Blog

Deploy a Self-Hosted Screenshot API on Railway

Deploy Openkova on Railway in under 10 minutes using the official Docker image. Covers environment variables, persistent volumes, custom domains, and memory sizing.

Deploy a Self-Hosted Screenshot API on Fly.io

Deploy Openkova on Fly.io with flyctl. Includes fly.toml configuration, persistent volume setup, region selection, and auto-stop settings for a screenshot API.

Deploy a Self-Hosted Screenshot API on Render

Deploy Openkova on Render as a Docker Web Service. Covers persistent disk setup, plan selection (free tier caveats), render.yaml configuration, and custom domains.

Screenshot APIs and GDPR: When Self-Hosting Is the Only Compliant Option

SaaS screenshot APIs transmit your users' data to third-party servers, triggering GDPR data processor obligations, DPA requirements, and international transfer rules. This guide explains when self-hosting is the compliant choice.

Open Source Screenshot APIs Compared: MIT, BSL, and Abandonware

Not every "open source" screenshot API is actually open source. This guide compares Openkova, Browserless, Screeenly, and Screenia on license type, maintenance status, and what "open source" means for your production dependency.

Best Self-Hosted Screenshot API in 2026

Ranked comparison of Openkova, Browserless, Screeenly, Screenia, and DIY Puppeteer — covering licensing, maintenance status, input modes, and total cost of ownership.

Screenshot API Pricing: SaaS vs Self-Hosted — Real Cost at 10K, 100K, 1M/Month

Exact pricing breakdown for ScreenshotOne, Urlbox, Browserless, and Microlink versus self-hosting Openkova. Includes infrastructure costs and a 12-month TCO comparison.

HTML to Image MCP Servers Compared (2026)

Pipedream, ScreenshotOne MCP, @playwright/mcp, server-puppeteer, community tools, and @openkova/mcp — compared on cost, architecture, and what they actually return.

Pipedream HTML to Image MCP vs Self-Hosted: What You Actually Pay

Pipedream wraps htmlcsstoimage.com — a paid Pipedream tier plus htmlcsstoimage subscription charges on top. Here is what that costs vs @openkova/mcp running locally for free.

How to Build a Self-Hosted Screenshot API with Docker

Deploy Openkova with Docker Compose in minutes. Get a REST API for converting HTML to PNG with no API key and no rate limits.

Generate Open Graph Images from HTML Templates

Automate OG image generation using HTML templates rendered by headless Chromium. No design tools, no SaaS subscription.

Visual Regression Testing Without Percy: A Free Setup

Percy requires a SaaS subscription with no self-hosting option. This guide shows how to replicate the core visual regression workflow for free using @openkova/cli and pixelmatch — locally and in GitHub Actions.

Screenshot Any Webpage in CI/CD with Zero Config

GitHub Actions examples using @openkova/cli to screenshot deploy previews, locally running apps, and HTML templates. No API key, no SaaS account.

Screenshot API for AI Agents: Self-Hosted, No API Keys

AI agents that need to observe web state need a reliable screenshot API. Openkova runs self-hosted with SSE streaming and no rate limits.

Add a Screenshot Tool to Claude Desktop, Cursor, and Windsurf with @openkova/mcp

Install @openkova/mcp to give any MCP-compatible AI client a screenshot tool. Runs locally via headless Chromium — no API key, no running server.

Screenshot Any URL or HTML from the Terminal with @openkova/cli

One command to screenshot a URL, a local HTML file, or a piped HTML snippet — no account, no API key, no browser automation boilerplate. Runs on your own Chrome.

ScreenshotOne alternatives: free, self-hosted screenshot APIs

ScreenshotOne is a paid SaaS screenshot API starting at $17/mo. Compare it with Openkova — free, self-hosted, no API key required.

Percy alternatives for visual regression testing

Percy requires a SaaS subscription with no self-hosting option. Compare it with a free setup using Openkova for screenshot capture and pixelmatch for pixel comparison.

Visualping alternatives: self-hosted visual monitoring

Visualping Business is $100+/mo. Build the same screenshot-based change detection workflow for free with @openkova/cli, cron, and open-source comparison tools.

Browserless alternatives: run your own headless browser API

Browserless is $25–350+/mo for a managed headless browser API. Compare it with Openkova — a free, self-hosted REST API for HTML-to-image conversion.

Microlink alternatives for screenshot and metadata APIs

Microlink's free tier is 50 req/day. Compare it with Openkova — a free, self-hosted screenshot API with no usage cap and no vendor lock-in.

html2canvas alternatives for server-side HTML to image

html2canvas is browser-only and approximates rendering with Canvas. Compare it with server-side Chromium-based options.

wkhtmltopdf alternatives with modern CSS support

wkhtmltopdf uses an outdated WebKit engine that lacks CSS Grid, custom properties, and modern layout support.

Urlbox alternatives: free, self-hosted screenshot APIs

Urlbox is a paid SaaS screenshot API. Compare it with free, self-hosted options that keep your data on your infrastructure.

puppeteer-renderer alternatives with HTML snippet input and SSE streaming

puppeteer-renderer is URL-only. Compare it with Openkova, which adds HTML snippet input, file uploads, depth crawling, and SSE progress streaming.

htmlcsstoimage alternatives: free, self-hosted HTML to image API

htmlcsstoimage starts at $14/mo with no self-hosting option. Compare it with Openkova — a free, MIT-licensed screenshot API that accepts HTML snippets, files, and URLs with no per-screenshot charges.

Chromatic alternatives: self-hosted visual regression testing

Chromatic is Storybook-specific and starts at $149/mo with no self-hosting option. Compare it with free alternatives using @openkova/cli and pixelmatch for testing live pages and HTML templates.

Applitools alternatives: free visual regression testing

Applitools Eyes is enterprise-priced with no free self-hosted option. Compare it with a free setup using @openkova/cli for screenshot capture and pixelmatch for visual comparison.

Apify alternatives: free, self-hosted screenshot and scraping tools

Apify is a cloud-only platform with two-layer pricing starting at $39/mo. Compare it with free self-hosted alternatives — Openkova for screenshot APIs and Crawlee for web scraping.

Changedetection.io vs Openkova: monitoring vs on-demand screenshot API

Changedetection.io monitors pages for changes and sends alerts. Openkova generates screenshots on demand via a REST API. Compare both tools and understand when to use each.

Adding Screenshot Capture to Your Crawlee Crawler with Openkova

How to add clean screenshot capture to a Crawlee crawler using Openkova's REST API. Covers when to use page.screenshot() vs a dedicated screenshot API, and how to store rendered images.