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📸 Screenshot & PDF API — Capture Page Content ​

Take screenshots of web pages and generate PDF documents. Perfect for visual verification, archiving, generating reports, and debugging.

⚠️ Version Requirement: Binary v0.1.14+ | Library v0.0.20+

Overview ​

MethodOutputUse Case
screenshot(filePath?)PNG image (base64 or file)Visual verification, debugging
pdf(filePath?)PDF document (base64 or file)Reports, archiving
blockImages()—Speed up loads on image-heavy pages
unblockImages()—Re-enable images

Known Limitations ​

Screenshot in Headless Mode ​

Screenshots in headless mode currently produce a blank white image with only the page title as text. This is a known Qt WebEngine rendering issue — the GPU compositor does not paint the page into the offscreen buffer before the screenshot is taken. This is being researched and will be fixed in a future version.

Workaround: Use headful mode (nothing-browser-headful.exe) for screenshots, and add a wait after navigation to allow the page to fully render before capturing.

PDF in Headless Mode ​

PDF export works correctly in both headless and headful mode. Qt WebEngine's PDF renderer does not depend on the GPU compositor, so it always produces the full rendered page.

Screenshot ​

screenshot(filePath?) ​

Takes a screenshot of the current page. Returns base64 if no path is provided, otherwise saves to the given path.

⚠️ Use headful mode. Add a wait after waitForSelector to allow full rendering.

ts
import piggy from "nothing-browser";
import { writeFileSync } from "fs";
import path from "path";

const binaryPath = path.resolve(import.meta.dir, "../a/nothing-browser-headful.exe");

await piggy.launch({ mode: "tab", binary: binaryPath });
await piggy.register("site", "https://books.toscrape.com");

await piggy.site.navigate();
await piggy.site.waitForSelector(".product_pod");
await piggy.site.wait(2000); // wait for full render

// Get as base64 and save manually
const b64 = await piggy.site.screenshot();
writeFileSync("./screenshot.png", Buffer.from(b64, "base64"));

// Or save directly to file
await piggy.site.screenshot("./screenshot.png");

PDF ​

pdf(filePath?) ​

Generates a PDF of the current page. Works correctly in both headless and headful mode.

ts
// Get as base64 and save manually
const b64 = await piggy.site.pdf();
writeFileSync("./page.pdf", Buffer.from(b64, "base64"));

// Or save directly to file
await piggy.site.pdf("./page.pdf");

Image Blocking ​

blockImages() / unblockImages() ​

ts
await piggy.site.blockImages();
await piggy.site.navigate("https://books.toscrape.com");
await piggy.site.waitForSelector(".product_pod");
// page loaded faster without images

await piggy.site.unblockImages();
// images will load on next navigation

Always call unblockImages() before taking a screenshot — a page loaded with images blocked will render blank or unstyled.

Real-World Examples ​

Example 1: Screenshot a Product Page ​

ts
await piggy.site.unblockImages()
await piggy.site.intercept.clear()
await piggy.site.navigate("https://books.toscrape.com/catalogue/a-light-in-the-attic_1000/index.html")
await piggy.site.waitForSelector(".product_main")
await piggy.site.wait(2000) // wait for full render

const b64 = await piggy.site.screenshot()
writeFileSync("./product.png", Buffer.from(b64, "base64"))
console.log("Product screenshot saved ✓")

Example 2: Generate PDF Report ​

ts
await piggy.site.navigate("https://books.toscrape.com")
await piggy.site.waitForSelector(".product_pod")

const b64 = await piggy.site.pdf()
writeFileSync("./catalogue.pdf", Buffer.from(b64, "base64"))
console.log("PDF saved ✓")

Example 3: Screenshot Multiple Pages ​

ts
const links = await piggy.site.fetchLinks(".product_pod h3 a")

for (let i = 0; i < Math.min(5, links.length); i++) {
  await piggy.site.navigate(links[i])
  await piggy.site.waitForSelector(".product_main")
  await piggy.site.wait(1500)

  const b64 = await piggy.site.screenshot()
  writeFileSync(`./screenshots/product-${i + 1}.png`, Buffer.from(b64, "base64"))
  console.log(`Screenshot ${i + 1} saved`)
}

Example 4: Screenshot on Error for Debugging ​

ts
async function scrapeWithDebug(site: any, url: string) {
  try {
    await site.navigate(url)
    await site.waitForSelector(".content")
    return await site.provide.text({ selector: ".content" })
  } catch (error: any) {
    const filename = `./error-${Date.now()}.png`
    const b64 = await site.screenshot()
    writeFileSync(filename, Buffer.from(b64, "base64"))
    console.log(`Error screenshot saved: ${filename}`)
    throw error
  }
}

Example 5: Block Images, Screenshot, Then Unblock ​

ts
await piggy.site.blockImages()
const t0 = Date.now()
await piggy.site.navigate("https://books.toscrape.com")
await piggy.site.waitForSelector(".product_pod")
console.log(`Loaded in ${Date.now() - t0}ms (no images)`)

// Unblock before screenshot or you'll get a blank image
await piggy.site.unblockImages()
await piggy.site.navigate()
await piggy.site.waitForSelector(".product_pod")
await piggy.site.wait(2000)

const b64 = await piggy.site.screenshot()
writeFileSync("./with-images.png", Buffer.from(b64, "base64"))

Example 6: PDF from Multiple URLs ​

ts
const urls = [
  "https://books.toscrape.com",
  "https://books.toscrape.com/catalogue/page-2.html",
  "https://books.toscrape.com/catalogue/page-3.html",
]

for (let i = 0; i < urls.length; i++) {
  await piggy.site.navigate(urls[i])
  await piggy.site.waitForSelector(".product_pod")

  const b64 = await piggy.site.pdf()
  writeFileSync(`./page-${i + 1}.pdf`, Buffer.from(b64, "base64"))
  console.log(`PDF ${i + 1} saved`)
}

Performance Tips ​

ts
// Block images for faster navigation (not for screenshots)
await piggy.site.blockImages()
await piggy.site.navigate(url)

// Always unblock before screenshotting
await piggy.site.unblockImages()
await piggy.site.navigate(url)
await piggy.site.waitForSelector(".content")
await piggy.site.wait(2000) // allow render
await piggy.site.screenshot("./output.png")

API Reference ​

MethodParametersReturnsDescription
screenshot(filePath?)filePath?: stringPromise<string>PNG screenshot as base64
pdf(filePath?)filePath?: stringPromise<string>PDF as base64
blockImages()—Promise<void>Block all images from loading
unblockImages()—Promise<void>Re-enable image loading

Next Steps ​

Nothing Ecosystem · Ernest Tech House · Kenya · 2026

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