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Start your local development server, then use Puppeteer to open its full http://localhost:PORT URL and save a screenshot with page.screenshot(). The example below captures the full page at http://localhost:3000; change the port and output path to match your project.
Take a screenshot of a localhost page with Puppeteer
Run the app first and confirm it loads in a browser on the same machine where Puppeteer will run. Then use Puppeteer’s screenshot flow: launch a browser, create a page, navigate with page.goto(), take the screenshot, and close the browser.
import puppeteer from 'puppeteer';
const browser = await puppeteer.launch();
try {
const page = await browser.newPage();
const response = await page.goto('http://localhost:3000', {
waitUntil: 'networkidle2'
});
if (response && response.status() >= 400) {
throw new Error(`Local page returned HTTP ${response.status()}`);
}
await page.screenshot({ path: 'page.png', fullPage: true });
} finally {
await browser.close();
}This uses JavaScript module syntax, so the project must support import (for example, through its module configuration). Puppeteer’s page.goto() URL needs a scheme such as http://. Change 3000 to your server’s port and page.png to the destination filename you want.
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Wait until the content you need is ready
waitUntil: 'networkidle2' is a useful starting condition: it waits for network activity to become quiet. It is not a guarantee that a particular application has finished rendering, that an animation has ended, or that every delayed asset has appeared. For dynamic pages, wait for an app-specific element or readiness condition before capturing.
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await page.goto('http://localhost:3000', { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' });
await page.waitForSelector('[data-testid="report-ready"]');
await page.screenshot({ path: 'report.png', fullPage: true });Replace the selector with an element that appears only when the content you want is ready. If the page never reaches network idle because it keeps polling or streaming, navigating with a less restrictive condition and then waiting for a specific element can be more appropriate.
Choose what to capture
Visible viewport
Omit fullPage to capture the current viewport:
await page.screenshot({ path: 'viewport.png' });Entire document
Set fullPage: true to capture the full scrollable page rather than only what is currently visible:
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await page.screenshot({ path: 'full-page.png', fullPage: true });A specific element
Use an element handle when you only need one component. Puppeteer scrolls the element into view if necessary; it throws if the element has been detached from the DOM before the capture.
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if (!card) throw new Error('Report card was not found');
await card.screenshot({ path: 'report-card.png' });Set dimensions for repeatable screenshots
When image dimensions matter—for visual tests, documentation, or consistent previews—set the viewport explicitly before navigation. Puppeteer’s documented default headless screen is 800 × 600 when neither --screen-info nor --window-size is supplied.
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const page = await browser.newPage({
viewport: { width: 1440, height: 900 }
});
await page.goto('http://localhost:3000', { waitUntil: 'networkidle2' });
await page.screenshot({ path: 'desktop.png', fullPage: true });Choose dimensions that match the layout you intend to inspect. For a mobile layout, use a narrower viewport instead. Keep the viewport and browser configuration the same between runs if you are comparing screenshots.
Common problems and fixes
- The capture fails to load. Confirm the development server is running, then check the URL scheme, port, and path. Puppeteer must run somewhere that can reach that localhost server.
- The screenshot is blank or shows an error page. Check the navigation response status. In headless shell mode,
page.goto()does not necessarily throw for a valid HTTP error response such as 404 or 500; inspect the returned response and fix the route or server error. - Some content is missing. Network idleness alone may not mean the app is ready. Wait for the relevant selector or application-ready signal before taking the screenshot.
- An element screenshot throws. The selected element may have been removed or replaced during rendering. Wait for the current element to appear and take its screenshot before the app changes it.
- The browser process remains open after an error. Put navigation and capture inside a
tryblock and close the browser infinally, as in the main example.
Browser configuration and output
Puppeteer’s page.screenshot() returns image bytes as a Uint8Array by default; requesting base64 encoding returns a string instead. A path option writes the screenshot to a file, which is convenient for scripts and test output.
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Puppeteer documents headless: true as its new headless mode and 'shell' as old headless mode. Prefer Puppeteer’s bundled browser where possible: its documentation cautions that using a custom executablePath is outside the browser compatibility guarantee.
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For a publicly reachable page, ScreenshotNeo can return a screenshot or PDF from one GET request. It is a service, so a URL that only resolves on your own computer, such as http://localhost:3000, is not the same as a page your capture service can reach; use Puppeteer locally for a private development server.
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Install the requests package for the Python example. The request saves a WebP response as shot.webp. See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for request options and response details.
curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webpimport requests
r = requests.get("https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot", params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://stripe.com"}, timeout=90)
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://stripe.com' });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);- Before capture, it accepts cookie or consent banners like a visitor and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets; each step can be turned off.
- Bot checks or CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits are not billed. Response headers report the page verdict and billing status.
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take_screenshot,get_page_info, andcapture_pdftools for AI agents and MCP clients. - The Free plan includes 1,000 screenshots per month with no card required; paid plans start at $5 for 3,000. Every feature is available on every plan.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can Puppeteer save the screenshot as an in-memory value instead of a file?
Yes. Without a path, page.screenshot() returns image bytes as a Uint8Array by default; request base64 encoding if you need a string.
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