---
canonical: 'https://htmlcsstoimage.com/features/url-screenshots'
title: 'URL Screenshot API | HTML/CSS to Image'
description: 'Capture a public webpage as an image or PDF. Take a full-page screenshot, set an exact viewport, or crop to a CSS selector.'
---

# Turn any URL into a screenshot

Send a public URL to our screenshot API and receive a hosted image URL. Capture the visible viewport, the full page, or a specific element in headless Chromium.

## Key capabilities

- Full-page screenshots
- CSS selector capture
- Explicit viewport sizes

## Capture a full page, viewport, or element

Send a public URL and capture options to `POST https://hcti.io/v1/image`, then choose exactly what the resulting screenshot should include:

- Capture the visible viewport with explicit width, height, and device scale.
- Take a full-page website screenshot, including content below the fold.
- Crop the screenshot to one element with a CSS selector.
- Set mobile behavior, touch, color scheme, timezone, print media, and capture timing.

```json
{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "viewport_width": 1200,
  "viewport_height": 630,
  "color_scheme": "dark"
}
```

The page must be reachable by HCTI. Pages that require a specific source network can use a saved proxy, but a site may still return a login, rate-limit, or browser-challenge page instead of its normal content.

The response includes an image ID and hosted image URL that you can embed, download, or save with your application data. HTML/CSS to Image runs headless Chromium for you, so you do not need to maintain screenshot browser infrastructure.

## MCP Integration

Connect an MCP-compatible client to `https://mcp.hcti.io` with OAuth. The tools use the connected organization's HTML/CSS to Image account, permissions, and plan limits.

- The `create_url_image` tool captures a public webpage as a full-page screenshot, an exact viewport, or a selected element. Use it to collect current page evidence, verify UI states, or create documentation screenshots.

[Read the full MCP docs](https://docs.htmlcsstoimage.com/integrations/mcp/).

## Automate website screenshots across your product

### Website monitoring

Save current page states for change tracking, visual review, and regression testing.

### Product and campaign previews

Create images of landing pages, listings, storefronts, and published campaigns.

### Documentation screenshots

Keep documentation, support tickets, onboarding, and release notes aligned with the current interface.

### Reports and archives

Turn dashboards and public reports into dated image snapshots.

## Get started

REST API requests require an HTML/CSS to Image account and should be authenticated from trusted application code. Check the API docs and pricing for current setup instructions, limits, and feature availability.

- [View the full feature page](https://htmlcsstoimage.com/features/url-screenshots)
- [Browse all features](https://htmlcsstoimage.com/features.md)
- [Start free](https://htmlcsstoimage.com/join)
- [View pricing](https://htmlcsstoimage.com/pricing.md)
- [Read the URL screenshot API docs](https://docs.htmlcsstoimage.com/getting-started/url-to-image/)
- [Read the MCP docs](https://docs.htmlcsstoimage.com/integrations/mcp/)