If a URL2PNG v6 request fails authentication, first verify that the API key and secret belong to the intended account, then regenerate the token from the exact URL-encoded query string you send. URL2PNG defines the token as the MD5 hash of the entire query string followed directly by the secret key. A mismatch in parameters or encoding can therefore invalidate an otherwise correct token.
How URL2PNG v6 authentication works
URL2PNG’s v6 Quickstart Guide shows requests using an API key, a token, and a target URL. The API key is assigned at signup and begins with “P,” according to the guide. The token is generated for each unique request, using the MD5 digest of the full query string concatenated with the secret key.
The signature depends on the query string’s actual spelling, values, encoding, and serialization. Build the query once and use that same string both to calculate the token and to send the request. URL2PNG’s documentation includes examples in which query values are encoded before signing.
The guide presents a v6 path form such as /v6/{apikey}/{token}/png/?{query_string} and also shows a shell example using the service root form. Follow the current example for your chosen language and endpoint; do not combine v6 signing with legacy v3 request examples.
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Fix the error step by step
- Check the account credentials. Confirm that the API key and secret are from the same intended URL2PNG account. Do not expose the secret in source control, public logs, or support requests.
- Rebuild the request parameters. Start with the options and target URL you intend to send. Encode values consistently. Avoid hashing one encoding of the target and transmitting another.
- Sign the complete query string. Compute the MD5 digest of the complete query string followed directly by the secret key. The secret is appended to the query string without an intervening separator unless the query string itself ends in one.
- Compare the signed input with the transmitted query. Check that every parameter included in the request is included in the token input and that none is altered, omitted, reordered, or serialized differently after signing. This is a practical consequence of URL2PNG’s documented formula; its quickstart does not enumerate these as separate error codes.
- Check the route and API version. Use the URL2PNG v6 path and format shown in the current quickstart for your implementation. Mixing an older route or sample with v6 token generation can produce a request that does not match the intended format.
- Check account permissions if an integration reports 401. The D3 URL2PNG integration guide advises checking the permission settings in the URL2PNG portal when its integration receives a 401. This is integration guidance, not a URL2PNG-wide error specification.
- Escalate with safe diagnostics. If the credentials, signing input, route, and permissions all look right, save the exact response status and body plus a redacted request URL. The URL2PNG legal page lists support@url2png.com; never send the secret in an unredacted ticket.
Generate a token in Python
This example follows the sequence in URL2PNG’s official Python quickstart: create options, URL-encode them, hash the query string plus the secret, and place the key and token in the v6 request path. Replace the illustrative values with your account credentials and desired parameters. Keep the secret out of logs and client-side code.
from urllib.parse import urlencode
from hashlib import md5
from urllib.request import urlopen
api_key = "YOUR_API_KEY"
secret = "YOUR_SECRET_KEY"
options = {
"url": "https://example.com/",
"thumbnail_max_width": 600,
}
# Build once; use this exact string for signing and transmission.
query_string = urlencode(options)
token = md5((query_string + secret).encode("utf-8")).hexdigest()
request_url = (
f"https://api.url2png.com/v6/{api_key}/{token}/png/?{query_string}"
)
with urlopen(request_url, timeout=60) as response:
image = response.read()
with open("screenshot.png", "wb") as output:
output.write(image)Use the option names and endpoint in URL2PNG’s current quickstart documentation for your account and implementation. If your request uses a different route form from the one above, adapt the route to the live official sample without changing the token rule.
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What a 401 does—and does not—tell you
HTTP 401 means the request lacks valid authentication credentials for the requested resource, according to MDN’s HTTP reference. It does not by itself identify whether the problem is a mistyped key, wrong secret, malformed token input, or account permission. URL2PNG’s reviewed documentation does not provide a complete authentication-specific error-code table, so inspect the response body and use the checks above rather than assuming one cause.
Or skip the browser setup
If the goal is simply to get a website screenshot without maintaining this signing flow, ScreenshotNeo is a screenshot API with a one-request URL interface. Its request and billing behavior differ from URL2PNG, so it is an alternative rather than a drop-in fix for a broken URL2PNG integration.
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For example, this cURL request saves a WebP screenshot:
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 request options and formats. Cookie banners, popups, and chat widgets are removed before the shot; bot checks, blank pages, and failed loads are never billed. An MCP server lets AI agents take screenshots. The free plan includes 1,000 screenshots a month with no card, and paid plans start at $5 for 3,000. Sign up for ScreenshotNeo’s free plan.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Frequently Asked Questions
Does a URL2PNG token stay valid for multiple requests?
URL2PNG’s quickstart says to generate a token for each unique request.
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Can I use a URL2PNG v3 token with a v6 request?
Do not assume so: use the v6 request format and token calculation in the current URL2PNG quickstart rather than mixing versioned examples.
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