Chrome Headless can capture a page as a PNG, but it does not provide a built-in bulk thumbnail queue: run its capture command once per URL, or use browser automation to manage navigation, filenames, and errors. For a simple shell-driven batch, set a consistent viewport, save each capture under a unique name, and decide how your job should handle slow or failed pages.
What Chrome Headless does—and what your batch script must do
Chrome’s --screenshot option captures a page, saving screenshot.png in the current working directory by default. Add --window-size=WIDTH,HEIGHT to choose a consistent viewport. Those flags handle an individual capture; a loop or automation script must supply the bulk workflow: read URLs, choose unique output names, record failures, and decide whether to continue.
Chrome documents Headless mode as sharing the browser implementation used by headful Chrome. The older, separate implementation is available as the chrome-headless-shell binary beginning with Chrome 132.0.6793.0. See Chrome Headless mode for the distinction and automation examples.
Capture one thumbnail from the command line
For a quick test, run the documented command in a terminal:
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chrome --headless --screenshot --window-size=412,892 https://example.com/Chrome writes screenshot.png in the current working directory. The example viewport is 412 by 892 pixels; choose dimensions appropriate to the thumbnail layout you need. This sets the browser viewport, not a guarantee that every site will render its page content at the same effective dimensions or layout.
On some systems the Chrome executable is named differently or is not on the shell’s PATH. Use the installed Chrome executable’s full path if the shell cannot find chrome. The exact executable path depends on the operating system and installation.
See the Chrome Headless command-line reference for the screenshot, sizing, and timing options.
Build a bulk capture with a shell loop
A shell loop is suitable when you want one process invocation per URL and can use a simple URL list. Because the CLI’s documented default filename is always screenshot.png, change into a separate directory for each capture or otherwise arrange unique output paths. The example below uses a numbered directory per input line, avoiding filename collisions without using untrusted URL text as a filename.
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Save one URL per line in urls.txt, then save and run this script from the directory where you want the output folder:
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#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -u
chrome_bin="${CHROME_BIN:-chrome}"
input="${1:-urls.txt}"
out="${2:-thumbnails}"
mkdir -p "$out"
if [[ ! -r "$input" ]]; then
printf 'Cannot read URL list: %sn' "$input" >&2
exit 1
fi
index=0
failures=0
while IFS= read -r url || [[ -n "$url" ]]; do
[[ -z "$url" ]] && continue
index=$((index + 1))
dir=$(printf '%s/%06d' "$out" "$index")
mkdir -p "$dir"
printf '[%d] %sn' "$index" "$url"
if "$chrome_bin" --headless --screenshot --window-size=412,892
--timeout=15000 "$url" >"$dir/chrome.log" 2>&1; then
if [[ -f screenshot.png ]]; then
mv screenshot.png "$dir/thumbnail.png"
printf '%st%sn' "$index" "$url" >> "$out/manifest.tsv"
else
printf 'No screenshot output for %sn' "$url" >&2
failures=$((failures + 1))
fi
else
printf 'Capture failed for %s; see %s/chrome.logn' "$url" "$dir" >&2
failures=$((failures + 1))
fi
done < "$input"
printf 'Finished: %d URLs, %d failures.n' "$index" "$failures"
(( failures == 0 ))The script expects a Chrome executable available as chrome; set CHROME_BIN to its path if needed. It creates one numbered directory per nonempty input line, moves the generated PNG into that directory, stores captured URLs in a tab-separated manifest, and keeps Chrome’s output in a per-URL log. Its --timeout=15000 bounds the wait before capture at 15 seconds; it is a chosen job setting, not a guarantee that the page’s dynamic content is ready.
The CLI’s screenshot behavior and timeout semantics are documented in the command-line reference. The loop, directory scheme, manifest, and continue-on-error policy above are application logic, not a Chrome bulk mode.
Choose the right readiness and viewport controls
Use a viewport size for ordinary thumbnails
--window-size=WIDTH,HEIGHT sets the capture viewport; Chrome’s example uses 412,892. Keep it identical across the batch when you need comparable screenshots. If you need screen emulation, display scaling, orientation, or multiple displays, that is a separate feature from ordinary viewport sizing.
