Description
n8n-nodes-siteshot
An n8n community node that captures a screenshot of a public
web page with the Site-Shot API and passes it to
the next node as binary data.
Quick start
1. Install the node: search for Site-Shot in the n8n nodes panel, or on
self-hosted n8n enter n8n-nodes-siteshot under **Settings → Community
Nodes** (see Installation).
2. Copy your API key from the Site-Shot quickstart
(create a free account there if you have none).
3. In n8n, create a Site-Shot API credential and paste the key into
API Key.
4. Add the Site-Shot node after a trigger and enter the page address in
URL, for example https://example.com/.
5. Run it. The screenshot is in the output’s binary field data, ready for any
storage, upload or email node.
To try it without building anything, paste this workflow into the n8n editor
(copy it, then press Ctrl+V or Cmd+V on the canvas) and pick your credential on
the Site-Shot node:
{
"nodes": [
{
"parameters": {},
"name": "When clicking 'Execute workflow'",
"type": "n8n-nodes-base.manualTrigger",
"typeVersion": 1,
"position": [0, 0]
},
{
"parameters": {
"url": "https://example.com/"
},
"name": "Site-Shot",
"type": "n8n-nodes-siteshot.siteShot",
"typeVersion": 1,
"position": [220, 0]
}
],
"connections": {
"When clicking 'Execute workflow'": {
"main": [[{ "node": "Site-Shot", "type": "main", "index": 0 }]]
}
}
}
The example works with every version. The options Block Ads, **Remove
Cookie Banners and Delay (Ms), and the WebP** format, need version 0.1.3
or later. The nodes panel and n8n Cloud install the version that n8n has
verified, which can be older; if the node’s Options offer no Block Ads,
the installed version is older than 0.1.3. On self-hosted n8n, the instance
owner can install it under Settings → Community Nodes by entering
[email protected].
What it does
One action: given an explicit http:// or https:// address, it returns a PNG,
JPEG or WebP screenshot in a binary field, ready for any storage, upload or email
node downstream.
There is no trigger, scheduling or storage, and no country selection,
request-header, JavaScript-injection or proxy options. The API host is fixed.
The node is written against the published Site-Shot API and does not use or
include the Site-Shot SDK.
Requirements
- n8n Cloud or self-hosted n8n. Site-Shot is
- A Site-Shot API key, from the
- n8n Cloud, or self-hosted n8n with verified community nodes: open the
- Self-hosted n8n otherwise: the instance owner installs it under
- Captures send the key as the
userkeyquery parameter, which is how the - The credential test sends
GET https://api.site-shot.com/v1.0/credential-check
an n8n-verified integration, so it
can be installed from the nodes panel on both; see
Compatibility for the versions tested.
Site-Shot quickstart. A confirmed
account’s API key comes with the free plan: 100 API captures a month, no card
needed, one capture at a time. An account confirmed before 2026-10-30
switches it on with one button on the quickstart page; an account that has
had a paid plan before does not get the free plan.
Paid plans start at $5/mo for 2,000.
Installation
nodes panel, search for Site-Shot and install it. An instance owner or
admin does this once; see
n8n’s guide to installing verified community nodes.
Settings → Community Nodes by entering the package name,
n8n-nodes-siteshot. To install one exact version, add it to the name, for
example [email protected].
The nodes panel and n8n Cloud install the version that n8n has verified, which
can lag behind npm. The options Block Ads, Remove Cookie Banners and
Delay (Ms), and the WebP format, need version 0.1.3 or later; see
Version history. On n8n Cloud they are available once n8n
has verified a version that has them.
The versions published to npm are listed on its
npm page; a package of this
name from anywhere else is not this project.
Credentials
Create a Site-Shot API credential and paste your key into API Key, a
password field. n8n’s credential layer adds the key to each request; the node’s
own code never reads it.
Site-Shot API authenticates a capture.
with the key in a userkey header, an empty query string and nothing else —
no page address, body or account details. It never requests a screenshot.
