Record a scrolling video of any website
To make a video of a website scrolling, give CurlShot the address of the page and ask for an MP4. CurlShot opens the page in a real browser, scrolls it from the top to the bottom at a steady pace and gives you the recording as a video file. A WebM or an animated GIF works the same way, and so does a phone view for a vertical video. Nothing to install, and no screen recorder.
curl "https://curlshot.com/api/v1/screenshot?access_key=YOUR_ACCESS_KEY&url=https://example.com&format=mp4&video_duration=8" \
--output page.mp4How to record a scrolling video of a website in three steps
- 1
Create a free account and open the playground in your dashboard.
- 2
Paste the address of the page and set the format to mp4, webm or gif.
- 3
Press "Record video", then download the file. Developers send the same thing as one request.
MP4, WebM or GIF, and how long it can be
Three values of format give a video. The page is recorded scrolling from the top to the bottom; set video_scroll=false to record the first screen standing still instead.
Show the table (3 rows)
| format | What you get | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| mp4 | An H.264 video that every browser, phone and video editor plays | Almost everything |
| webm | A VP9 video, often a smaller file than MP4 | Web pages |
| gif | An animated image, at most 15 frames per second and 640 px wide unless you set image_width | Emails, chats and READMEs |
- Length: video_duration from 1 to 30 seconds. Left out, it follows the height of the page.
- Smoothness: video_fps from 5 to 30, default 24.
- Window: 1280 × 720 unless you set viewport_height or pick a device. One frame can be at most 1920 × 1080 pixels.
- video_scroll_back=true scrolls back up at the end, so the video loops cleanly.
- Long recordings are a good fit for async=true with a webhook, so your code does not wait on the connection.
What people use it for
- Show a landing page or a redesign in a post, a pitch or a portfolio
- Add a moving preview of a site to a directory or a template shop
- Send a client a walk through a whole page without a screen recorder
- Put an animated GIF of a page in an email or a README
For developers: one request
The same thing from your own code. It is a plain HTTP request, so it works from any language. Create a free account to get an access key.
Questions people ask
How do I record a video of a website scrolling?
Send CurlShot the address of the page with format=mp4. The answer is the video file: the page from top to bottom, in a 1280 by 720 window. In the dashboard playground you do the same with a form and a button.
Can I get a GIF instead of a video?
Yes. Ask for format=gif. A GIF is 640 pixels wide unless you set another width, and it is a much larger file than an MP4 of the same page.
How long is the video?
As long as the page needs: a taller page gives a longer video, up to 30 seconds. Set video_duration to choose the length yourself, and the scroll speeds up or slows down to fit.
Can I record the phone version of a site?
Yes. Add a device, for example viewport_device=iphone_15_pro, and you get a tall video of the mobile layout.
Does a video cost more than a screenshot?
No. A video counts as one screenshot of your monthly allowance. Plans differ in how long a video may be, up to 30 seconds.
Related tools
- Full-page screenshotTake a screenshot of a whole web page, from the top to the very bottom, as one image. Paste the address, nothing to install. Also available as an API.
- Mobile screenshotSee and screenshot any website as it looks on an iPhone, an Android phone or a tablet, without picking one up. Paste the address. Free to try, also an API.
- Screenshot APIA screenshot API for developers. One HTTP request turns a URL, HTML or Markdown into a PNG, JPEG, WebP or PDF. Full page, devices, blocking, cache, MCP.