screenshots

Generate marketing-quality screenshots of your app using Playwright directly. Screenshots are captured at true HiDPI (2x retina) resolution using deviceScaleFactor: 2.

Prerequisites

Playwright must be available. Check for it:

npx playwright --version 2>/dev/null || npm ls playwright 2>/dev/null | grep playwright

If not found, inform the user:

Playwright is required. Install it with: npm install -D playwright or npm install -D @playwright/test

Step 1: Determine App URL

If $1 is provided, use it as the app URL.

If no URL is provided:

1. Check if a dev server is likely running by looking for package.json scripts
2. Use AskUserQuestion to ask the user for the URL or offer to help start the dev server

Common default URLs to suggest:

• http://localhost:3000 (Next.js, Create React App, Rails)
• http://localhost:5173 (Vite)
• http://localhost:4000 (Phoenix)
• http://localhost:8080 (Vue CLI, generic)

Step 2: Gather Requirements

Use AskUserQuestion with the following questions:

Question 1: Screenshot count

• Header: "Count"
• Question: "How many screenshots do you need?"
• Options:
  • "3-5" - Quick set of key features
  • "5-10" - Comprehensive feature coverage
  • "10+" - Full marketing suite

Question 2: Purpose

• Header: "Purpose"
• Question: "What will these screenshots be used for?"
• Options:
  • "Product Hunt" - Hero shots and feature highlights
  • "Social media" - Eye-catching feature demos
  • "Landing page" - Marketing sections and benefits
  • "Documentation" - UI reference and tutorials

Question 3: Authentication

• Header: "Auth"
• Question: "Does the app require login to access the features you want to screenshot?"
• Options:
  • "No login needed" - Public pages only
  • "Yes, I'll provide credentials" - Need to log in first

If user selects "Yes, I'll provide credentials", ask follow-up questions:

• "What is the login page URL?" (e.g., /login, /sign-in)
• "What is the email/username?"
• "What is the password?"

The script will automatically detect login form fields using Playwright's smart locators.

Step 3: Analyze Codebase for Features

Thoroughly explore the codebase to understand the app and identify screenshot opportunities.

3.1: Read Documentation First

Always start by reading these files to understand what the app does:

1. README.md (and any README files in subdirectories) - Read the full README to understand:
   • What the app is and what problem it solves
   • Key features and capabilities
   • Screenshots or feature descriptions already documented
2. CHANGELOG.md or HISTORY.md - Recent features worth highlighting
3. docs/ directory - Any additional documentation about features

3.2: Analyze Routes to Find Pages

Read the routing configuration to discover all available pages:

Important: Actually read these files, don't just check if they exist. The route definitions tell you what pages are available for screenshots.

3.3: Identify Key Components

Look for components that represent screenshottable features:

• Dashboard components
• Feature sections with distinct UI
• Forms and interactive inputs
• Data visualizations (charts, graphs, tables)
• Modals and dialogs
• Navigation and sidebars
• Settings panels
• User profile sections

3.4: Check for Marketing Assets

Look for existing marketing content that hints at key features:

• Landing page components (often in components/landing/ or components/marketing/)
• Feature list components
• Pricing tables
• Testimonial sections

3.5: Build Feature List

Create a comprehensive list of discovered features with:

• Feature name (from README or component name)
• URL path (from routes)
• CSS selector to focus on (from component structure)
• Required UI state (logged in, data populated, modal open, specific tab selected)

Step 4: Plan Screenshots with User

Present the discovered features to the user and ask them to confirm or modify the list.

Use AskUserQuestion:

• Header: "Features"
• Question: "I found these features in your codebase. Which would you like to screenshot?"
• Options: List 3-4 key features discovered, plus "Let me pick specific ones"

If user wants specific ones, ask follow-up questions to clarify exactly what to capture.

Step 5: Create Screenshots Directory

mkdir -p screenshots

Step 6: Generate and Run Playwright Script

Create a Node.js script that uses Playwright with proper HiDPI settings. The script should:

1. Use deviceScaleFactor: 2 for true retina resolution
2. Set viewport to 1440x900 (produces 2880x1800 pixel images)
3. Handle authentication if credentials were provided
4. Navigate to each page and capture screenshots

Script Template

Write this script to a temporary file (e.g., screenshot-script.mjs) and execute it:

import { chromium } from 'playwright';

const BASE_URL = '[APP_URL]';
const SCREENSHOTS_DIR = './screenshots';

// Authentication config (if needed)
const AUTH = {
  needed: [true|false],
  loginUrl: '[LOGIN_URL]',
  email: '[EMAIL]',
  password: '[PASSWORD]',
};

// Screenshots to capture
const SCREENSHOTS = [
  { name: '01-feature-name', url: '/path', waitFor: '[optional-selector]' },
  { name: '02-another-feature', url: '/another-path' },
  // ... add all planned screenshots
];

async function main() {
  const browser = await chromium.launch();

  // Create context with HiDPI settings
  const context = await browser.newContext({
    viewport: { width: 1440, height: 900 },
    deviceScaleFactor: 2,  // This is the key for true retina screenshots
  });

  const page = await context.newPage();

