How to Take Browser Screenshots in Laravel 11

Taking browser screenshots in Laravel can be achieved using various methods, but one of the most straightforward approaches involves utilizing a package called “spatie/browsershot.” This package leverages Puppeteer, a Node library which provides a high-level API to control headless Chrome over the DevTools Protocol. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to integrate and utilize this package in your Laravel application to capture browser screenshots:

1. Install Browsershot Package:
   Begin by installing the “spatie/browsershot” package via Composer. Open your terminal and navigate to your Laravel project directory, then run the following command:

   composer require spatie/browsershot

2. Configure Browsershot (Optional):
   By default, Browsershot will try to locate the Chrome binary automatically. However, you can specify the path to the Chrome binary manually if it’s installed in a non-standard location. Add the following configuration to your config/services.php file:

   'browsershot' => [
       'binPath' => '/path/to/chrome',
   ],

3. Capture Browser Screenshot:
   You can capture a screenshot by creating a new route or controller method. For example, let’s create a route that captures a screenshot of a specific URL:

   use Spatie\Browsershot\Browsershot;

   Route::get('/capture', function () {
       $screenshot = Browsershot::url('https://example.com')->save('screenshot.png');
       return 'Screenshot captured successfully!';
   });

This route uses Browsershot to navigate to “https://example.com” and save a screenshot as “screenshot.png” in the root directory of your Laravel application.

4. Customize Screenshot Options:
   Browsershot offers various customization options, such as setting the viewport size, delaying the screenshot capture, and more. You can tailor these options according to your requirements. For example:

   $screenshot = Browsershot::url('https://example.com')
                   ->setViewport(1920, 1080)
                   ->delay(2000)
                   ->fullPage()
                   ->save('screenshot.png');

In this example, the viewport size is set to 1920×1080 pixels, there’s a 2-second delay before capturing the screenshot, and the entire page is captured (not just the visible area).

5. Handling Errors:
   Remember to handle any potential errors that might occur during the screenshot capture process. This ensures graceful error handling and better user experience.

   try {
       // Capture screenshot
   } catch (\Exception $e) {
       // Handle error
   }

6. Testing and Deployment:
   Once you’ve implemented the screenshot capture functionality, thoroughly test it in your development environment to ensure it works as expected. After testing, deploy your Laravel application to your production environment.

By following these steps, you can easily integrate browser screenshot capture functionality into your Laravel application using the “spatie/browsershot” package. This allows you to automate the process of capturing screenshots for various use cases, such as website testing, monitoring, or generating previews.