Each attempt times out after 10 seconds, redirects are not followed, and the
key is only ever sent to api.site-shot.com.
| Test result | Meaning |
| — | — |
| success | The key was accepted. |
| 401 | The key is missing or not recognised. From version 0.1.3 the test says: “Site-Shot did not recognise this API key. Copy it again from https://www.site-shot.com/start/, without spaces.” |
| 403 | The key is valid, but the account has no active subscription, or its free plan is used up for this month. |
The credential test and your quota
The credential test does not take a screenshot. The route it calls is meant
not to count against your captures, and in the one live check, recorded in
DEVELOPMENT.md, it did not. n8n can run the test on its own,
for example when a saved credential is opened, so creating, opening and
re-testing the credential can each send a request. How n8n runs the test is described in DEVELOPMENT.md.
Node reference
| Field | Required | Default | Notes |
| — | — | — | — |
| URL | yes | — | Must start with http:// or https://. Never rewritten or guessed. |
| Put Output File in Field | yes | data | Name of the output binary field. |
| Options → Block Ads | no | off | Blocks common ads before the capture (no_ads=1). It uses a block list, so some ads may remain. |
| Options → Delay (Ms) | no | not sent; 3000 when added | Milliseconds to wait after the page loads, 0–30000 (delay_time). Leaving it unset is not a zero wait: the API applies its own, and waits 3000 ms when it retries a capture that came out as an error or half-loaded page. A value set here is also used on that retry, so a value below 3000 shortens it. The delay adds to the request time; see the request timeout under Cost, errors and limits. |
| Options → Format | no | png | png, jpeg or webp. PNG and WebP are lossless; JPEG is lossy and smallest on photo-heavy pages. A WebP full-page capture taller than 16,383 px is cut at 16,383 px. An expression may also give PNG, jpg and so on; any other value is rejected before a request is sent. |
| Options → Full Page | no | off | Captures the whole scrollable page. |
| Options → Remove Cookie Banners | no | off | Tries to remove common cookie-consent banners and popups before the capture (nocookiepopup=1). It uses a block list, so a banner a site draws itself may remain. |
| Options → Viewport Width | no | API default (1024) | 100–8000 px. |
| Options → Viewport Height | no | API default (768) | 100–20000 px. |
Options you leave unset are not sent, so the API applies its own defaults. A bare
example.com is rejected rather than given a scheme, and so are addresses with
embedded credentials (https://user:pass@host/) or control characters.
Output
Each input item produces one output item, paired with its input, with the input
JSON unchanged and the screenshot in the binary field. For example, a workflow
Manual Trigger → Site-Shot → (any node that takes a binary file) with the
defaults produces an item like this (abbreviated; n8n adds the file data and
size):
{
"json": {},
"binary": {
"data": {
"mimeType": "image/png",
"fileName": "screenshot.png",
"fileExtension": "png"
}
}
}
Point the downstream node at the same field name. The file name is always
screenshot.png, screenshot.jpg or screenshot.webp; rename it downstream if many captures go
to one destination.
Cost, errors and limits
Captures are billable. Every capture request the API accepts may count
against your Site-Shot quota, including one that fails while rendering. The
node checks the URL, viewport, delay and format before sending anything, so invalid input is
rejected without a request. It never retries a capture, never falls back to
another endpoint and never returns a placeholder result. If you enable n8n’s
Retry On Fail, each retry is another capture request.
A failure is never a screenshot. A capture that fails while rendering is
answered with HTTP 200, an error field and a placeholder image. The node reads
error on every response and produces no binary field unless the response
holds a real image in the requested format. It also rejects missing, empty or
malformed image data, an image in a format other than the one requested, and
responses that are not the expected JSON.
