screenshot

Screenshot Skill

Capture high-fidelity screenshots of any website using Playwright — the industry-standard browser automation framework. This skill covers viewport presets (mobile, tablet, desktop), dark/light mode, full-page captures, custom dimensions, element-level capture by CSS selector, text-based area capture, split-screen viewports, and automatic delivery to the user via Telegram or the active output channel.

Core Principles

1. Wait for the Right Moment

Screenshots fail when content hasn't loaded. Always wait for network idle, specific selectors, or a minimum timeout before capturing. Rushing the capture produces blank or partial images.

2. Match the Viewport to the Use Case

A screenshot taken at 1920x1080 tells a different story than one at 375x667. Choose viewport presets deliberately based on what you're testing or documenting.

3. Respect Rate Limits and Server Load

Don't hammer a website with concurrent screenshot requests. Add delays between captures, respect robots.txt, and avoid high-frequency automated captures of any single domain.

4. Handle JS-Heavy Pages

Modern SPAs and dynamic content need extra care. Use wait_until: networkidle, wait for specific CSS selectors, or add explicit delays for animations to finish before capturing.

5. Capture Only What Matters

Don't always screenshot the full page. Use element selectors and text-based area capture to zero in on the specific content that matters, reducing file size and increasing clarity.

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Installation and Setup

Prerequisites

# Install Playwright
pip install playwright

# Install browser binaries
playwright install chromium

# Or install all browsers
playwright install

Verify Installation

from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright

with sync_playwright() as p:
    browser = p.chromium.launch()
    print(f"Browser version: {browser.version}")
    browser.close()

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Quick Start — Basic Screenshot

from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright

def take_screenshot(url: str, output_path: str = "screenshot.png"):
    """Take a simple screenshot with default settings."""
    with sync_playwright() as p:
        browser = p.chromium.launch()
        page = browser.new_page()
        page.goto(url, wait_until="networkidle")
        page.screenshot(path=output_path, full_page=False)
        browser.close()
        print(f"Screenshot saved to {output_path}")

# Usage
take_screenshot("https://example.com")