Screenshotlayer

https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation
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Screenshotlayer is a REST API for capturing high-quality website screenshots in PNG, JPEG, GIF, and...
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### Example API Query for Full-Height Screenshot

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

This query requests a full-height screenshot of apple.com with a specified viewport.

```http
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture
    ? access_key = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
    & url = http://www.apple.com
    & viewport = 1440x900
    & fullpage = 1
```

--------------------------------

### Export Screenshot to FTP

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

This example demonstrates how to export a captured screenshot directly to a specified FTP path by appending the FTP URL to the export parameter. Uploading may take up to 1 minute, and the system cannot notify about upload failures.

```http
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture
    ? access_key = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
    & url = http://www.tumblr.com
    & export = ftp://myusername:mypassword@123.12.12.1/path/
                

```

--------------------------------

### URL Encoding Examples

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

These are examples of website URLs that require URL encoding due to special characters like '?' or '&'.

```http
http://website.com?example=yes
http://website.com?example=yes&parameter=one
```

--------------------------------

### GET /api/capture

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

Captures a screenshot of a target URL with various configuration options.

```APIDOC
## GET /api/capture

### Description
Captures a screenshot of the specified URL. Supports custom viewports, output formats, URL encryption, and CSS injection.

### Method
GET

### Endpoint
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture

### Parameters
#### Query Parameters
- **access_key** (string) - Required - Your API access key.
- **url** (string) - Required - The URL of the website to capture.
- **viewport** (string) - Optional - Dimensions of the viewport in pixels (format: width x height).
- **user_agent** (string) - Optional - The HTTP User-Agent header to use for the request.
- **format** (string) - Optional - The output image format (PNG, JPG, GIF).
- **secret_key** (string) - Optional - The MD5 hash for URL encryption to prevent abuse.
- **css_url** (string) - Optional - URL of a CSS file to inject into the target website (max 100kB).

### Request Example
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture?access_key=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY&url=http://www.apple.com&secret_key=a9d09c5b1cda7e5ef51fed4526e9cff3
```

--------------------------------

### GET /api/capture

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

Captures a screenshot of a website with optional parameters for full-page capture and thumbnail generation.

```APIDOC
## GET /api/capture

### Description
Captures a screenshot of the specified URL. Supports full-page captures and thumbnail resizing.

### Method
GET

### Endpoint
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture

### Parameters
#### Query Parameters
- **access_key** (string) - Required - Your API Access Key
- **url** (string) - Required - The URL of the website to capture
- **fullpage** (integer) - Optional - Set to 1 to capture the full height of the website
- **width** (integer) - Optional - The width in pixels for a thumbnail version of the screenshot

### Response
#### Success Response (200)
- **success** (boolean) - Indicates if the request was successful

#### Response Example
{
  "success": true
}
```

--------------------------------

### API Request with URL Encoded URL

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

This example demonstrates how a URL containing special characters is passed into an API request after being URL encoded.

```http
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture
    ? access_key = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
    & url = http%3A%2F%2Fwebsite.com%3Fexample%3Dyes
```

--------------------------------

### Example API Error Response

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

This JSON structure represents an error response from the API, indicating a failure in the request, such as an invalid access key.

```json
{
  "success": false,
  "error": {
    "code": 104,
    "type": "invalid_access_key",
    "info": "You have not supplied a valid API Access Key. [Technical Support: support@apilayer.com]" 
  }
}
                
```

--------------------------------

### Capture Screenshot with WebP and Quality

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

For lossy formats like WebP, the 'quality' parameter (1-100) can be used to define the output quality. Free plans default to 70.

```HTTP
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture
    ? access_key = YOUR_KEY
    & url = https://example.com&format=webp&quality=80
```

--------------------------------

### Capture Screenshot with Custom Accept-Language

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

Set the 'accept_lang' parameter to specify a custom HTTP Accept-Language header for localized content.

```HTTP
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture
    ? access_key = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
    & url = http://www.facebook.com
    & accept_lang = es
```

--------------------------------

### Capture Screenshot with WebP Format

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

Use the 'format' parameter to specify the output file format. WebP is supported.

```HTTP
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture
    ? access_key = YOUR_KEY
    & url = https://example.com&format=webp
```

