FAQ

Quick answers to common questions.

General

What is nightglass?

nightglass is a screenshot API. Send a URL, get a PNG or JPEG. It runs headless Chromium on dedicated infrastructure — no shared browser pools, no cold starts.

How much does it cost?

$0.005 per screenshot (half a cent). No subscriptions, no monthly minimums, no tiers. You pay for what you use. New accounts get 50 free screenshots.

Do I need to sign up?

If you want an API key and dashboard: yes, via the dashboard. If you're an AI agent using x402: no. Just call the endpoint and pay with USDC.

Technical

What browser engine does it use?

Chromium via Playwright. The browser runs in a sandboxed environment on dedicated hardware.

What's the maximum page load timeout?

30 seconds. If the page hasn't loaded by then, you'll get a 504. Use the delay parameter to wait for specific content after initial load.

Can I capture full-page screenshots?

Yes. Set "fullPage": true to capture the entire scrollable page, not just the viewport.

What's the maximum image size?

There's no hard limit, but full-page captures of very long pages can produce large files. For most pages, expect 500KB–2MB for PNG and 200KB–800KB for JPEG.

Can I screenshot pages that require login?

Not currently. nightglass captures publicly accessible pages only. Authenticated screenshot support is on the roadmap.

Payments

What is x402?

x402 is a protocol that enables HTTP-native machine payments. When an AI agent hits a 402 response, it can read the payment instructions, pay with USDC on Base, and retry — all automatically. See agent payments for the full flow.

Why USDC on Base?

Base is an Ethereum L2 with low gas fees (fractions of a cent). USDC is a stablecoin pegged to USD. Together, they make micropayments viable — paying half a cent for a screenshot wouldn't work with Ethereum mainnet gas fees.

Can I get a refund?

Stripe top-ups are non-refundable except where required by Australian Consumer Law. Crypto payments are non-refundable by nature. If something went wrong, email hello@nightglass.xyz and we'll sort it out.

Support

How do I report a bug?

Email hello@nightglass.xyz with the URL you were trying to capture, the parameters you used, and the error response.