🌐 Website Screenshot Evidence API

Captures a headless-Chromium screenshot of each URL as a hashed evidence bundle — the image plus its final URL, HTTP state, capture timestamp, browser build, and SHA-256. A batch evidence API, not an interactive browser.

Output is one screenshot_evidence row per result; billing is pay-per-event, the value event being one screenshot check (a $0.02 start fee per run, then $0.05 per screenshot check).

No login, no API key and no CAPTCHA solving are involved: the source is read logged-out with an identified contact User-Agent.

📊 Sample Output

Real rows from run cydGRbVT9LUydlwFn on build 0.1.6 (2026-09-17), the same input as the Quick start below — every value is as the source published it (emails masked, long text shortened):

target_url	final_url	capture_timestamp	browser	browser_version	image_key
https://example.com/	https://example.com/	2026-09-17T18:18:54.149370+00:00	chromium	153.0.8010.12	screenshot-0-example.com
https://www.iana.org/	https://www.iana.org/	2026-09-17T18:18:54.722497+00:00	chromium	153.0.8010.12	screenshot-1-www.iana.org

The run finished with the status message: 2 URL(s): 2 evidence bundle(s) captured+charged, 0 unbilled (blocked/unreachable/unparseable) | screenshot_check charged=2

✅ What you get

Each row is flat JSON with these fields (from the dataset schema and the sample run; a field the source does not publish for a given row is null):

• target_url (string/null) — e.g. https://example.com/
• final_url (string/null) — e.g. https://example.com/
• http_status (integer/string/null) — e.g. 200
• viewport (string/null) — e.g. desktop
• capture_timestamp (string/null) — e.g. 2026-09-17T18:18:54.149370+00:00
• browser (string/null) — e.g. chromium
• browser_version (string/null) — e.g. 153.0.8010.12
• image_key (string/null) — e.g. screenshot-0-example.com
• image_bytes (integer/string/null) — e.g. 15852
• image_sha256 (string/null) — e.g. 673725f9cb364731243d43f2bcab5d8ca3c67c4cfb0bf931ff73bf6a2ceb811a
• width (integer/string/null) — e.g. 1280
• height (integer/string/null) — e.g. 800
• render_warnings (string/null) — null in every sample row
• faults (string/null) — null in every sample row
• record_type (string) — e.g. screenshot_evidence
• source (string/null) — e.g. buyer-submitted page URLs
• outcome (string/null) — e.g. answer
• input (string/null) — e.g. https://example.com/
• outcome_reason (string/null) — null in every sample row
• observed_at (string/null) — null in every sample row
• terminal (string/null) — null in every sample row

Output & billing

One row per target. A complete evidenced verdict carries outcome: answer and is the only billable outcome; blocked / unreachable / unparseable / rejected targets carry that status and are not billed (push-then-charge — failures can only undercharge).

⚙️ Sample inputs

1. Quick start — the Store example (this is what the sample above came from)

{
  "urls": [
    "https://example.com/",
    "https://www.iana.org/"
  ],
  "viewport": "desktop",
  "maxUrls": 10
}

The sample run charged exactly: 2 × $0.02 apify-actor-start + 2 × $0.05 screenshot_check = $0.14 on the Free tier — every delivered row was billed.

2. A smaller, narrowed run

{
  "urls": [
    "https://example.com/",
    "https://www.iana.org/"
  ],
  "viewport": "desktop",
  "maxUrls": 10
}

A bounded run for checking the field shape before scheduling. viewport narrows what the source is asked for.

3. A full-size run

{
  "urls": [
    "https://example.com/",
    "https://www.iana.org/"
  ],
  "viewport": "desktop",
  "maxUrls": 10
}

The same input run on a schedule; each run is billed only for what it delivers.

🧾 JSON sample record

One real record from run cydGRbVT9LUydlwFn, exactly as it lands in the dataset (emails masked, long text shortened):

{
  "target_url": "https://example.com/",
  "final_url": "https://example.com/",
  "http_status": 200,
  "viewport": "desktop",
  "capture_timestamp": "2026-09-17T18:18:54.149370+00:00",
  "browser": "chromium",
  "browser_version": "153.0.8010.12",
  "image_key": "screenshot-0-example.com",
  "image_bytes": 15852,
  "image_sha256": "673725f9cb364731243d43f2bcab5d8ca3c67c4cfb0bf931ff73bf6a2ceb811a",
  "width": 1280,
  "height": 800,
  "render_warnings": null,
  "faults": null,
  "record_type": "screenshot_evidence",
  "source": "buyer-submitted page URLs",
  "outcome": "answer",
  "input": "https://example.com/",
  "outcome_reason": null
}

🔧 How it works

Transport. Plain HTTPS from the Apify platform, no proxy. A headless browser renders the page. robots.txt is read first and a disallowed path is never fetched. Every request carries an identified contact User-Agent.

Terminal states. A run ends NORMAL, CAPPED (your cap was reached), PARTIAL (something was withheld and the message says what), GENUINE_EMPTY (the source was read and truly had nothing in scope) or BLOCKED (the source refused or changed shape — the run FAILS loud and bills nothing). A zero-row run is never reported as a silent success.