--------------------------------

### Set Output Format

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

Change the default PNG output format by appending the format parameter with JPG or GIF.

```http
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture
    ? access_key = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
    & url = http://www.cnn.com
    & format = JPG
```

--------------------------------

### Request Placeholder Image

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

Displays a placeholder image while the screenshot is being generated. Setting the parameter to 1 uses the default placeholder.

```http
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture
    ? access_key = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
    & url = http://www.twitter.com
    & placeholder = 1
                
```

--------------------------------

### Capture Snapshots via PHP

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

A PHP function to capture screenshots, allowing definition of all required and optional parameters. Optional parameters can be left blank if not used.

```php
function screenshotlayer($url, $args) {

  // set access key
  $access_key = "YOUR_ACCESS_KEY";
  
  // set secret keyword (defined in account dashboard)
  $secret_keyword = "YOUR_SECRET_KEYWORD";

  // encode target URL
  $params['url'] = urlencode($url);

  $params += $args;

  // create the query string based on the options
  foreach($params as $key => $value) { $parts[] = "$key=$value"; }

  // compile query string
  $query = implode("&", $parts);

  // generate secret key from target URL and secret keyword
  $secret_key = md5($url . $secret_keyword);

  return "https://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture?access_key=$access_key&secret_key=$secret_key&$query";

}

// set optional parameters (leave blank if unused)
$params['fullpage']  = '';    
$params['width'] = '';      
$params['viewport']  = '';  
$params['format'] = '';      
$params['css_url'] = '';      
$params['delay'] = '';      
$params['ttl'] = '';  
$params['force']     = '';     
$params['placeholder'] = '';      
$params['user_agent'] = '';      
$params['accept_lang'] = '';      
$params['export'] = '';      

// capture
$call = screenshotlayer("google.com", $params);                
                

```

--------------------------------

### HTTPS Usage

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

Instructions on how to use HTTPS for secure data transmission with the Screenshotlayer API.

```APIDOC
### HTTPS - Secure Datastreams

To connect securely and ensure encrypted datastreams, append an 's' to the HTTP Protocol.

**Example HTTPS URL:**
```
https://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture?access_key=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
```
```

--------------------------------

### Multiple Accept-Language Headers

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

Provide multiple languages separated by commas to set a hierarchy of preference for the Accept-Language header.

```HTTP
es-MX,es,en
```

--------------------------------

### Inject Custom CSS

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

Apply custom styles to the target website by providing a URL to a CSS file via the css_url parameter. Files must not exceed 100kB.

```css
body {
background: #00ff00 !important;
}
```

```http
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture
    ? access_key = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
    & url = http://www.youtube.com
    & css_url = https://screenshotlayer.com/downloads/css_inject.css
```

--------------------------------

### Capture Screenshot with Custom User-Agent

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

Specify a custom HTTP User-Agent string using the 'user_agent' parameter to mimic specific browser or device environments.

```HTTP
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture
    ? access_key = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
    & url = http://www.facebook.com
    & viewport = 375x667
    & user_agent = Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 8_0_2 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/600.1.4 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/8.0 Mobile/12A366 Safari/600.1.4   
```

--------------------------------

### Capture Snapshots using Python

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

A Python function to capture screenshots, demonstrating how to encode the URL, generate an MD5 secret key, and construct the API query. Optional parameters can be set in a dictionary.

```python
#!/usr/bin/python
 
import hmac
import hashlib
import urllib
 
 
def screenshotlayer(access_key, secret_keyword, url, args):
    
    # encode URL
    query = urllib.urlencode(dict(url=url, **args))
 
    # generate md5 secret key
    secret_key = hashlib.md5('{}{}'.format(url, secret_keyword)).hexdigest()
 
    return "https://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture?access_key=%s&secret_key=%s&%s" % (access_key, secret_key, query)

# set optional parameters (leave blank if unused)
params = {
    'fullpage': '',
    'width': '',
    'viewport': '',
    'format': '',
    'css_url': '',
    'delay': '',
    'ttl': '',
    'force': '',
    'placeholder': '',
    'user_agent': '',
    'accept_lang': '',
    'export': ''
};
 
