Master GET & POST Methods with the Screenshot API

The AddScreenshots platform supports both HTTP methods across every workflow—real-time previews, bulk automation, scheduling, and webhooks. Because requests are never throttled, you can freely mix GET and POST calls while storing results in S3, Azure, GCP, Cloudflare R2, FTP, or webhook destinations.

GET for instant previews: Ideal for single URLs, signed hotlinks, and dashboards that expect an immediate PNG or JPEG.
POST for automation: Send JSON payloads containing batches of URLs, storage templates, change-detection options, or metadata for audits.
Shared capabilities: Both methods let you apply custom CSS/JS, select from 20+ regions, emulate devices, and capture full pages.

Choosing Between GET and POST

Use case	Recommended method	Why
Single screenshot with minimal parameters	GET	Simple, cacheable URL—perfect for <img> tags, testing, or signed hotlinks.
Bulk URLs, sitemaps, or entire domains	POST	JSON payload removes query-string limits and supports asynchronous bulk jobs.
Embedding screenshots on public pages	GET	Works with signed tokens generated via API key signatures.
Workflows that include storage templates, metadata, or change detection	POST	Include fields such as `storageid`, `metadata`, `compare`, and `webhook`.

Parameter Options for GET and POST Requests

Both GET and POST requests permit customization through parameters that enhance the versatility of your screenshots such as the image quality, output format, and scope of capture (full page).

Here's how you can structure your parameters:

GET requests will accept parameters using the query string as shown below. Note: Ensure that the &url=... parameter is placed at the end of the query string, otherwise its variables may conflict with the parameters in the web request.

// Line breaks added for readability GET https://api.addscreenshots.com/screenshots
?apikey=YOUR_API_KEY
&quality=80
&format=jpeg
&fullpage=true
&url=https://example.com

POST requests will accept parameters using the query string and/or the JSON (Content-Type: application/json) body as shown below:

POST https://api.addscreenshots.com/screenshots?apikey= YOUR_API_KEY&quality=80
{
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "format": "jpeg",
  "fullpage": true
}

Advantages and Limitations of GET and POST in API Usage

GET shines for real-time responses—dashboards, CMS previews, or any integration that expects an immediate image URL. Pair it with signed tokens to protect public embeds.

POST is built for scale: send JSON payloads with hundreds of URLs, pass storage templates, or trigger compare=true to produce visual diffs and webhooks without hitting query-string limits.

Need to capture an entire sitemap, deliver assets to Cloudflare R2, and alert Slack when layouts change? Combine POST requests with storage templates, webhooks, and scheduled jobs to build resilient monitoring pipelines.

Automate your next capture run in minutes—review pricing or secure your API keys to get started.