Charging. Each screenshot check is charged at the moment it is pushed (screenshot_check); a row that fails to charge is not delivered, so the dataset count always equals the charged count.

What you submit

urls — page urls. Page URLs to capture as evidence. Per URL: a screenshot image artifact (stored in the run key-value store), final URL, HTTP state, capture timestamp, headless browser build, SHA-256 of the image bytes, and render warnings. Only a completed evidence bundle bills; a URL blocked (robots/SSRF/403/429/5xx) or unreachable is delivered as an unbilled status, never a broken-site verdict.

The runtime source gate (per submitted target)

You choose the targets, so the source contract is enforced at run time, per origin, before any page is read:

• robots.txt fetched once per origin and honored; no robots / 404 = permitted, a disallowed path or unavailable robots file = BLOCKED.
• SSRF guard — every host is resolved and must be public; private, loopback, link-local, reserved and cloud-metadata addresses are refused before a socket opens.
• HTTP — 403 / 429 / 5xx = BLOCKED; DNS / timeout / connection faults = UNREACHABLE.

A BLOCKED or UNREACHABLE target is delivered as an unbilled status row — never a broken-site verdict, and never charged.

Why this and not the obvious alternative

batch evidence artifact with content hashes — a per-URL screenshot bundle you can archive/verify, NOT fleet-1's interactive Playwright browser MCP (no interactive tools, no live session).

What is not done. No login, no cookie or CAPTCHA bypass, no private or personal-account data.

💰 Pricing example

Event	Free	Bronze	Silver	Gold
Actor Start (apify-actor-start)	$0.02	$0.02	$0.02	$0.02
Screenshot Check (screenshot_check)	$0.05	$0.04	$0.04	$0.03

Worked at the live Free-tier price:

• 2 screenshot checks: $0.02 start + 2 × $0.05 = $0.12
• 25 screenshot checks: $0.02 start + 25 × $0.05 = $1.27
• 100 screenshot checks: $0.02 start + 100 × $0.05 = $5.02

A run that delivers zero rows charges the $0.02 start fee only. A BLOCKED run (source refused) fails loud and charges no value event. The start fee is charged once per GB of run memory; the default run memory is 2048 MB.

Yield on the sample run: 2 URL(s): 2 evidence bundle(s) captured+charged, 0 unbilled (blocked/unreachable/unparseable) | screenshot_check charged=2.

⚖️ Legal & ToS

This actor reads public data only. It collects only what the source publishes to any visitor, keeps to the source's robots rules (checked on every run), identifies itself with a contact User-Agent, and does not access accounts, private data or anything behind authentication. Use the output in line with the source's terms and your local law; the intended use is B2B research and monitoring.

❓ FAQ

Q: Do I need an API key or a login?
A: No. the input schema has no key field and the actor carries no secrets.

Q: Why did my run return 0 rows?
A: Read the run's status message. GENUINE_EMPTY means the source was read and had nothing in scope for your input; BLOCKED means the source refused and the run failed without billing a value event — retry later or narrow the input. A zero-row run bills the start fee only.

Q: How fresh is the data?
A: Every run reads the source live at run time; nothing is cached between runs. Put it on a schedule for a continuous feed.

Q: What formats can I export?
A: The dataset downloads as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or RSS from the run's Dataset tab or the Apify API, and any run can push to a webhook or integration.

Q: How is this different from the other web QA and enrichment tools actors?
A: Same output shape and billing model; this one covers Website Screenshot Evidence API. The siblings under Related Actors cover the other sources or slices — run several on one schedule for a combined feed.

Q: Are there rate limits?
A: The actor paces itself against the source and honours its robots rules; there is no per-buyer limit beyond your Apify plan's concurrency.

🆘 Troubleshooting

• Run FAILED with BLOCKED → the source refused the request or changed its page shape → nothing was billed beyond the start fee; retry after a while, and if it persists open an Issue with the run id.
• Fewer rows than expected → the source had fewer items in scope → widen the input.
• Input validation error on start → a field is outside the schema's allowed values → start from the Quick start block and change one field at a time.
• Run TIMED-OUT → a very wide request on a slow day → raise the run timeout in Run options or narrow the input; what was delivered before the timeout is still in the dataset.

🔗 Related Actors

• Website Brand Kit API — Extracts a full brand system from a domain — logos, favicons, declared and pixel-derived colors, font declarations, theme color and social share imag…
• Website Contact Finder — Email, Phone & Social Links — Find business emails, phone numbers, and social profile links published on company websites. Submit domains or URLs and pay only when a contact-beari…
• Website Migration Link Auditor — Audits an old→new URL migration manifest. Each source URL gets an acceptance receipt: redirect target/chain/loop, 404/410/5xx, fragment survival, can…
• Website Technology Detector — Fingerprints the technologies a website exposes on the pages its robots.txt permits — web server, CDN, CMS, JavaScript frameworks, analytics and mark…
• 🏢 About NexGenData — NexGen Watch is NexGenData's fleet of 256 public monitoring and lookup actors built on official sources, pay-per-result. Browse the catalog at apify.com/nexgenwatch.

⭐ Found this useful?

If this actor saved you a manual check, a quick review on the Apify Store helps other teams find it. Feature request or a source that changed? Open it from the Issues tab — every one is read.