```

--------------------------------

### WebP Format Support API

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

Supports generating screenshots in the WebP image format, which offers smaller file sizes with high visual quality and transparency support.

```APIDOC
## POST /api/capture

### Description
Generates screenshots in the WebP image format.

### Method
POST

### Endpoint
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture

### Query Parameters
- **access_key** (string) - Required - Your API access key.
- **url** (string) - Required - The URL of the website to capture.
- **format** (string) - Optional - Set to "webp" to generate the screenshot in WebP format.

### Request Example
```
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture?access_key=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY&url=http://www.example.com&format=webp
```

### Response
#### Success Response (200)
- **screenshot_url** (string) - The URL of the captured screenshot in WebP format.

#### Response Example
{
  "screenshot_url": "http://example.com/screenshots/12345.webp"
}
```

--------------------------------

### Screenshotlayer API Capture Endpoint

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

This section details the parameters available for the capture endpoint, including format, quality, user_agent, accept_lang, and export.

```APIDOC
## GET /api/capture

### Description
Captures a screenshot of a given URL with various customization options.

### Method
GET

### Endpoint
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture

### Parameters
#### Query Parameters
- **access_key** (string) - Required - Your API access key.
- **url** (string) - Required - The URL to capture.
- **format** (string) - Optional - Defines output file format. Accepted Values: png, jpg, gif, webp. Default: png.
- **quality** (integer) - Optional - Defines the quality for the output (only applies to lossy formats like jpg/webp). Accepted Values: 1-100. Default: 70.
- **user_agent** (string) - Optional - Specifies a custom user-agent string for the request.
- **accept_lang** (string) - Optional - Specifies a custom HTTP Accept-Language header.
- **viewport** (string) - Optional - Specifies the viewport size in widthxheight format (e.g., 375x667).
- **export** (string) - Optional - Specifies an AWS S3 Bucket path for direct export (format: s3://API_KEY:API_SECRET@bucket).

### Request Example
```json
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture?access_key=YOUR_KEY&url=https://example.com&format=webp
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture?access_key=YOUR_KEY&url=https://example.com&format=webp&quality=80
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture?access_key=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY&url=http://www.facebook.com&viewport=375x667&user_agent=Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 8_0_2 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/600.1.4 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/8.0 Mobile/12A366 Safari/600.1.4
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture?access_key=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY&url=http://www.facebook.com&accept_lang=es
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture?access_key=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY&url=http://www.tumblr.com&export=s3://DHSJ2HDGALIIDHSJDGAH:7SH6s7Sw9DKSH7h8Zs9Bw9DKSSH7h86s7Sw9Bw9D@mybucket.test/path/
```

### Response
#### Success Response (200)
- **image** (string) - The captured screenshot image data or a URL to the image.
- **url** (string) - The original URL requested.
- **format** (string) - The format of the returned image.

#### Response Example
(Response examples are not provided in the source text, but would typically include image data or a URL.)

### Error Handling
- **400 Bad Request**: Invalid parameters or missing required parameters.
- **401 Unauthorized**: Invalid API access key.
- **404 Not Found**: The requested resource could not be found.
- **500 Internal Server Error**: An error occurred on the server.
```

