screenshot-desktop

Install the package using npm to capture screenshots of your local machine across multiple platforms.

$ npm install --save screenshot-desktop

While OSX and Windows have no dependencies, Linux users must have an image library installed. By default, the library expects ImageMagick. You can configure which library to use via the linuxLibrary option.

# Required for Linux
apt-get install imagemagick

The primary API is a Promise-based screenshot() function. By default, it returns a Buffer containing the screenshot in JPG format. You can specify a different format or a filename to save the output directly to disk.

const screenshot = require('screenshot-desktop')

// Returns a Buffer of the default JPG screenshot
screenshot().then((img) => {
  // img: Buffer filled with jpg goodness
}).catch((err) => {
  // ...
})

// Returns a Buffer of a PNG screenshot
screenshot({format: 'png'}).then((img) => {
  // img: Buffer filled with png goodness
})

// Saves the screenshot to a file and returns the absolute path
screenshot({ filename: 'shot.jpg' }).then((imgPath) => {
  // imgPath: absolute path to screenshot
})

You can use screenshot.listDisplays() to retrieve an array of available displays, each containing an id and name. You can then pass a specific screen ID to the screenshot() options to capture only that display. Alternatively, use screenshot.all() to capture all screens at once, which returns an array of Buffers.

const screenshot = require('screenshot-desktop')

// Capture a specific display by ID
screenshot.listDisplays().then((displays) => {
  // displays: [{ id, name }, { id, name }]
  screenshot({ screen: displays[displays.length - 1].id })
    .then((img) => {
      // img: Buffer of screenshot of the last display
    });
})

// Capture all screens at once
screenshot.all().then((imgs) => {
  // imgs: an array of Buffers, one for each screen
})

The screenshot() function accepts an optional configuration object to control output and behavior.

// Options Reference:
// - filename: Optional. Absolute or relative path to save output.
// - format: Optional. Valid values: 'png' | 'jpg'.
// - linuxLibrary: Optional. Linux only. Valid values: 'scrot' | 'imagemagick'.
//   Note: 'scrot' does not support 'format' or 'screen' selection.