If Chrome DevTools is frozen but Chrome itself can still run, open a terminal and start a separate headless Chrome process:
chrome --headless --screenshot --window-size=1280,900 https://example.com/Replace chrome with your Chrome or Chromium executable name or path, and change the URL and viewport as needed. The command saves screenshot.png in the terminal’s current working directory. It captures the rendered page without relying on the DevTools window.
Capture a screenshot from the command line
- Open a terminal or command prompt.
- Run the headless screenshot command, substituting your browser executable and target URL:
chrome --headless --screenshot --window-size=1280,900 https://example.com/ - Look for
screenshot.pngin the current working directory—the directory shown by the terminal when you ran the command.
Chrome’s command-line reference documents that --screenshot saves an image named screenshot.png in the current working directory. The official example combines the screenshot flag with a viewport size; the chosen viewport affects the page layout that appears in the image. See the Chrome Headless command-line reference.
Find the Chrome executable
If your system does not recognize chrome, use the executable name or full path for the Chrome or Chromium installation on your system. The correct name and path vary by operating system and installation. If the command still fails, note the OS, Chrome version, executable path, and complete terminal error; those details are needed to diagnose a local launch problem.
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Capture a page that keeps loading
Use --timeout to set a maximum wait before Chrome takes the screenshot:
chrome --headless --screenshot --timeout=5000 https://example.com/The value is in milliseconds in this example. Chrome documents this as a maximum wait: capture can proceed even if the page has not finished loading. A shorter wait bounds how long you wait, but may leave out content that loads later.
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Pages that use timers
If page scripts rely on timers and you need them to reach a particular elapsed state, Chrome’s --virtual-time-budget option can fast-forward time-dependent code. Choose a budget appropriate to the page and inspect the resulting image; timing changes which elements have appeared when the capture occurs.
Choose the right fallback
| Route | Best for | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
--headless --screenshot |
A one-off image from a terminal | Uses the requested viewport and writes the file to the current working directory. |
--timeout or --virtual-time-budget |
Pages with slow loading or timer-driven content | The capture time affects which content is present. |
CDP Page.captureScreenshot with a client such as Puppeteer |
Repeatable or scripted capture | Needs a running browser endpoint and a protocol client. |
--print-to-pdf |
A document-like artifact when PDF is acceptable | Creates a PDF, not an image. |
Automate capture with Chrome DevTools Protocol
For scripted work, the Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP) exposes Page.captureScreenshot. Chromium documents starting Headless Chrome with a remote debugging port and connecting through chrome://inspect/; it also documents Puppeteer as a Node.js client for communicating with Headless Chrome. See the CDP Page domain reference and the Chromium Headless README.
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This route still depends on a functioning browser process and a client that can connect to it. It is useful for repeatable captures, but it is not a way around a browser process that cannot run or accept connections.
Use current Headless Chrome instructions
Do not rely on old guides that recommend --headless=old. According to the Chromium Headless README, the old Headless implementation is no longer part of the Chrome binary as of M132, and --headless=old has no effect. Chromium directs users who need old Headless to chrome-headless-shell.
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Troubleshoot a failed command
- “Command not found” or an unrecognized command: replace
chromewith the installed Chrome or Chromium executable name or its full path. - The file is not where expected: check the terminal’s current working directory; the documented default output is
screenshot.pngthere. - The image misses content: increase the timeout or adjust the virtual-time budget if the page depends on loading or timers, then inspect the image again.
- Headless launch fails: confirm the executable path and Chrome version, then include the operating system and full terminal error when diagnosing the issue. A DevTools hang alone does not establish why the browser is failing.
- The entire browser process is hung or crashing: a separate process with a clean profile may be worth trying, but it is not a guaranteed recovery method.
Or skip the browser setup
ScreenshotNeo can return a page screenshot through one API request. It removes cookie and consent banners, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture; those cleanup steps can be turned off. Bot checks or CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits cost nothing, and the response reports the page verdict and billing status in headers. Its MCP server provides screenshot tools for AI clients including Claude and Cursor.
For a PNG, JPEG, or WebP screenshot, make this cURL request (replace the URL with the page you want):
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does a headless screenshot command capture the DOM?
No. It saves an image of the rendered page. Chrome’s separate --dump-dom option serializes the DOM after parsing and script execution; it is useful for diagnosing page state, not taking an image.
Can I use this method if Chrome will not start at all?
The command-line and CDP methods still require a browser process that can launch. The available documentation does not establish that either method can recover a Chrome process that is hung or crashing.
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