

Screenshot with options

curl -X POST "https://api.snapapi.pics/v1/screenshot" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://github.com",
    "format": "webp",
    "fullPage": true,
    "blockAds": true,
    "blockCookieBanners": true,
    "darkMode": true,
    "quality": 90
  }' \
  --output github-dark.webp

Generate a PDF

curl -X POST "https://api.snapapi.pics/v1/pdf" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://example.com",
    "pdfOptions": {
      "pageSize": "a4",
      "marginTop": "20mm",
      "marginBottom": "20mm",
      "printBackground": true
    }
  }' \
  --output document.pdf

Extract article text (for AI/LLM use)

curl -X POST "https://api.snapapi.pics/v1/extract" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_scraping",
    "type": "article",
    "cleanOutput": true
  }'

Capture a mobile screenshot (iPhone 15 Pro)

curl -X POST "https://api.snapapi.pics/v1/screenshot" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://example.com",
    "device": "iphone-15-pro",
    "format": "png"
  }' \
  --output mobile.png

Capture a video scroll

curl -X POST "https://api.snapapi.pics/v1/video" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://example.com",
    "format": "mp4",
    "scroll": true,
    "scrollEasing": "ease_in_out",
    "scrollBack": true
  }' \
  --output scroll.mp4

Step 5: Check Your Usage

curl "https://api.snapapi.pics/v1/usage" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: YOUR_API_KEY"
{
  "used": 12,
  "limit": 200,
  "remaining": 188,
  "resetAt": "2026-04-01T00:00:00Z"
}

Next Steps

I want to… Read this
Learn all screenshot options screenshot.md
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Capture hundreds of URLs webhooks.md
Schedule daily screenshots scheduled.md
Handle errors & retries errors.md

Common Questions

My screenshot is blank / wrong

  • Add "delay": 2000 to wait for JS to render
  • Try "waitUntil": "networkidle" for SPAs

I get 401 Unauthorized

  • Check your API key in the Dashboard
  • Use header X-Api-Key, not Authorization

I get 402 Quota Exceeded

Page loads but content is in another language

  • Set "locale": "en-US" and "timezone": "America/New_York"