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Use timeout as a bound, not a readiness signal
--timeout=5000 waits at most five seconds before --screenshot, --dump-dom, or --print-to-pdf captures, even if a page is still loading. Increase or decrease it to fit your job’s tolerance for slow pages, but a timeout only bounds the wait; it does not say that network requests or client-side rendering have finished.
Use virtual time for timer-driven content
--virtual-time-budget fast-forwards time-dependent page code such as timer callbacks. Chrome’s documentation gives --virtual-time-budget=42000 as an example, representing 42 seconds of page time. This does not guarantee that network-backed content has arrived or that every site is ready; inspect results on representative pages before relying on a timing choice for a batch.
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Use virtual screens only when the task needs them
For screen configuration beyond the viewport, Chrome documents --screen-info and Puppeteer/CDP screen controls. The documentation says virtual screen configuration is available in stable Chrome beginning with version 142. Do not assume it is available in earlier stable versions; consult Configure virtual screens in Headless mode.
Use browser automation when the batch needs control
For larger or more failure-sensitive jobs, a browser automation library makes it easier to manage page navigation, per-URL behavior, output names, logging, and recovery in one program. Chrome documents both Puppeteer and Selenium WebDriver for Headless Chrome; the documentation does not establish that one is faster for bulk thumbnails.
Puppeteer
Puppeteer is a documented JavaScript route to launch Headless Chrome, create a page, navigate to a URL, and close the browser. The loop, retry policy, readiness checks, and filenames are still your program’s responsibility. Reusing a browser process and opening pages through automation can reduce repeated setup work, but the cited Chrome documentation does not provide comparative throughput figures or a guarantee of speed for a given workload.
Selenium WebDriver
Selenium is a reasonable fit if your existing automation environment already uses WebDriver. Chrome documents Headless use through Selenium, but the cited documentation does not compare its bulk-capture throughput with Puppeteer or recommend one over the other for this task.
Make a batch recoverable and inspectable
- Keep a stable identity for each result. A sequence number, database ID, or other stable key is safer than turning arbitrary URLs into filenames. Store the URL-to-file mapping in a manifest.
- Log individual failures. Capture command output per URL so a broken page or launch error does not erase useful information about the rest of the batch.
- Choose a failure policy explicitly. The example continues after a capture failure and exits with a nonzero status if any capture failed. For a job that must produce every image, use the manifest and logs to rerun missing items.
- Check the actual images. A successful process exit is not proof that a site’s dynamic content, cookie dialog, or late-loading images appear as intended. Review a sample across the sites and conditions you expect.
- Plan for resource use. The official sources do not state a recommended batch size, throughput, or memory budget. Start with a small batch in the target environment and observe its behavior before increasing concurrency or job size.
Common problems and fixes
Every capture overwrites the same file
The documented default is screenshot.png in the current working directory. Use a unique output directory for each invocation, as in the example, and move or rename the image after capture.
The shell says Chrome is not found
The executable name or PATH differs on some installations. Set CHROME_BIN to the installed executable’s full path, or change chrome_bin in the script.
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The screenshot looks incomplete
The page may still be loading when the capture occurs, or its content may depend on timers or network responses. Adjust the timeout, consider a virtual-time budget for timer-driven behavior, and validate representative images. Neither timing flag proves that all dynamic or network-backed content is ready.
The command fails but the URL looks valid
Inspect the per-URL chrome.log. Confirm that the executable can launch in the environment running the batch, that the input line is a complete URL, and that Chrome wrote screenshot.png before the script tries to move it.
You need multiple screens or display scaling
--window-size controls viewport dimensions. For virtual screens, use Chrome’s separate screen configuration documentation and verify that the installed stable Chrome is version 142 or newer.
Or skip the browser setup
ScreenshotNeo provides a website screenshot API and MCP server. One GET request can return an image or PDF; use the API when you would rather not install and orchestrate a browser for each URL. The endpoint accepts the same parameter names other screenshot APIs use, which can ease switching.
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For example, request one PNG capture from cURL:
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- Cookie banners are accepted before capture and more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets are removed; 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 whether the request was billed.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does Chrome Headless have a built-in bulk screenshot command?
No. Its documented screenshot command captures a page; a loop or automation program supplies URL iteration, filenames, and error handling.
Can Chrome Headless save a screenshot as JPEG or WebP?
The documented --screenshot example saves a PNG named screenshot.png. The cited command-line reference does not establish JPEG or WebP output for that flag.
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