Screenshot Scout MCP Server
Use Screenshot Scout from an MCP client to capture
HTTP or HTTPS webpages as images or PDFs.
This server exposes one tool, capture_screenshot. It supports full-page and
element captures, device and viewport controls, location selection, page
interaction and blocking options, image sizing and quality, PDF layout, caching,
temporary result URLs and eligible MCP image content.
What you need
- A Screenshot Scout account and an
access key from the API keys page.
- Node.js 22 or newer for npm/stdio installation. Claude Desktop's MCPB runtime
is bundled by Claude.
- The optional secret key only when your selected API key requires signed
Screenshot Scout requests.
Every capture uses your Screenshot Scout account and is subject to its plan,
quota, and rate limits.
Local stdio with npm
Start with this local stdio configuration:
{
"mcpServers": {
"screenshotscout": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@screenshotscout/mcp"],
"env": {
"SCREENSHOTSCOUT_ACCESS_KEY": "YOUR_ACCESS_KEY"
}
}
}
}
If the access key requires request signing, add the secret locally:
"SCREENSHOTSCOUT_SECRET_KEY": "YOUR_SECRET_KEY"
Keep personal configuration files out of source control. Credentials are process
environment values, not tool arguments. See
client-specific copy-paste configurations for Claude
Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code/GitHub Copilot, Devin, and Cline.
Run from a source checkout
Point the client at the absolute path to dist/stdio.js with node, and provide
the same environment variables shown above.
Claude Desktop MCPB
To install the Claude Desktop extension:
- Download
screenshotscout-mcp-<version>.mcpb from that version's GitHub
release.
- In Claude Desktop, open Settings → Extensions → Advanced settings and
choose Install Extension….
- Select the downloaded file.
- Enter the required access key. Enter the secret key only for an API key that
requires signed requests.
Claude Desktop treats both fields as sensitive settings. The v0.1.0 MCPB
supports Windows.
Hosted Streamable HTTP
The hosted API-key endpoint is live at:
https://mcp.screenshotscout.com/mcp/api-key
It is intended only for clients that can attach a static HTTP header:
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
The endpoint accepts an access key only. Never send a Screenshot Scout secret
key to it, and never put either key in the URL or a tool argument. Clients that
cannot attach a static Bearer header cannot use this endpoint.
API keys that require request signatures must instead use local stdio or MCPB,
or use a dedicated unsigned access key for the hosted endpoint.
Local stdio with Docker
Build the production image from a source checkout:
docker build --tag screenshotscout-mcp:local .
Pass credentials from the local environment and keep stdin attached for MCP
stdio traffic:
docker run --rm -i --init --cap-drop=ALL --security-opt=no-new-privileges --read-only \
-e SCREENSHOTSCOUT_ACCESS_KEY \
-e SCREENSHOTSCOUT_SECRET_KEY \
screenshotscout-mcp:local
SCREENSHOTSCOUT_SECRET_KEY remains optional. The image runs as an unprivileged
user and contains only the compiled stdio server and its production dependencies.
It declares no port or container health check: an MCP client owns the stdio
process and verifies readiness by completing MCP initialization. The image and
its Docker MCP Catalog metadata in docker-mcp-catalog.yaml are local
preparation; no public image is implied by these commands.
capture_screenshot sends one capture request for the supplied URL and options.
The target webpage is external, and its returned content must be treated as
untrusted.
Only url is required. Captures use a 1280×720 viewport by default. When no
format is specified, the tool returns JPEG at quality 60. resultMode defaults
to "auto".
| Group | Inputs |
|---|
| Target and output | url; format (png, jpg, jpeg, webp, gif, tiff, pdf); resultMode (auto, url_only) |
| Location and viewport | country (two-letter country code), device, deviceViewportWidth, deviceViewportHeight, colorScheme (auto, dark, light), fullPage |
| Page preparation | blockCookieBanners, blockAds, blockChatWidgets, selector, hideSelectors, clickSelectors |
| Timing | waitUntil (load, domcontentloaded, networkidle0, networkidle2), delay (0–30 seconds), navigationTimeout (5–90 seconds), timeout (1–240 seconds) |
| Cache | cache, cacheTtl (14,400–2,592,000 seconds) |
| Output resizing | imageWidth, imageHeight (1–8,192; available for images and PDFs) |
| Image only | imageQuality (0–100, JPEG/WebP only) |
| PDF only | pdfPaperFormat (letter, legal, tabloid, a4, a3, content), pdfLandscape, pdfPrintBackground, pdfMargin, per-side margin fields, pdfScale (greater than 0 and at most 3) |
When both output dimensions are provided, their product cannot exceed 64,000,000
pixels. PDF margins accept non-negative values in px, in, mm, or cm.
imageQuality requires JPEG or WebP output, and PDF-only options require
format: "pdf".
Results
- PNG, JPEG, WebP, and GIF may be included as MCP image content when
resultMode is auto, the MIME type is eligible, dimensions are known and at
most 8,000 pixels per side, raw data is at most 5 MiB, and the complete
serialized result fits the current 128,000-byte server limit.
- A capture that is not eligible to embed remains successful and returns its
temporary URL plus an actionable omission reason.
- TIFF is URL-only.
- PDF bytes are never embedded. A PDF result includes safe text and structured
metadata, plus a resource link when Screenshot Scout provides a result URL.
resultMode: "url_only" omits image bytes for every format.
MCP clients control whether returned image content or resource links are
displayed or made available to a model.
Structured metadata can include screenshotUrl, screenshotUrlExpiresAt,
cacheStatus, format, mimeType, imageWidth, imageHeight,
inlineImageIncluded, and inlineImageOmissionReason.
Treat result URLs as sensitive, temporary links and respect their reported
expiry.
Example prompts
- “Capture
https://example.com as a full-page PNG in dark mode. Return only a
URL.”
- “Take a 1280×720 JPEG screenshot of
https://example.com/pricing, block cookie
banners and ads, and use quality 80.”
- “Create an A4 PDF of
https://example.com/report with backgrounds enabled and
10 mm margins.”
Privacy and security
The server sends the target URL and selected capture options to Screenshot Scout,
which loads the target website. Review the
Screenshot Scout privacy policy
before capturing private or regulated material.
- Do not capture pages you are not authorized to access.
- Do not paste credentials into prompts, tool inputs, URLs, issue reports, or
logs.
- Keep local access and secret keys in client-managed secret storage or private
environment configuration.
- The local stdio server adds no telemetry. Application logging for the hosted
service is limited to request method, response status, duration, and sanitized
unexpected errors. It is designed not to include credentials, target URLs,
screenshot URLs, request or response content, or image bytes.
- Review each target and capture request before allowing tool use. The tool is
open-world, consumes quota, and interacts with an external website.
- Report vulnerabilities privately as described in SECURITY.md.
Development
npm ci
npm run format:check
npm run lint
npm run typecheck
npm test
npm run metadata:check
npm run registry:validate
npm run mcpb:validate
npm run mcpb:pack
License
MIT © Oleksii Velykyi