  // Handle authentication if needed
  if (AUTH.needed) {
    console.log('Logging in...');
    await page.goto(AUTH.loginUrl);

    // Smart login: try multiple common patterns for email/username field
    const emailField = page.locator([
      'input[type="email"]',
      'input[name="email"]',
      'input[id="email"]',
      'input[placeholder*="email" i]',
      'input[name="username"]',
      'input[id="username"]',
      'input[type="text"]',
    ].join(', ')).first();
    await emailField.fill(AUTH.email);

    // Smart login: try multiple common patterns for password field
    const passwordField = page.locator([
      'input[type="password"]',
      'input[name="password"]',
      'input[id="password"]',
    ].join(', ')).first();
    await passwordField.fill(AUTH.password);

    // Smart login: try multiple common patterns for submit button
    const submitButton = page.locator([
      'button[type="submit"]',
      'input[type="submit"]',
      'button:has-text("Sign in")',
      'button:has-text("Log in")',
      'button:has-text("Login")',
      'button:has-text("Submit")',
    ].join(', ')).first();
    await submitButton.click();

    await page.waitForLoadState('networkidle');
    console.log('Login complete');
  }

  // Capture each screenshot
  for (const shot of SCREENSHOTS) {
    console.log(`Capturing: ${shot.name}`);
    await page.goto(`${BASE_URL}${shot.url}`);
    await page.waitForLoadState('networkidle');

    // Optional: wait for specific element
    if (shot.waitFor) {
      await page.waitForSelector(shot.waitFor);
    }

    // Optional: perform actions before screenshot
    if (shot.actions) {
      for (const action of shot.actions) {
        if (action.click) await page.click(action.click);
        if (action.fill) await page.fill(action.fill.selector, action.fill.value);
        if (action.wait) await page.waitForTimeout(action.wait);
      }
    }

    await page.screenshot({
      path: `${SCREENSHOTS_DIR}/${shot.name}.png`,
      fullPage: shot.fullPage || false,
    });
    console.log(`  Saved: ${shot.name}.png`);
  }

  await browser.close();
  console.log('Done!');
}

main().catch(console.error);

Running the Script

node screenshot-script.mjs

After running, clean up the temporary script:

rm screenshot-script.mjs

Step 7: Advanced Screenshot Options

Element-Focused Screenshots

To screenshot a specific element instead of the full viewport:

const element = await page.locator('[CSS_SELECTOR]');
await element.screenshot({ path: `${SCREENSHOTS_DIR}/element.png` });

Full Page Screenshots

For scrollable content, capture the entire page:

await page.screenshot({
  path: `${SCREENSHOTS_DIR}/full-page.png`,
  fullPage: true
});

Waiting for Animations

If the page has animations, wait for them to complete:

await page.waitForTimeout(500); // Wait 500ms for animations

Clicking Elements Before Screenshot

To capture a modal, dropdown, or hover state:

await page.click('button.open-modal');
await page.waitForSelector('.modal-content');
await page.screenshot({ path: `${SCREENSHOTS_DIR}/modal.png` });

Dark Mode Screenshots

If the app supports dark mode:

// Set dark mode preference
const context = await browser.newContext({
  viewport: { width: 1440, height: 900 },
  deviceScaleFactor: 2,
  colorScheme: 'dark',
});

Step 8: File Naming Convention

Use descriptive, kebab-case filenames with numeric prefixes for ordering:

Step 9: Verify and Summarize

After capturing all screenshots, verify the results:

ls -la screenshots/*.png
sips -g pixelWidth -g pixelHeight screenshots/*.png 2>/dev/null || file screenshots/*.png

Provide a summary to the user:

1. List all generated files with their paths
2. Confirm the resolution (should be 2880x1800 for 2x retina at 1440x900 viewport)
3. Mention total file sizes
4. Suggest any follow-up actions

Example output:

Generated 5 marketing screenshots:

screenshots/
├── 01-dashboard-overview.png (1.2 MB, 2880x1800 @ 2x)
├── 02-link-inbox.png (456 KB, 2880x1800 @ 2x)
├── 03-edition-editor.png (890 KB, 2880x1800 @ 2x)
├── 04-analytics.png (567 KB, 2880x1800 @ 2x)
└── 05-settings.png (234 KB, 2880x1800 @ 2x)

All screenshots are true retina-quality (2x deviceScaleFactor) and ready for marketing use.

Error Handling

• Playwright not found: Suggest npm install -D playwright
• Page not loading: Check if the dev server is running, suggest starting it
• Login failed: The smart locators try common patterns but may fail on unusual login forms. If login fails, analyze the login page HTML to find the correct selectors and customize the script.
• Element not found: Verify the CSS selector, offer to take a full page screenshot instead
• Screenshot failed: Check disk space, verify write permissions to screenshots directory

Tips for Best Results

1. Clean UI state: Use demo/seed data for realistic content
2. Consistent sizing: Use the same viewport for all screenshots
3. Wait for content: Use waitForLoadState('networkidle') to ensure all content loads
4. Hide dev tools: Ensure no browser extensions or dev overlays are visible
5. Dark mode variants: Consider capturing both light and dark mode if supported