Website Screenshot API
for Ruby

Taking website screenshots in Ruby? You have three solid options: Ferrum (modern headless Chrome), Selenium (classic), or an API like GrabShot that handles the browser for you. Here's working code for each.

1. GrabShot API (No Browser Needed)

Ruby's standard library handles HTTP just fine. No gems needed.

require "net/http"
require "uri"

def screenshot(url, output = "screenshot.webp")
  api_key = "YOUR_API_KEY" # Free at grabshot.dev

  params = URI.encode_www_form(
    url: url,
    format: "webp",
    width: "1440",
    apiKey: api_key
  )

  uri = URI("https://grabshot.dev/v1/screenshot?#{params}")
  response = Net::HTTP.get_response(uri)

  raise "API error #{response.code}: #{response.body}" unless response.is_a?(Net::HTTPSuccess)

  File.binwrite(output, response.body)
  puts "Saved #{response.body.bytesize} bytes to #{output}"
end

screenshot("https://github.com")

With HTTParty (popular in Rails apps):

require "httparty"

def screenshot(url, output = "screenshot.webp")
  response = HTTParty.get(
    "https://grabshot.dev/v1/screenshot",
    query: {
      url: url,
      format: "webp",
      width: "1440",
      deviceFrame: "macbook-air",
      apiKey: ENV["GRABSHOT_API_KEY"]
    }
  )

  raise "Error: #{response.code}" unless response.success?
  File.binwrite(output, response.body)
end

2. Ferrum (Headless Chrome)

Ferrum is the modern Ruby way to control Chrome. Clean API, good defaults.

gem install ferrum

require "ferrum"

browser = Ferrum::Browser.new(
  headless: true,
  window_size: [1440, 900],
  timeout: 30
)

browser.goto("https://github.com")
browser.screenshot(path: "github.png")
browser.quit

puts "Screenshot saved"

Full-page screenshot:

browser.goto("https://tailwindcss.com")
browser.screenshot(path: "full.png", full: true)

Pros: Clean Ruby API, full browser control, active development.
Cons: Needs Chrome installed. Uses 300-500MB RAM. Can crash on high-traffic servers.

3. Selenium WebDriver

The classic choice. Battle-tested, works with any browser.

gem install selenium-webdriver

require "selenium-webdriver"

options = Selenium::WebDriver::Chrome::Options.new
options.add_argument("--headless=new")
options.add_argument("--no-sandbox")
options.add_argument("--window-size=1440,900")

driver = Selenium::WebDriver.for(:chrome, options: options)

begin
  driver.get("https://github.com")
  driver.save_screenshot("github.png")
  puts "Screenshot saved"
ensure
  driver.quit
end

Rails Integration

Using GrabShot in a Rails controller:

# app/controllers/screenshots_controller.rb
class ScreenshotsController < ApplicationController
  def capture
    url = params.require(:url)
    
    response = HTTParty.get(
      "https://grabshot.dev/v1/screenshot",
      query: {
        url: url,
        format: "png",
        width: "1440",
        apiKey: Rails.application.credentials.grabshot_api_key
      }
    )
    
    if response.success?
      send_data response.body,
        type: "image/png",
        disposition: "inline",
        filename: "screenshot.png"
    else
      render json: { error: "Screenshot failed" }, status: :bad_gateway
    end
  end
end

# config/routes.rb
get "/screenshot", to: "screenshots#capture"

As a background job (Sidekiq/ActiveJob):

# app/jobs/screenshot_job.rb
class ScreenshotJob < ApplicationJob
  queue_as :default
  
  def perform(url, user_id)
    response = HTTParty.get(
      "https://grabshot.dev/v1/screenshot",
      query: { url: url, format: "webp", apiKey: ENV["GRABSHOT_API_KEY"] }
    )
    
    if response.success?
      user = User.find(user_id)
      user.screenshots.attach(
        io: StringIO.new(response.body),
        filename: "#{URI.parse(url).host}.webp",
        content_type: "image/webp"
      )
    end
  end
end

# Usage:
ScreenshotJob.perform_later("https://example.com", current_user.id)

Comparison