--------------------------------

### Capture Snapshots via Ruby

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

A Ruby function to capture screenshots, allowing definition of all required and optional parameters. Optional parameters can be left blank if not used.

```ruby
require 'cgi' unless defined?(CGI)
require 'digest' unless defined?(Digest)
 
def screenshotlayer(url, options={})
    
  # set access key
  access_key = 'YOUR_ACCESS_KEY '
  
  # set secret keyword (defined in account dashboard)
  secret_keyword = 'YOUR_SECRET_KEYWORD'
 
  # define parameters
  parameters = {
    :url       => url,
    :fullpage  => options[:fullpage],
    :width  => options[:width],
    :viewport  => options[:viewport],
    :format  => options[:format],
    :css_url  => options[:css_url],
    :delay  => options[:delay],
    :ttl  => options[:ttl],
    :force  => options[:force],
    :placeholder  => options[:placeholder],
    :user_agent  => options[:user_agent],
    :accept_lang  => options[:accept_lang],
    :export  => options[:export],
  }
   
  query = parameters.
    sort_by {|s| s[0].to_s }. 
    select {|s| s[1] }.       
    map {|s| s.map {|v| CGI::escape(v.to_s) }.join('=') }.
    join('&')
  
  # generate md5 secret key
  secret_key = Digest::MD5.hexdigest(url + secret_keyword)
 
  "https://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture?access_key=#{access_key}&secret_key=#{secret_key}&#{query}"
end
 
# set url (required), optional parameters (leave blank if unused) & call function
puts screenshotlayer("www.cnn.com",{ 
    fullpage: "", 
    width: "", 
    viewport: "", 
    format: "", 
    css_url: "", 
    delay: "", 
    ttl: "", 
    force: "", 
    placeholder: "", 
    user_agent: "", 
    accept_lang: "", 
    export: "" })
                
                

```

--------------------------------

### Retina/2x Resolution Support API

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

Enables the generation of screenshots with Retina/2x resolution for crisp display on high-density screens. The 'scale' parameter controls the device pixel ratio.

```APIDOC
## POST /api/capture

### Description
Generates screenshots with Retina/2x resolution for high-density displays.

### Method
POST

### Endpoint
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture

### Query Parameters
- **access_key** (string) - Required - Your API access key.
- **url** (string) - Required - The URL of the website to capture.
- **scale** (float) - Optional - Determines the device pixel ratio for rendering. Use 2 for Retina resolution. Defaults to 1.
- **fullpage** (integer) - Optional - Set to 1 to capture the full page.
- **format** (string) - Optional - The image format (e.g., png, jpg). 

### Request Example (Retina)
```
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture?access_key=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY&url=https://example.com&scale=2
```

### Request Example (Full Page Retina)
```
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture?access_key=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY&url=https://apple.com&fullpage=1&format=png&scale=2
```

### Response
#### Success Response (200)
- **screenshot_url** (string) - The URL of the captured screenshot.

#### Response Example
{
  "screenshot_url": "http://example.com/screenshots/12345_retina.png"
}
```

--------------------------------

### Placeholder Image API

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

Provides two options for requesting a placeholder image while a fresh screenshot loads: using the default placeholder or setting a custom placeholder image URL.

```APIDOC
## POST /api/capture

### Description
Requests a placeholder image while a fresh screenshot is being generated.

### Method
POST

### Endpoint
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture

### Query Parameters
- **access_key** (string) - Required - Your API access key.
- **url** (string) - Required - The URL of the website to capture.
- **placeholder** (integer or string) - Optional - Set to 1 to use the default placeholder, or provide a URL for a custom placeholder image (PNG, JPEG, GIF).

### Request Example (Default Placeholder)
```
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture?access_key=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY&url=http://www.twitter.com&placeholder=1
```

### Response
#### Success Response (200)
- **screenshot_url** (string) - The URL of the placeholder or captured screenshot.

#### Response Example
{
  "screenshot_url": "http://example.com/placeholders/default.jpg"
}
```

--------------------------------

### API Request with Access Key

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

To authenticate API calls, append your personal access key as a parameter to the base URL.

```http
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture?access_key=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY  
```

--------------------------------

### Force Refresh API

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

Append the 'force' parameter and set it to 1 to force the API to capture a fresh screenshot of the target URL, ignoring any cached versions.

```APIDOC
## POST /api/capture

### Description
Forces the API to capture a fresh screenshot of the target URL, bypassing the cache.

### Method
POST

### Endpoint
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture

### Query Parameters
- **access_key** (string) - Required - Your API access key.
- **url** (string) - Required - The URL of the website to capture.
- **force** (integer) - Optional - Set to 1 to force a fresh screenshot capture.

### Request Example
```
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture?access_key=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY&url=http://www.tumblr.com&force=1
```

### Response
#### Success Response (200)
- **screenshot_url** (string) - The URL of the captured screenshot.

#### Response Example
{
  "screenshot_url": "http://example.com/screenshots/12345.jpg"
}
```

