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To capture a UI screenshot with Playwright, navigate to the page and call await page.screenshot({ path: 'screenshot.png' }). Add fullPage: true to capture the full scrollable page, or call screenshot() on a locator to capture one element. For repeatable visual regression checks, use Playwright Test’s toHaveScreenshot() assertion instead of treating a one-off file capture as a test.
Set up a basic Playwright screenshot
The shortest workflow is: launch a browser, create a page, navigate to a URL, save the screenshot, and close the browser. The example below uses Playwright’s JavaScript library and Chromium. Install the package and its browser before running the script:
npm install playwright
npx playwright install chromiumSave this as screenshot.js, then run node screenshot.js:
const { chromium } = require('playwright');
(async () => {
const browser = await chromium.launch();
try {
const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.goto('https://example.com');
await page.screenshot({ path: 'screenshot.png' });
} finally {
await browser.close();
}
})();The output file is written to the current working directory. Replace the example URL with the page you want to capture. If your script already has a page object, the essential call is simply await page.screenshot({ path: 'screenshot.png' }). Without additional options, it captures the viewport.
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Choose what part of the UI to capture
Capture the visible viewport
Use page.screenshot() without a full-page or clip option when you need the portion of the page currently visible in the viewport. This is a useful fit for a single screen, a debugging artifact, or a capture whose dimensions should match the browser viewport.
Capture the full scrollable page
Pass fullPage: true to capture beyond the visible viewport:
await page.screenshot({
path: 'full-page.png',
fullPage: true
});This asks Playwright to capture the full scrollable document. A full-page image can be much taller than a viewport screenshot, so use it when the entire page is relevant rather than when you only need the visible UI.
Capture one element
Use a locator’s screenshot() method to save a particular component, such as a header, card, chart, or dialog:
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await page.locator('.header').screenshot({ path: 'header.png' });Locator screenshots scroll the element into view after actionability checks. They do not reveal pixels hidden behind another element: if an overlay covers part of the target, that can affect the captured result. For a scrollable container, the screenshot includes only the content currently scrolled into view, not every item inside that container.
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Capture a defined rectangle
When neither the whole viewport nor a DOM element is the right boundary, pass a clip rectangle to page.screenshot(). The rectangle lets you target a region of the page; choose its position and dimensions for the UI area you need. A clip is a geometric crop, while a locator screenshot is tied to an element and its visibility and scroll position.
Save an image file or keep the screenshot in memory
Providing path writes the image to disk. Omit path when another step in your script needs the image data directly:
const buffer = await page.screenshot();
// Pass buffer to another step in your application.The returned buffer can be post-processed or passed to another tool. This is useful when a test or service needs to inspect, upload, or transform the image without first choosing a local filename.
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Image format
Playwright documents PNG, JPEG, and WebP screenshot output. A path extension can select the format, for example shot.png, shot.jpg, or shot.webp. JPEG does not support a transparent background, so choose another format if transparency matters. Match the format to the next step in your workflow: a format supported by a destination is more useful than a smaller file it cannot accept.
Pixel scale
The scale option determines the relationship between CSS pixels and output pixels:
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scale: 'css'produces one image pixel per CSS pixel.scale: 'device'produces one image pixel per device pixel. On a high-DPI device, that can create a larger image.
Use CSS scale when you need image dimensions aligned with the page’s CSS-pixel layout. Use device scale when the extra device-pixel detail is wanted and the larger output is acceptable.
Reduce variation from animation and dynamic content
Animations can make captures vary from run to run. Playwright’s animations: 'disabled' option changes animation behavior during capture. Screenshot options also include masks for element bounding boxes, and a screenshot style can hide or alter dynamic content. Use these tools to control known sources of variation, not to cover up a genuine UI change.
Use screenshots in visual regression tests
A saved screenshot is a capture; a visual assertion is a comparison performed as part of a test. With Playwright Test, use toHaveScreenshot() when the purpose is to detect visual changes:
import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';
test('home page appearance', async ({ page }) => {
await page.goto('https://example.com');
await expect(page).toHaveScreenshot('home.png');
});Keep the expected capture meaningful by filtering genuinely volatile content. Playwright Test supports stylePath for filtering such content, and screenshot assertions expose diff-tolerance settings. Tune tolerance only for known rendering variation; overly permissive settings can make real visual changes harder to catch. This test assertion serves a different purpose from calling page.screenshot({ path: ... }) to save an artifact.
Save screenshots automatically when tests fail
Playwright Test’s use.screenshot configuration can enable screenshots on failure or on the first failure. This is useful when a failure artifact should be collected automatically rather than adding a manual screenshot call to each test. Choose the failure behavior that matches how your test run handles retries and artifacts.
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Or skip the browser setup
If you need an image from a URL without launching and managing Playwright in your own script, ScreenshotNeo provides a screenshot API and MCP server for developers. A single GET request can return a PNG, JPEG, WebP, or PDF. For example, this cURL call saves a WebP screenshot of a page:
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const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);- Cookie banners are accepted as a visitor and removed along with known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before capture; each of those steps can be turned off.
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Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Troubleshoot common screenshot problems
The image is blank or missing the UI
Check that the script navigated to the intended URL before taking the screenshot. If the UI is not present yet, capture after the page or target element is ready instead of relying on the immediate next line after navigation. For an element-specific capture, confirm the locator identifies the intended element and that the element can be brought into view.
The element capture is cut off or obscured
A locator screenshot captures the element in its actual visible context. If another element overlays it, the overlay can remain part of the result; a locator screenshot is not a way to reveal covered content. If the target sits in a scrollable container, scroll the container to the content you want before capturing, because the element capture does not include all off-screen contents of that container.
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The full-page capture misses images or appears incomplete
Full-page mode targets the scrollable page, but content that loads lazily may not yet be present when the capture occurs. Wait for the relevant content to load before taking the screenshot, and inspect whether the page itself has loaded the images you expect. Full-page capture changes the capture extent; it does not guarantee that every deferred asset has already appeared.
The file format or dimensions are wrong
Check the output path extension and the selected scale. The extension can choose PNG, JPEG, or WebP output; scale: 'css' and scale: 'device' produce different pixel dimensions on high-DPI devices. If you need transparency, do not choose JPEG.
A visual test fails intermittently
Look for animation or dynamic content that changes between runs. Disable animations for the capture, mask or style known volatile regions, or use stylePath in Playwright Test to filter content that should not affect the comparison. Adjust diff tolerance only for understood rendering variation; do not use it as a substitute for investigating an unexpected difference.
The script does not produce a file
Confirm that the script reaches the screenshot call and that the path points to a writable location. If there is no path option, Playwright returns image data instead of writing the file, so save or pass along that buffer explicitly. Also ensure the browser is closed after the capture, including when an earlier operation throws, as in the try/finally example above.
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Which Playwright screenshot method should you use?
| Need | Use | What to account for |
|---|---|---|
| Visible page or debug artifact | page.screenshot() |
Captures the viewport unless you change the extent. |
| Entire scrollable document | page.screenshot({ fullPage: true }) |
Wait for the content you need, including lazy-loaded content. |
| One component | locator.screenshot() |
Visibility, overlays, and scroll position still matter. |
| Pass image data to another step | page.screenshot() without path |
Handle the returned buffer in your application. |
| Detect a visual change in tests | Playwright Test’s toHaveScreenshot() |
Control known dynamic content and use tolerance carefully. |
Option availability can differ by Playwright language, browser engine, and release. For a version-specific option or compatibility question, consult the API documentation for the Playwright version installed in your project.
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