Use Playwright to capture the page and cron to run the script on a recurring schedule. To make a cron job run at India-local time without changing the server’s system-wide time zone, set CRON_TZ=Asia/Kolkata in the crontab—provided the installed cron daemon supports that setting. First test the capture script as the same user who will own the scheduled job.
1. Capture a website with Playwright
Playwright’s Page API supports saving a screenshot to a file, including full-page capture and image-format options. The steps below show the capture logic, but they are not a tested installation recipe for every Ubuntu release or architecture. Install a Playwright release and browser supported by your host by following the instructions for that release.
Example capture script
For a Python setup with Playwright installed and its browser available, save this as /home/ubuntu/site-capture/capture.py:
from datetime import datetime, timezone
from pathlib import Path
from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright
URL = "https://example.com"
OUTPUT_DIR = Path("/home/ubuntu/site-capture/output")
OUTPUT_DIR.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
# UTC-based names avoid ambiguity if the host's time zone differs from India.
filename = datetime.now(timezone.utc).strftime("%Y%m%dT%H%M%SZ") + ".png"
output_path = OUTPUT_DIR / filename
with sync_playwright() as p:
browser = p.chromium.launch()
page = browser.new_page()
page.goto(URL, wait_until="networkidle", timeout=60000)
page.screenshot(path=str(output_path), full_page=True)
browser.close()
print(output_path)Replace the example URL and output directory. Choose a wait condition that suits the site: pages with persistent network activity may never become idle, so use a suitable selector or a bounded delay when appropriate. For an image other than PNG, select a supported screenshot type and use a matching file extension. See the Playwright Page API reference for screenshot options.
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Use unique filenames when keeping a history; a fixed filename will replace the previous capture. If a page needs authentication, handle credentials outside the script rather than hard-coding them. Restrict access to both credentials and screenshot files if they contain sensitive information.
2. Schedule the capture in India time with cron
Ubuntu Noble’s crontab(5) manual describes five schedule fields—minute, hour, day of month, month, and day of week—followed by a command. Its documented CRON_TZ setting interprets entries in that table in the specified time zone. The example below runs daily at 09:00 India time:
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CRON_TZ=Asia/Kolkata
0 9 * * * /usr/bin/python3 /home/ubuntu/site-capture/capture.py >> /home/ubuntu/site-capture/cron.log 2>&1Install it in the intended account’s user crontab with crontab -e. User crontabs do not have a username field; the system crontab does. Do not copy the user-crontab line unchanged into a system crontab, which expects a username field. The command uses absolute paths because cron may start with a different working directory and environment than your interactive shell.
Asia/Kolkata is the IANA time-zone identifier for India. The Ubuntu Noble crontab manual documents CRON_TZ, but cron implementations and versions can differ. Check the documentation for the daemon actually installed on your server before relying on it. The same manual notes that cron’s log-file timestamps use the daemon’s local time zone, which may differ from the schedule’s time zone.
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Check the server’s time settings
Inspect the current zone and synchronization status with:
timedatectl statusTo see available zones, use timedatectl list-timezones. If the whole machine should use India time, an administrator can change its zone with:
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sudo timedatectl set-timezone Asia/Kolkata
timedatectl statusThis is a system-wide change and can affect other services and workloads, so use it only when that is appropriate. If only this cron table needs India-local scheduling, prefer a supported CRON_TZ setting instead. See the Ubuntu manuals for timedatectl and crontab(5).
3. Verify the job before relying on it
- Run the script as the scheduled account. Use the same Python executable, environment, and account that cron will use.
- Check the result. Confirm that a non-empty image appears in the expected output directory and that its timestamp and contents are sensible.
- Check dependencies and permissions. Confirm the browser binary is installed, the server can reach the target site, and the account can write to the output and log directories.
- Inspect cron after the scheduled time. Read the configured log and the host’s cron service logs using the tools available on that Ubuntu installation.
- Confirm time-zone behavior. Check the installed daemon’s support for
CRON_TZand verify a real run at the expected India-local time before treating the schedule as dependable.
Keep the operating system, browser version, browser settings, and hardware as consistent as practical if you compare screenshots over time. Playwright notes that these environmental differences can change screenshot output; see its visual comparisons guide.
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4. Troubleshoot common failures
- No image is created: Run the script manually as the cron account. Check the absolute paths, write permissions, Python environment, browser installation, and log output.
- The job runs at the wrong time: Check the server zone with
timedatectl status, confirmCRON_TZ=Asia/Kolkatais in the relevant crontab, and verify that the installed cron daemon supports it. Remember that daemon logs may use the system zone. - The script works in a terminal but not from cron: Cron has a leaner environment and may use a different working directory. Use absolute paths and provide any necessary environment explicitly; test under the scheduled account.
- Navigation times out: The target may be slow or may keep network requests active. Review the page’s load behavior, adjust the timeout deliberately, or wait for a page-specific selector instead of requiring network idle.
- Screenshots differ between runs: Browser or operating-system changes, settings, and hardware can affect rendering. Keep the environment stable when visual consistency matters.
- The cron line is rejected or ignored: Check whether you edited a user or system crontab and use the corresponding syntax. Confirm the schedule fields and daemon-specific support for time-zone settings.
5. Choose between self-hosting and a managed capture
Playwright with cron gives you control over the browser and the server, but you operate the runtime, schedule, logs, storage, and recovery behavior. A managed screenshot service can avoid maintaining a browser on the Ubuntu host, but verify its execution geography, schedule guarantees, output handling, current pricing, and data policies before depending on it. The available provider documentation for recurring captures does not establish India-based execution or exact timing guarantees.
Or skip the browser setup
ScreenshotNeo is a website screenshot API and MCP server. One GET request can return an image or PDF; its cleanup steps accept cookie or consent banners like a visitor and remove more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture. Those steps can be turned off. Bot checks or CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits are not billed, and responses identify the page verdict and billing status in headers. Its MCP server provides take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf for AI agents and other MCP clients.
For a one-off capture from a shell, substitute your API key and target URL:
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://example.com -o shot.webpSee the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for request options. To make this recurring, run the API call from cron using the same India-time scheduling approach above. ScreenshotNeo offers 1,000 shots per month free with no card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 shots. Sign up for the free plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can cron use India time without changing Ubuntu’s system time zone?
Yes, if the installed cron daemon supports the documented CRON_TZ=Asia/Kolkata setting in the relevant crontab.
Does a systemd timer also support India time?
Ubuntu’s systemd time parser accepts IANA time-zone identifiers, but confirm the syntax supported by the installed systemd version and verify the next run before relying on a timer.
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