Browser Tools

Overview

Browser Tools are stateless, single-call endpoints that spin up a managed browser, perform one action against a URL, and return the result. They are the fastest way to pull content off a page when you do not need to drive a long-running session.

Each call counts as 1 credit and is rate limited to 20 requests per minute per organization. Reach for Sessions instead when you need cookies, multi-step navigation, or extension state.

Scrape

POST /v1/scrape extracts the contents of a single page. The response always includes content, metadata, and links; pass format to control which content variants come back.

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import Steel from "steel-sdk";
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const client = new Steel();
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const result = await client.scrape({
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  url: "https://docs.steel.dev",
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  format: ["markdown", "readability"],
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});
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console.log(result.content.markdown);
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console.log(result.metadata.title);

The supported formats map to fields on content:

metadata carries the usual SEO fields (title, description, canonical, Open Graph tags, JSON-LD, statusCode, etc.) and links is a flat array of every anchor on the page.

Bundle a screenshot or PDF

Set screenshot: true or pdf: true on a scrape call to capture both content and a hosted file in a single request. The screenshot and PDF come back as hosted URLs alongside the scraped content.

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const result = await client.scrape({
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  url: "https://docs.steel.dev",
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  format: ["markdown"],
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  screenshot: true,
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  pdf: true,
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});
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console.log(result.screenshot?.url);
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console.log(result.pdf?.url);

Screenshot

POST /v1/screenshot returns a hosted PNG. Use fullPage: true to capture the entire scrollable page instead of just the viewport.

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const result = await client.screenshot({
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  url: "https://docs.steel.dev",
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  fullPage: true,
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});
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console.log(result.url); // https://files.steel.dev/v1/static/<id>.png

The hosted URL is public and durable. Download it like any other PNG:

PDF

POST /v1/pdf renders the page and returns a hosted PDF URL. Same shape as screenshot: one URL in, one URL out.

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const result = await client.pdf({
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  url: "https://docs.steel.dev",
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});
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console.log(result.url); // https://files.steel.dev/v1/static/<id>.pdf

Shared options

All three endpoints accept the same handful of options for controlling how the page is loaded.

A common pattern for client-rendered pages is to combine delay with a residential proxy:

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const result = await client.scrape({
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  url: "https://example.com/pricing",
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  format: ["markdown"],
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  delay: 5000,
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  useProxy: true,
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});

Errors

When to use Sessions instead

Browser Tools are stateless. Each call opens a fresh browser, performs the action, and tears down. Reach for a Session when you need to:

• Persist cookies or local storage across navigations
• Submit forms, click through flows, or interact with the page
• Pin a proxy to a specific country (useProxy: { geolocation: { country } })
• Reuse an authenticated profile or extension

You can still scrape, screenshot, or generate a PDF from inside a session. The Browser Tools endpoints are just the shortcut when you don't need the rest.