# Overview

localscreenshot takes a screenshot of a public web page and gives you the image. Ask your AI for it, or call the API yourself. It is the same service either way.

- **Ask your AI**: No code. Connect once, then ask in plain words.
- **Command line**: One curl command.
- **From your code**: One HTTP request, any language.

## What you can do

- Take a screenshot of a public page, as a desktop or as a phone sees it.
- Capture the whole page, or only one element.
- Remove most cookie banners, ads, chat bubbles and pop-ups before the picture is taken.
- Save the page as `png`, `jpeg`, `webp` or `pdf`.
- Load the page from one of 227 countries, with a signed technical attestation of the country we observed.

## Three ways in

All three use the same API key and the same credits.

| Way in | For whom | Where to start |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Your AI tool (MCP) | Anyone who works with Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and similar tools | [Ask your AI (MCP)](https://docs.localscreenshot.com/agent) |
| Command line | Scripts and quick checks, with curl | [Quickstart](https://docs.localscreenshot.com/quickstart) |
| REST API | Your own code, in any language | [Take a screenshot](https://docs.localscreenshot.com/take) |

## How a screenshot goes

1. You send a page address, with the options you want.
2. We open the page in a real browser, wait for it to load and take the picture.
3. You get the image back, or a clear error. A failed screenshot is not charged.

## What it costs

- A screenshot uses 1 credit. From a chosen country, it uses 2.
- Your account starts with 50 free credits. They do not expire.
- More on [Credits and limits](https://docs.localscreenshot.com/credits).

> **What it does not do.** It does not sign in to websites, solve CAPTCHAs or get past paywalls. It only reads public pages: it never fills in a form. When a site shows a bot check instead of its page, you get the error `challenge_page` instead of a picture.

## For AI tools and agents

- Every page of these docs exists as Markdown: add `.md` to its address.
- The whole documentation in one text: `llms-full.txt`, linked in the menu.
- The API described for machines: [openapi.json](https://api.localscreenshot.com/v1/openapi.json).

**Where things are**

```text
API         https://api.localscreenshot.com/v1
MCP server  https://api.localscreenshot.com/mcp
Dashboard   https://localscreenshot.com/dashboard
OpenAPI     https://api.localscreenshot.com/v1/openapi.json
```

**Your first screenshot**

```bash
curl "https://api.localscreenshot.com/v1/screenshot?url=https://www.wikipedia.org" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LOCALSCREENSHOT_API_KEY" \
  -o shot.png
```