| Situation | What the node reports |
| — | — |
| HTTP 401 | The API key was rejected. |
| HTTP 403, No active subscription found | The account has no active subscription; the key itself is fine. |
| HTTP 403, Free plan used up or Free API trial used up (the API may use either wording) | This month’s free-plan captures are used up, with the date the free plan renews when the API gives one; the key itself is fine. |
| HTTP 403, Forbidden target address | Site-Shot does not capture this address, for example one on a private or local network. |
| Any other HTTP 403 | Site-Shot refused the capture: the account may have no active subscription or its free plan may be used up for this month, or the address may not be allowed. |
| HTTP 429 | The key already has as many captures running as its plan allows: the free plan runs one capture at a time, paid plans allow more. Wait for the previous capture to finish. The refused request does not count as a capture. |
| HTTP 402, or a quota failure | A quota or payment problem. |
| country_unavailable | No capacity in the requested country right now. |
| errorcode proxynavigation_failed on an HTTP 200 | Site-Shot could not open the page: the address may be wrong or unreachable, or the site did not load in time. The attempt still counts as a capture, and so does every retry. |
| Geotargeting needs a paid plan | Site-Shot refuses a capture from a country other than the US on the free plan and returns an error instead of an image; the refused request still counts toward the month’s 100. The node has no country option, so it does not ask for one itself. |
| HTTP 5xx | The API is unavailable. |
| Capture failed on an HTTP 200 | The page could not be captured. A status line from the page or proxy (such as 407 Proxy Authentication Required) or a browser network error is never read as a key, quota or option problem. |
| Invalid URL, viewport, delay or format | Rejected before any request is sent. |
Error messages are written by this node. They include the HTTP status, and
upstream wording only when it matches a short list of known reasons (plus a
used-up free plan’s renewal date, when it has the exact YYYY-MM-DD (UTC)
form); they never include the API key, the request address, headers or
response bodies. The node writes no logs. With Continue On Fail enabled, a
failed item keeps its input JSON and pairing and has no binary field. It gains
error (the message), errorReason (a stable code such as invalidapikey,
pageunreachable, parallellimit or subscription_inactive),
errorDescription (what to do) and, when the API answered, httpCode.
Limits, fixed in this version:
helper: the API’s default 60-second render deadline plus headroom, and the
delay, which the API’s own retry of a capture may wait out a second time. A
request that times out may still have run on the server and count as a
capture. The timeout is only as strict as that helper, and it has not been
measured against a real clock.
received and before the image is decoded, so it stops an oversized image from
being passed on but does not stop it being downloaded.
Compatibility
live Site-Shot API:
– version 0.1.3 on n8n 2.43.6: PNG with Block Ads, Remove Cookie Banners and
Delay, WebP, and an address that does not exist with Continue On Fail;
– version 0.1.1 on n8n 2.43.6: installing the package, the credential test,
a JPEG capture and a rejected key;
– a pre-release build on n8n 2.40.5: the credential test and a PNG capture.
Other versions, other architectures and n8n Cloud itself have not been tested
by this project; on n8n Cloud the node is installed through the verified
listing.
n8n-workflow is a peer dependencythat n8n provides.
Development
Building, testing, the local runtime fixture and the release steps are in
DEVELOPMENT.md.
Version history
nodes panel finds the node. The panel searches only a node’s name and its
codex aliases, and “Site-Shot” does not match “screenshot”, so before this
only a search for the name found it. The node’s code, credential and requests
are unchanged.
npm, so 0.1.3 also carries the 0.1.2 changes listed below. New options
Block Ads, Remove Cookie Banners and Delay (Ms), and the
WebP format. All are off or unset by default, so existing workflows send
the same request. A page that Site-Shot could not open is reported as such
(the address may be wrong or unreachable, or the site did not load in time)
instead of as a render timeout. An HTTP 429 is reported as the
plan’s limit on captures at once instead of as a quota or payment problem. The
request timeout grows with the Delay. A Format that is not png, jpeg or
webp (for example from an expression) is rejected before a request is
sent; jpg and other letter cases are accepted. The credential test
explains a rejected key instead of showing only “Unauthorized”, and the
credential’s documentation link opens the quickstart. With Continue On Fail,
a failed item also carries errorReason, errorDescription and httpCode.
its credential describe the free plan and explain a 403 by the API’s own
message. The API Key field no longer says that a paid plan is required:
a confirmed account’s key comes with the free plan of 100 API captures a
month. A capture refused with 403 now says which of these it was: no
active subscription (with where to switch the free plan on), this month’s
free plan used up (with the date it renews when the API gives one), or an
address Site-Shot does not capture, such as one on a private network. If
Site-Shot answers that a country other than the US needs a paid plan, the
node says so instead of reporting a failed page capture. Any other 403 is
reported neutrally, without sending you to buy a paid plan. The credential
test’s 403 names both billing causes, and the hint for a rejected key
links to the quickstart (/start/), where the key is shown. The requests
the node sends are unchanged.
SiteShot.node.json) lists only the Development category. 0.1.0 also listed Developer Tools, which is not a
category n8n accepts for a community node. The node’s code, credential and
requests are unchanged.
Support
Never post an API key in an issue.
and quickstart.
