You can take a ScreenshotMachine screenshot from Linux with Bash and curl, calling its hosted screenshot API. The documented workflow is not an installed ScreenshotMachine CLI executable: it sends an HTTP GET request and saves the response locally. You need a ScreenshotMachine customer key and the URL to capture.
Take a ScreenshotMachine screenshot from Linux
Save this as screenshot.sh. Replace the customer-key placeholder and set the target URL and capture options. The request uses --data-urlencode so that characters in the URL and other parameter values are encoded for the query string.
#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail
CUSTOMER_KEY="PUT_YOUR_CUSTOMER_KEY_HERE"
SECRET_PHRASE="" # Leave empty if not configured.
URL="https://www.google.com"
DIMENSION="1366x768"
DEVICE="desktop"
FORMAT="png"
CACHE_LIMIT="0"
DELAY="2000"
ZOOM="100"
ARGS=(
--data-urlencode "key=$CUSTOMER_KEY"
--data-urlencode "dimension=$DIMENSION"
--data-urlencode "device=$DEVICE"
--data-urlencode "format=$FORMAT"
--data-urlencode "cacheLimit=$CACHE_LIMIT"
--data-urlencode "delay=$DELAY"
--data-urlencode "zoom=$ZOOM"
--data-urlencode "url=$URL"
)
if [[ -n "$SECRET_PHRASE" ]]; then
HASH=$(printf '%s' "$URL$SECRET_PHRASE" | md5sum | cut -d ' ' -f 1)
ARGS+=(--data-urlencode "hash=$HASH")
fi
curl -G -s "https://api.screenshotmachine.com" "${ARGS[@]}" > output.pngThe endpoint, GET request, parameters, optional hash, and output redirection follow ScreenshotMachine’s screenshot API documentation. The strict Bash settings are a script adaptation, not a ScreenshotMachine requirement. Make the script executable and run it:
chmod +x screenshot.sh
./screenshot.shThe response is written to output.png. A successful curl process does not by itself prove that the file contains a screenshot: ScreenshotMachine may return an error image. Check the response as described under troubleshooting.
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Choose dimensions, format, and capture behavior
ScreenshotMachine documents the following parameters and defaults. Verify the live API guide for current accepted values before relying on them in a production script.
| Parameter | Purpose and documented values |
|---|---|
key |
Your required customer API key. |
url |
The required page URL. The API documentation recommends percent-encoding it; curl --data-urlencode does that for the example. |
dimension |
Viewport width and height in [width]x[height] form. The documented default is 120x90; width ranges from 100 to 1920 and height from 100 to 9999. Use full for full-page height. |
format |
Output image format: jpg, png, or gif. Documented default: jpg. |
cacheLimit |
Cache age in days, documented from 0 to 14, with a default of 14. Set it to 0 to request a fresh screenshot. The guide also describes fractional-day values for shorter intervals. |
delay |
Wait before capture, in milliseconds. Documented choices run from 0 to 10000 in listed increments; the default is 200 ms. A longer delay can give animations or late content more time to appear. |
zoom |
Scale from 10 to 400 percent; documented default: 100. ScreenshotMachine says 200 or higher can produce a retina-style, larger image. Zoom is ignored below typical device dimensions. |
device |
The sample uses desktop. Consult the API guide’s device description for currently supported values rather than assuming a device list. |
For a normal viewport, set a width and height such as 1366x768. For a full-page capture, use DIMENSION="full"; the requested output height can then differ from a fixed viewport. Choose PNG when you need that format, or JPG when its smaller, lossy image is acceptable. GIF is also listed as an accepted format. Set CACHE_LIMIT="0" when you need a new capture instead of a cached one; otherwise the documented default allows cache use for up to 14 days. Increase DELAY when a page needs extra time to render, bearing in mind that a delay adds waiting time to each request.
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Handle API keys and the optional hash
Keep the customer key and any secret phrase in server-side configuration, not in a public repository or browser code. When a secret phrase is configured, ScreenshotMachine documents a hash made by calculating the MD5 digest of the URL value concatenated with the secret phrase. The sample computes that value with Linux md5sum and adds it to the request. According to the vendor, calls with a missing or incorrect hash are ignored after a phrase is configured. The hash check does not make it safe to publish the underlying key or secret phrase.
If the target URL changes, calculate the hash using that exact URL value plus the secret phrase. Leave SECRET_PHRASE empty when no phrase is configured.
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Troubleshoot an unexpected file or failed capture
ScreenshotMachine documents an X-Screenshotmachine-Response header and error codes. Invalid or incomplete calls may also return an image containing an error message, so inspect the response rather than relying only on the shell exit status.
| Response code | What to check |
|---|---|
missing_key, invalid_key |
Confirm that CUSTOMER_KEY contains the correct customer key and is being passed as key. |
missing_url, invalid_url |
Check that URL is present and valid. Keep --data-urlencode so query strings and reserved characters are encoded correctly. |
invalid_hash |
If a secret phrase is enabled, verify that the hash uses the exact URL value followed by the configured phrase. If no phrase is configured, omit the hash. |
no_credits |
Check the account’s available credits. |
invalid_selector, invalid_crop |
If using selector or crop options beyond this example, review those values against the API documentation. |
system_error |
Retrying may help, but the documented error code alone does not identify a specific cause; verify the request and consult the vendor’s current guidance. |
To capture the response header for diagnosis, add -D response-headers.txt to the curl command. For example, replace its final line with:
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curl -G -s -D response-headers.txt "https://api.screenshotmachine.com" "${ARGS[@]}" > output.pngThen inspect response-headers.txt for X-Screenshotmachine-Response. If the file is not the expected image, also verify the requested format and whether an error image was returned.
Use the separate PDF endpoint for a PDF
Website-to-PDF conversion is a distinct ScreenshotMachine API, not an image-format setting on the screenshot endpoint. Its Bash example uses https://pdfapi.screenshotmachine.com and PDF-specific parameters such as paper size, orientation, media, background, delay, and scale. See the vendor’s PDF API documentation for its exact request options and use that endpoint when the required output is a PDF.
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Or skip the browser setup
If you want a screenshot API with a single GET request rather than wiring up browser automation, ScreenshotNeo returns a PNG, JPEG, WebP, or PDF from a URL. For example, this cURL request saves a WebP capture:
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webpSee the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for the request options. It accepts cookie and consent banners before capture and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets; those steps can be turned off. Bot checks and CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits are not billed, and the response identifies the page verdict and billing status in headers. ScreenshotNeo also has an MCP server with take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf tools for AI agents. Its free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month without a card; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 screenshots.
Sign up for ScreenshotNeo free: 1,000 screenshots a month, no card required.
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