canonical: https://jentic.com/apis/browshot.com/browshot

# Browshot API

Jentic publishes the only available OpenAPI specification for Browshot API, keeping it validated and agent-ready. Browshot is a screenshot-as-a-service platform that captures website screenshots from a fleet of browser instances across desktop and mobile profiles. The API covers single-shot capture via /api/v1/simple and /api/v1/screenshot/create, batch capture for many URLs at once, full-site crawl-and-capture jobs, hosted thumbnails, sharing, and account introspection. It also exposes the underlying instance and browser catalogues so you can choose the right viewport and rendering profile per shot.

## For AI agents

Capture screenshots of any URL across desktop and mobile browsers, run batch and crawl jobs, and host or share the resulting images. Useful for marketing previews, social cards, and SEO reporting agents.

## Scope

Does not handle generic browser automation, scraping logic, or PDF rendering - use for screenshot capture, batch and crawl jobs, and screenshot hosting only.

## Capabilities

- Capture a single screenshot of a URL with /api/v1/simple for the fastest path or /api/v1/screenshot/create for full options
- Run batch screenshot jobs over many URLs and poll for completion via /api/v1/batch/info
- Crawl an entire site and capture every page reached via /api/v1/crawl/create
- Host the resulting screenshots on Browshot's CDN or push them to your own bucket via /api/v1/screenshot/host
- Generate thumbnails of any captured screenshot at requested dimensions
- Choose a browser instance (Chrome on Windows, Safari on iPhone, etc.) per capture for accurate rendering
- Share a screenshot publicly via a Browshot-hosted URL through /api/v1/screenshot/share

## Use cases

### Social Card and Open Graph Preview Generation

Marketing platforms render dynamic social cards for shared URLs by calling /api/v1/screenshot/create with the target page and a 1200x630 viewport. Browshot returns a hosted image URL that the platform embeds in the Open Graph meta tag. Because Browshot offers many browser instances, the cards render the same way the user's actual viewer will see them - including modern fonts and CSS Grid layouts.

Example prompt: POST /api/v1/screenshot/create with the URL, instance_id for Chrome desktop, and width 1200, height 630, then host the result via /api/v1/screenshot/host

### Bulk Site Auditing

SEO and marketing teams audit hundreds of pages by batching screenshots of a list of URLs. The agent calls POST /api/v1/batch/create with the URL list and instance, polls GET /api/v1/batch/info for completion, and pulls thumbnails from /api/v1/screenshot/thumbnail for an at-a-glance review grid. This replaces tab-by-tab manual auditing and gives a documented snapshot for the next quarter's comparison.

Example prompt: POST /api/v1/batch/create with an array of 200 URLs and the desired browser instance, then GET /api/v1/batch/info until status is finished

### Cross-Device Visual QA

Front-end teams compare a release candidate against production by capturing the same URL on multiple Browshot instances - desktop Chrome, iPhone Safari, Android Chrome - and diffing the resulting images. The /api/v1/instance/list and /api/v1/browser/list endpoints expose the full catalogue so the agent can pick the right device profiles for the team's target audience.

Example prompt: Loop over three instances (desktop Chrome, iPhone Safari, Android Chrome) calling POST /api/v1/screenshot/create for each, then download the images for visual diffing

### AI Marketing Agent Through Jentic

An AI marketing agent uses Jentic to generate preview images for newsletter and social content without holding the Browshot API key. The agent searches for 'capture a website screenshot', loads the schema, and executes the call with the URL it just drafted content about. The hosted image URL goes straight into the email template or Slack post.

