Website thumbnail API

Website Thumbnail API

Turn any URL into a sized preview thumbnail over one API call — for directories, dashboards, bookmark managers and link cards. Real browser, retina-ready, cheap enough to thumbnail a whole catalogue.

A thumbnail is just a screenshot at a set size. Point /v1/screenshot at a URL with a width, height and format=jpeg, and rasterly returns a sized preview from a real headless Chromium. Generate on first request, cache it, and refresh only when the page changes — from $0.58 per 1,000 on Growth.

Try it

request — a 640x400 preview thumbnail
curl "https://api.rasterly.dev/v1/screenshot?url=https://stripe.com&width=640&height=400&scale=2&format=jpeg&quality=80" \
  -H "X-Api-Key: sk_live_..." -o thumb.jpg

Leave full_page off so you capture the above-the-fold hero as a thumbnail rather than the whole page. scale=2 keeps it crisp on retina; quality trims the file for serving at scale.

What it's for

Keep it fresh, cheaply

Generate a thumbnail on first request and cache the bytes. To keep a catalogue current without re-rendering everything on a timer, wire a change-monitoring webhook so a thumbnail refreshes only when the page actually changes. It's the same engine behind screenshot, PDF, read→Markdown, extract→JSON and crawl, so a directory product runs its previews, metadata and monitoring on one key at $0.58 per 1,000 with 100/mo free.

FAQ

How do I generate a website thumbnail from a URL?
Call GET /v1/screenshot with the target url, a viewport width and height, and format=jpeg, plus your X-Api-Key. rasterly renders in a real headless Chromium and returns a sized preview to store or serve.
Can I control the size and crop?
Yes — set width/height for the viewport, scale=2 for retina, and leave full_page off to capture the above-the-fold hero. Use jpeg + quality for small files at scale.
Fast enough to generate previews on demand?
A warm render is about a second. Generate on first request and cache; rasterly reuses one browser across requests so throughput stays high. A change-monitoring webhook refreshes a thumbnail only when the page changes.
How much at volume?
From $0.58 per 1,000 on Growth and $0.90 per 1,000 on standard, with 100 free per month — cheap enough to thumbnail a large catalogue.
Start free — 100 renders See a live render
More: Link preview API Full-page screenshot API Change monitoring Screenshot API for Python Compare alternatives