--------------------------------

### Export Screenshot to AWS S3

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

Use the 'export' parameter with an S3 bucket path to directly save the screenshot to AWS S3. This may take up to 1 minute.

```HTTP
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture
    ? access_key = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
    & url = http://www.tumblr.com
    & export = s3://DHSJ2HDGALIIDHSJDGAH:7SH6s7Sw9DKSH7h8Zs9Bw9DKSSH7h86s7Sw9Bw9D@mybucket.test/path/to   
```

--------------------------------

### Generate Thumbnail with Specific Width

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

To generate a thumbnail of a website, specify the desired width in pixels using the `width` parameter in your API request.

```http
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture
    ? access_key = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
    & url = http://www.facebook.com
    & width = 350
                
```

--------------------------------

### Set Caching Time (TTL)

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

Defines the time-to-live for cached screenshots in seconds. The default and maximum value is 30 days (2,592,000 seconds).

```http
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture
    ? access_key = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
    & url = http://www.tumblr.com
    & ttl = 259200
                
```

--------------------------------

### Capture Full Website Height

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

To capture the entire height of a website, set the `fullpage` parameter to 1 in your API request.

```http
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture
    ? access_key = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
    & url = http://www.cnn.com
    & fullpage = 1
                
```

--------------------------------

### Screenshot API Endpoint

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

The main endpoint for capturing website screenshots. Requires an access key and target URL.

```APIDOC
## POST /api/capture

### Description
This endpoint captures a screenshot of a given website URL.

### Method
GET

### Endpoint
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture

### Parameters
#### Query Parameters
- **access_key** (string) - Required - Your personal password used to authenticate with the API.
- **url** (string) - Required - The full URL of the website you want to request a snapshot from.
- **fullpage** (string) - Optional - Set to "1" to capture the full height of the target website. Defaults to "0".
- **width** (integer) - Optional - Specify your preferred thumbnail width in pixels. Defaults to "1:1".
- **viewport** (string) - Optional - Specify your preferred viewport dimensions in pixels (e.g., "1440x900"). Defaults to "1440x900".
- **format** (string) - Optional - Set your preferred image output format (e.g., "PNG", "JPEG", "GIF"). Defaults to "PNG".
- **secret_key** (string) - Optional - Your secret key, an md5 hash of the target URL and your secret word.
- **css_url** (string) - Optional - Attach a URL containing a custom CSS stylesheet.
- **delay** (integer) - Optional - Specify a delay before the screenshot is captured (in seconds).
- **ttl** (integer) - Optional - Define the time (in seconds) your snapshot should be cached. Defaults to 2592000 (30 days).
- **force** (string) - Optional - Set to "1" to force the API to capture a fresh screenshot.
- **placeholder** (string) - Optional - Attach a URL containing a custom placeholder image or set to "1" to use the default placeholder.
- **user_agent** (string) - Optional - Specify a custom User-Agent HTTP header.
- **accept_lang** (string) - Optional - Specify a custom Accept-Language HTTP header.
- **export** (string) - Optional - Export snapshot via custom FTP path or using AWS S3 user details.

### Request Example
```json
{
  "example": "http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture?access_key=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY&url=http://www.apple.com&viewport=1440x900&fullpage=1"
}
```

### Response
#### Success Response (200)
- **image** (string) - The URL of the captured screenshot.

#### Response Example
```json
{
  "example": "[Image Data or URL]"
}
```
```

--------------------------------

### Configure Viewport Dimensions

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

Specify custom viewport dimensions using the viewport parameter. It is recommended to include a user_agent when requesting mobile-sized viewports.

```http
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture
    ? access_key = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
    & url = http://www.tumblr.com
    & user_agent = Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 8_0_2 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/600.1.4 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/8.0 Mobile/12A366 Safari/600.1.4&viewport=375x667   
    & viewport = 375x667
```

