# Quickstart

Take your first screenshot in about a minute. There are three ways in. Pick the one that suits you: they all do the same thing.

- **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.

## 1. Get your API key

Create a key in the [dashboard](https://localscreenshot.com/dashboard), under **Connect**. It starts with `lss_live_`. You can copy it again from there any time. Keep it secret. Your account comes with 50 free credits.

The examples on this page read the key from an environment variable, so it is not written in every command or saved in a file you share:

```bash
export LOCALSCREENSHOT_API_KEY="your key"
```

## 2. Take a screenshot

### Ask your AI

Add our MCP server to your AI tool, with your key in the `Authorization` header. [Ask your AI (MCP)](https://docs.localscreenshot.com/agent) has the exact line for each tool. Then just ask:

> "Take a screenshot of wikipedia.org on an iPhone."

Your AI gets three tools: `take_screenshot`, `list_countries` and `get_credits`.

**MCP server**

```text
Address    https://api.localscreenshot.com/mcp
Transport  HTTP
Header     Authorization: Bearer $LOCALSCREENSHOT_API_KEY
```

### Or call the API

Send the page address to `/v1/screenshot`. The answer is the image itself. Your key goes in the `Authorization` header, never in the address.

**Take a screenshot**

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

**Response headers**

```http
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: image/png
X-Screenshot-Id: 01JABCDEF2G3H4J5K6M7N8P9QR
X-Credits-Charged: 1
X-Credits-Remaining: 49
X-Page-Status: 200
```

## 3. Add what you need

Every option is one parameter. A few to start with:

| Option | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| `device=iphone_15` | Capture the page as a phone sees it. |
| `full_page=true` | Capture the whole page, not only the visible part. |
| `block_cookie_banners=true` | Remove most cookie banners before the picture. |
| `country=DK` | Load the page from a country. 227 to choose from. |
| `format=pdf` | Save the page as a PDF. Also `png`, `jpeg`, `webp`. |
| `response=json` | Get a link to the image and the page details instead of the image. |

The full list is on [Take a screenshot](https://docs.localscreenshot.com/take).

**With response=json**

```json
{
  "id": "01JABCDEF2G3H4J5K6M7N8P9QR",
  "status": "succeeded",
  "created_at": "2026-10-08T10:47:02Z",
  "finished_at": "2026-10-08T10:47:06Z",
  "image": {
    "url": "https://api.localscreenshot.com/v1/screenshots/01JABC.../image?expires=...&signature=...",
    "mime": "image/png",
    "bytes": 83672,
    "width": 1440,
    "height": 900,
    "pages": null,
    "sha256": "a5b9081b8430...",
    "truncated": false,
    "available_until": "2026-10-15T10:47:02Z"
  },
  "page": { "status": 200, "final_url": "https://www.wikipedia.org/", "title": "Wikipedia", "redirects": [] },
  "country": null,
  "attestation": null,
  "credits": { "charged": 1, "reserved": 1, "remaining": 49 },
  "error": null,
  "links": { "self": "https://api.localscreenshot.com/v1/screenshots/01JABC..." }
}
```

## What it costs

- A screenshot uses 1 credit. From a chosen country, it uses 2.
- A failed screenshot is not charged. The number of failed screenshots per day is limited.
- Your 50 signup credits do not expire. Monthly credits reset each month. Pack credits do not expire.

> **What it does not do.** It does not sign in to websites, solve CAPTCHAs or get past paywalls. You get a clear error instead.