Use a Screenshot API with Zapier, Make, and n8n

February 20, 2026 · 8 min read

Not every workflow needs a developer. Sometimes you just want: "When a new row appears in my spreadsheet, screenshot that URL and save the image to Google Drive." Or: "Every Monday, capture my competitor's pricing page and email it to my team."

A website screenshot API makes this trivially easy when connected to no-code automation tools. No servers, no Puppeteer configs, no headless browser headaches. Just an HTTP request that returns an image.

This guide walks through real, copy-paste workflows for the three most popular automation platforms: Zapier, Make (formerly Integromat), and n8n.

Why Use an API Instead of a Browser Extension?

Browser extensions and manual screenshots break the moment you need scale or scheduling. An API gives you:

• Automation -- trigger screenshots from any event (form submission, new row, schedule, webhook)
• Consistency -- same viewport, same wait time, same output every time
• Full-page capture -- scroll the entire page, not just the visible viewport
• Custom options -- device frames, specific widths, PDF output, delayed capture for SPAs

The GrabShot API returns a screenshot as a direct image URL or binary response. That makes it compatible with virtually any no-code tool that supports HTTP requests.

The API Call (30 Seconds to Understand)

Before diving into platforms, here's what the API call looks like:

GET https://grabshot.dev/v1/screenshot?url=https://example.com&width=1280&format=png

Header: X-Api-Key: your_api_key

That's it. You send a URL, you get back an image. Optional parameters control viewport width, format (png/jpeg/webp/pdf), full-page scrolling, device frames, and wait behavior. See the full docs for every option.

Workflow 1: Zapier

Zapier's "Webhooks by Zapier" action lets you call any API. Here's a practical workflow: screenshot every new URL added to a Google Sheet, and save the image back to the same row.

Step-by-step

1. Trigger: "New or Updated Spreadsheet Row in Google Sheets" -- filter for rows where the URL column is not empty and the Screenshot column is empty
2. Action: "Custom Request in Webhooks by Zapier"
3. Action: "Update Spreadsheet Row" -- write the screenshot URL back

Webhook configuration

Method: GET
URL: https://grabshot.dev/v1/screenshot

Query String Parameters:
  url: {{Google Sheets row URL column}}
  width: 1280
  format: png
  full_page: false

Headers:
  X-Api-Key: your_grabshot_api_key

The API returns the screenshot URL in the response. Map that to your "Screenshot" column in the Google Sheets update step.

Other Zapier ideas

• New Typeform submission → screenshot the submitted URL → save to Dropbox
• Schedule (daily) → screenshot competitor pricing page → send via Gmail
• New Trello card with URL → screenshot → attach to card

Workflow 2: Make (Integromat)

Make's HTTP module is more flexible than Zapier's. You can chain requests, handle binary data, and build complex branching logic. Here's a workflow: monitor a list of URLs daily and send a Slack message with screenshots of any that changed.

Scenario setup

1. Schedule trigger: Run once daily at 9 AM
2. Google Sheets: "Search Rows" -- get all URLs from your monitoring sheet
3. Iterator: Loop through each URL
4. HTTP: Make a request to the screenshot API
5. Google Drive: Upload the screenshot
6. Slack: Post the image to your channel

HTTP module configuration

URL: https://grabshot.dev/v1/screenshot
Method: GET
Query string:
  url: {{iterator.value.url}}
  width: 1280
  format: png
Headers:
  X-Api-Key: your_grabshot_api_key
Parse response: Yes

Make handles binary responses natively, so you can pipe the screenshot directly into a Google Drive upload or email attachment without any intermediate steps.

Pro tip: combine with DiffShot

Want to know if a page actually changed before alerting? Add a DiffShot comparison step. Only send the Slack notification when the diff percentage is above 0%. This eliminates noise from pages that look the same day after day.

Workflow 3: n8n (Self-Hosted)

n8n is open-source and self-hostable, which makes it popular with developers who want full control. The HTTP Request node works perfectly with screenshot APIs.

Workflow: weekly competitor report

Capture screenshots of five competitor landing pages every Friday and compile them into a single email.

// n8n HTTP Request node configuration
{
  "method": "GET",
  "url": "https://grabshot.dev/v1/screenshot",
  "qs": {
    "url": "={{ $json.competitor_url }}",
    "width": "1440",
    "format": "png",
    "full_page": "true"
  },
  "headers": {
    "X-Api-Key": "your_grabshot_api_key"
  },
  "responseFormat": "file"
}

n8n workflow nodes

1. Cron: Every Friday at 9 AM
2. Set: Define your competitor URLs as an array
3. SplitInBatches: Process one URL at a time
4. HTTP Request: Call GrabShot API (config above)
5. Merge: Collect all screenshots
6. Send Email: Attach all images, send to your team

Since n8n is self-hosted, you can also store screenshots locally, write them to S3, or push them into your own database.

Workflow 4: Direct URL (Zero Code)

For the simplest use case, you don't even need an automation platform. The GrabShot API supports direct URL embedding:

<!-- Embed a live screenshot in any webpage or email -->
<img src="https://grabshot.dev/v1/screenshot?url=https://example.com&width=800&format=png&api_key=your_key" alt="Website screenshot">

This works in Notion embeds, email templates, dashboards, internal tools -- anywhere you can place an image URL. The screenshot is generated fresh on each request (or served from cache if you've configured caching).

Practical Use Cases

Client reporting

Agencies can automate weekly screenshots of client websites. Pair with PDFMagic to generate PDF reports automatically.

Real estate listings

Screenshot property listing pages as they go live. Store visual snapshots alongside listing data for historical records.

Content curation

Building a link directory or newsletter? Auto-generate thumbnail previews for every URL submitted. No manual screenshotting.

Compliance and archiving

Regulated industries need to archive web content. Schedule daily full-page screenshots of relevant pages, store them timestamped in cloud storage.

Price monitoring

E-commerce teams track competitor pricing pages. Daily screenshots plus visual diffing catch price changes instantly.

Tips for No-Code Screenshot Workflows

• Use caching wisely. If you're screenshotting the same URL repeatedly, add a cache-busting parameter (like a timestamp) when you need fresh captures
• Set appropriate widths. 1280px is a good default for desktop. Use 375px for mobile captures
• Handle rate limits. The free plan allows 25 screenshots/month. If you're automating at scale, the Starter plan ($9/mo) gives you 2,500
• Add delays for SPAs. If the target site loads content via JavaScript, use the delay parameter (e.g., delay=3000 for 3 seconds) to wait for rendering
• Go full-page when archiving. Use full_page=true to capture the entire scrollable page, not just the viewport

Getting Started

Grab a free API key from grabshot.dev/try.html, paste it into your automation tool's HTTP request, and you're live. The entire setup takes less time than reading this article.

The best part about no-code screenshot workflows: once they're set up, they just run. No servers to maintain, no browsers to update, no Puppeteer crashes at 3 AM. Your screenshots show up where you need them, every time.

More from GrabShot

• Capture Screenshots Programmatically
• Automate Open Graph Images
• Website Monitoring with Screenshots
• Best Screenshot APIs in 2026
• HTML to PDF API Guide