--------------------------------

### TTL (Caching Time) API

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

The ttl parameter allows you to specify a custom caching time (time-to-live) for the screenshot, which must be lower than the default 30 days (2,592,000 seconds).

```APIDOC
## POST /api/capture

### Description
Captures a screenshot of a given URL and sets a custom time-to-live (TTL) for the cache.

### Method
POST

### Endpoint
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture

### Query Parameters
- **access_key** (string) - Required - Your API access key.
- **url** (string) - Required - The URL of the website to capture.
- **ttl** (integer) - Optional - The caching time in seconds. Maximum is 2,592,000 seconds (30 days).

### Request Example
```
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture?access_key=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY&url=http://www.tumblr.com&ttl=259200
```

### Response
#### Success Response (200)
- **screenshot_url** (string) - The URL of the captured screenshot.

#### Response Example
{
  "screenshot_url": "http://example.com/screenshots/12345.jpg"
}
```

--------------------------------

### URL Encoding

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

Information on how to properly URL encode website URLs for the 'url' parameter, especially when they contain special characters like '&' or '?'.

```APIDOC
### URL Encoding

URL encoding is required if your target website's URL contains the special characters ? or &. It is always a safer method to URL encode your target website's URL before passing it into the API's url parameter.

**Example URLs requiring encoding:**
```
http://website.com?example=yes
http://website.com?example=yes&parameter=one
```

**Example query with encoded URL:**
```
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture?access_key=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwebsite.com%3Fexample%3Dyes
```
```

--------------------------------

### Secure API Connection via HTTPS

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

Establish a secure connection to the screenshotlayer API by appending an 's' to the HTTP protocol.

```http
https://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture?access_key=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY  
```

--------------------------------

### Force Refresh Screenshot

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

Forces the API to capture a fresh screenshot by setting the force parameter to 1.

```http
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture
    ? access_key = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
    & url = http://www.tumblr.com
    & force = 1
                
```

--------------------------------

### Screenshotlayer API Base URL

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

The base URL for all screenshotlayer API requests.

```http
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture
```

--------------------------------

### Configure Retina Resolution

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

Adjusts the device pixel ratio for high-density displays. Use a scale of 2 for Retina quality.

```http
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture
    ? access_key = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
    & url = https://example.com&scale=2
                
```

```http
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture
    ? access_key = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
    & url = https://apple.com
    &fullpage=1
    &format=png
    &scale=2
                
```

--------------------------------

### Generate URL Encryption Secret Key

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

Steps to secure API requests by generating an MD5 hash of the target URL and a secret keyword.

```text
http://www.apple.com
```

```text
mysecretkeyword
```

```text
http://www.apple.commysecretkeyword
```

```text
a9d09c5b1cda7e5ef51fed4526e9cff3
```

```http
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture
    ? access_key = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
    & url = http://www.apple.com
    & secret_key = a9d09c5b1cda7e5ef51fed4526e9cff3
```

--------------------------------

### Set Capture Delay

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

Specifies a delay in seconds before the snapshot is captured, useful for content that loads after the initial page load. The maximum supported delay is 20 seconds.

```http
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture
    ? access_key = YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
    & url = http://www.tumblr.com
    & delay = 3
                
```

--------------------------------

### Capturing Delay API

Source: https://screenshotlayer.com/documentation

The delay parameter allows you to specify a custom delay time in seconds before the snapshot is captured. This is useful for content that loads after the initial page load, such as CSS animations or JavaScript effects. The maximum supported delay is 20 seconds.

```APIDOC
## POST /api/capture

### Description
Captures a screenshot of a given URL with a specified delay before the capture.

### Method
POST

### Endpoint
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture

### Query Parameters
- **access_key** (string) - Required - Your API access key.
- **url** (string) - Required - The URL of the website to capture.
- **delay** (integer) - Optional - The delay in seconds before capturing the screenshot. Maximum is 20 seconds.

### Request Example
```
http://api.screenshotlayer.com/api/capture?access_key=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY&url=http://www.tumblr.com&delay=3
```

### Response
#### Success Response (200)
- **screenshot_url** (string) - The URL of the captured screenshot.

#### Response Example
{
  "screenshot_url": "http://example.com/screenshots/12345.jpg"
}
```
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