# Public X/Twitter Post Screenshot Generator (`w3crawler/twitter-screenshot-generator`) Actor

Fetch public X/Twitter post data through the public oEmbed endpoint, render a consistent light or dark post card, and store PNG or JPEG screenshots with structured metadata.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/w3crawler/twitter-screenshot-generator.md
- **Developed by:** [w3crawler](https://apify.com/w3crawler) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $2.99 / 1,000 screenshots

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

### What does Public X/Twitter Post Screenshot Generator do?

This Actor fetches public post markup from [X's oEmbed endpoint](https://publish.twitter.com/oembed), renders a deterministic light or dark post card in a headless browser, and stores a PNG or JPEG image in the default key-value store. Structured post metadata is written to the dataset. It does not log in, accept cookies, scrape timelines, solve CAPTCHAs, or render private content.

### Why use it?

Use it for permitted public-post snapshots, documentation, moderation evidence, and small scheduled visual checks through Apify's API, scheduling, monitoring, and integrations. URLs are validated to official public X/Twitter `/status/{id}` pages and duplicate post IDs are removed.

Unavailable, deleted, blocked, or incomplete posts become minimal four-field diagnostics. A stored image is never claimed unless a non-empty PNG/JPEG artifact was written to the KVS.

### How to run

1. Open the Actor's **Input** tab.
2. Add one to 100 public post URLs, such as `https://x.com/jack/status/20`.
3. Select `light` or `dark`, and choose PNG or JPEG. JPEG quality is bounded from 1 to 100.
4. Run the Actor and inspect dataset metadata, KVS image keys, and `OUTPUT`.

### Input

| Field | Required | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `urls` | Yes | One to 100 public `x.com` or `twitter.com` status URLs. |
| `theme` | No | `light` or `dark`; default `light`. |
| `format` | No | `png` or `jpeg`; default `png`. |
| `quality` | No | JPEG quality 1–100; default `90`, ignored for PNG. |
| `fixtureFile` | No | Repository-relative JSON fixture for deterministic local QA. |

Example input:

```json
{
  "urls": [{ "url": "https://x.com/jack/status/20" }],
  "theme": "dark",
  "format": "png",
  "quality": 90
}
```

### Output and artifacts

Normal dataset rows contain the public post URL, ID, author, username, text, rendering settings, stored screenshot key/URL, byte length, and capture time. Browser/HTTP transport is not repeated in dataset rows. Binary screenshots use keys beginning with `tweet_` and have `image/png` or `image/jpeg` content types.

Example normal output:

```json
{
  "recordType": "twitter-screenshot",
  "recordId": "twitter-screenshot:20",
  "source": "publish.twitter.com",
  "provenance": "public_x_oembed",
  "sourceUrl": "https://x.com/jack/status/20",
  "tweetId": "20",
  "tweetUrl": "https://x.com/jack/status/20",
  "authorName": "jack",
  "username": "jack",
  "tweetText": "just setting up my twttr",
  "theme": "dark",
  "format": "png",
  "screenshotKey": "tweet_20_dark_example.png",
  "screenshotBytes": 25402,
  "capturedAt": "2026-09-08T00:00:00.000Z"
}
```

Example diagnostic:

```json
{
  "url": "https://x.com/jack/status/20",
  "error": "X oEmbed was unavailable; no screenshot was written.",
  "errorCode": "BLOCKED",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-09-08T00:00:00.000Z"
}
```

`OUTPUT` contains status, requested/stored counts, screenshot count, failed-post count, diagnostic count, duration, and generator provenance. You can download the dataset in various formats such as JSON, HTML, CSV, or Excel. Retrieve the binary image from the default key-value store using `screenshotKey`.

### Tips, FAQ, and responsible use

Start with one public URL. Use `fixtureFile` for renderer changes without live traffic. `BLOCKED`, `HTTP_ERROR`, `REQUEST_FAILED`, and `NO_POSTS_FOUND` describe the public response observed by this unauthenticated run. The rendered card is an oEmbed-based representation, not a capture of a private or logged-in X page.

This Actor is not affiliated with X Corp. Obtain permission for use and retention, follow X/Twitter terms, copyright requirements, privacy law, rate limits, and applicable access guidance. Do not use it to evade technical restrictions.

# Changelog

This Actor's version history is a separate document: https://apify.com/w3crawler/twitter-screenshot-generator/changelog.md

# Actor input Schema

## `urls` (type: `array`):

One to 100 public x.com or twitter.com post URLs. Each value may be a URL string or a request-list object with a url property.

## `theme` (type: `string`):

Visual theme used to render the public post card.

## `quality` (type: `integer`):

JPEG quality from 1 to 100. Ignored for PNG.

## `format` (type: `string`):

Screenshot file format.

## `fixtureFile` (type: `string`):

Optional repository-relative JSON fixture for deterministic local screenshot rendering.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "urls": [
    {
      "url": "https://x.com/jack/status/20"
    }
  ],
  "theme": "light",
  "quality": 90,
  "format": "png"
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `dataset` (type: `string`):

No description

## `runSummary` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "urls": [
        {
            "url": "https://x.com/jack/status/20"
        }
    ]
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("w3crawler/twitter-screenshot-generator").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = { "urls": [{ "url": "https://x.com/jack/status/20" }] }

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("w3crawler/twitter-screenshot-generator").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "urls": [
    {
      "url": "https://x.com/jack/status/20"
    }
  ]
}' |
apify call w3crawler/twitter-screenshot-generator --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,w3crawler/twitter-screenshot-generator"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/lAwK5ts9LQUhQO73c/builds/Vad9QgbbtGodHIsrC/openapi.json