cURL Quickstart for ScreenshotCenter API | ScreenshotCenter

Prerequisites

• A ScreenshotCenter account with an API key (get one free at sign up).
• curl installed (comes pre-installed on macOS and most Linux distributions; Windows users can use Git Bash or WSL).

Authentication

Every request requires your API key. You can pass it as a header or a query parameter:

# Header (recommended)
-H "X-API-KEY: YOUR_API_KEY"

# Query parameter
?key=YOUR_API_KEY

Store your key in an environment variable for convenience:

export SCREENSHOTCENTER_API_KEY="your-key-here"

Full authentication docs: API authentication guide.

Your first screenshot

curl -X POST https://api.screenshotcenter.com/v1/screenshot \
  -H "X-API-KEY: $SCREENSHOTCENTER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://example.com",
    "format": "png",
    "size": "screen"
  }'

This returns a JSON response with the screenshot ID and status. If the page is simple, the screenshot may already be finished.

Check status and download

# Check status
curl "https://api.screenshotcenter.com/api/v1/screenshot/info?key=$SCREENSHOTCENTER_API_KEY&id=SCREENSHOT_ID"

# Download the image
curl -o screenshot.png "https://api.screenshotcenter.com/api/v1/screenshot/thumbnail?key=$SCREENSHOTCENTER_API_KEY&id=SCREENSHOT_ID"

Generate a PDF

Switch format to pdf for a full-page PDF document:

curl -X POST https://api.screenshotcenter.com/v1/screenshot \
  -H "X-API-KEY: $SCREENSHOTCENTER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://example.com",
    "format": "pdf",
    "size": "page"
  }'

Learn more about PDF options in the PDF generation API reference.

Common options

Parameter	Example	Effect
size	"page"	Full-page capture (scrolls to bottom)
width	1920	Viewport width in pixels
country	"gb"	Render from a UK browser
delay	3000	Wait 3 seconds before capturing
hide_popup	true	Remove cookie banners
wait_for	".main-content"	Wait for a CSS selector to appear

Error handling

The API returns standard HTTP status codes:

• 200 — Success. Check the data.status field for finished, processing, or error.
• 400 — Bad request. Missing or invalid parameters.
• 401 — Invalid API key.
• 429 — Rate limited. Wait and retry.

Always check the success field in the JSON response:

curl -s -X POST https://api.screenshotcenter.com/v1/screenshot \
  -H "X-API-KEY: $SCREENSHOTCENTER_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://example.com", "format": "png"}' \
  | jq '.success, .data.id, .data.status'

Next steps

• Explore the full API documentation for all parameters and endpoints.
• Try a language-specific SDK: JavaScript, Python, Go, PHP, Java.
• Set up S3 delivery and webhooks for automated workflows.

FAQ

Do I need to install anything besides cURL?

No. cURL and a valid API key are all you need to start taking screenshots.

Can I use cURL in CI/CD pipelines?

Yes. cURL works in any shell environment — GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, Jenkins, and local scripts.

What's the rate limit?

Depends on your plan. Free plans allow 5 concurrent requests. Paid plans scale up. Check your dashboard for current limits.

Copy the example above and explore the full API.