Example prompt: Use Jentic to search 'capture a website screenshot', load the browshot.com operation, and execute it for the URL the agent is about to share in a campaign

## Key endpoints

| Method | Path | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| GET | /api/v1/simple | Fast one-shot screenshot capture |
| POST | /api/v1/screenshot/create | Capture a screenshot with full options |
| POST | /api/v1/batch/create | Submit a batch of URLs for capture |
| POST | /api/v1/crawl/create | Start a crawl-and-capture job |
| GET | /api/v1/screenshot/thumbnail | Generate a thumbnail of an existing screenshot |
| GET | /api/v1/screenshot/host | Host a screenshot on a CDN |
| GET | /api/v1/instance/list | List available browser instances |
| GET | /api/v1/account/info | Get account plan and credit balance |

## Key resources

- **Simple Screenshot** — One-shot screenshot capture with sensible defaults
- **Screenshot** — Full-options capture, listing, info, thumbnail, host, share, and delete
- **Batch** — Submit many URLs as a single batch job
- **Crawl** — Crawl a site and capture every reached page
- **Instances and Browsers** — Catalogue of available rendering profiles
- **Account** — Plan, credit balance, and usage info

## Why Jentic

- **Setup:** Wiring Browshot by hand means passing your key as the query parameter on every request and coordinating single, batch, and crawl capture endpoints plus screenshot hosting yourself. Through Jentic you install once, import the Browshot API from the API Directory, store the key once, and your agent calls it.
- **Permission scoping:** Browshot takes its capture target in the request or query, not as a resource id in the URL path, so scoping is operations-only: limit the agent to the operations it needs, such as creating a screenshot and fetching its thumbnail. You choose which operations it may call, so batch or crawl jobs are not included unless you add them.
- **Credential handling:** Your Browshot API key is stored once, encrypted, by your own Jentic One instance and injected as the key query parameter at execution time. It never enters the agent's prompt, logs, or context.
- **Discovery method:** Agents search Jentic by intent such as 'capture a website screenshot', and Jentic returns the matching Browshot operation with its parameter schema so the agent calls the right endpoint without browsing the reference docs.

## Related APIs

- **Urlbox** — Screenshot-as-a-service API with extensive customisation and full-page rendering
- **ApiFlash** — Screenshot API with quality, format, and freshness controls
- **Browserless** — Headless Chrome with /screenshot, /pdf, and /scrape primitives

## FAQ

### Why is there no official OpenAPI spec for Browshot API?

Browshot does not publish an OpenAPI specification. Jentic generates and maintains this spec so that AI agents and developers can call Browshot API via structured tooling. It is validated against the live API and kept up to date. Get started with Jentic One, the self-hosted execution layer.

### What authentication does the Browshot API use?

Browshot uses an API key passed as a query parameter (the `apiKey` security scheme in the spec). Through Jentic, the key is stored encrypted in your Jentic One instance and the agent receives a scoped execution token instead of the raw value.

### Can I capture mobile screenshots with Browshot?

Yes. Browshot exposes a catalogue of mobile and desktop instances via GET /api/v1/instance/list. Pick the instance_id matching the device profile you want (for example iPhone Safari) and pass it to /api/v1/screenshot/create.

### How do I batch screenshot many URLs through Jentic?

Search Jentic for 'capture screenshots in a batch', load the browshot.com schema, and call POST /api/v1/batch/create with an array of URLs and the desired instance. Poll GET /api/v1/batch/info until the batch finishes, then pull each screenshot.

### What are the rate limits for the Browshot API?

The OpenAPI spec does not declare explicit rate limits. Browshot bills per credit; check GET /api/v1/account/info for your plan, remaining credits, and concurrent capture cap before kicking off large batches or crawls.

### Does Browshot host the screenshots or do I have to download them?

Both are supported. By default screenshots are stored on Browshot's CDN and accessible via GET /api/v1/screenshot/info; calling /api/v1/screenshot/host returns a hosted URL you can embed directly. You can also pull the binary via /api/v1/screenshot/thumbnail and store it yourself.

### Can I limit what my agent is allowed to do with the Browshot API?

Yes. Because you run Jentic One yourself, your own rules decide which Browshot operations and credentials the agent may use. Since Browshot takes the capture target in the request or query rather than as a resource id in the path, scoping is operations-only: you can allow the agent to create a screenshot and fetch its thumbnail while leaving out batch and crawl jobs. Only the operations you approve are callable, so higher-cost jobs like /api/v1/batch/create or /api/v1/crawl/create stay off limits unless you add them.