What You Need to Know
The REST API Playground is a free, interactive tool that lets you test all 9 Browserless REST endpoints directly in your browser. Enter a URL, select an endpoint, click Run - and see real API responses in seconds. No credit card required. When you're ready for production, add your API token and you're live.
What if you could test browser automation without installing anything?
No Puppeteer setup. No Docker containers. No 300MB Chromium downloads. No "browser failed to launch" errors.
Just paste a URL, click Run, and see your screenshot, PDF, or scraped data in seconds.
That's the REST API Playground.
Why We Built This
Browser automation has a cold start problem.
To test if Puppeteer works for your use case, you need to:
- Install Node.js
- Install Puppeteer (downloads 300MB+ Chromium)
- Write boilerplate code
- Debug the inevitable "browser failed to launch" errors
- Finally run your first script
That's 30 minutes before you know if it even works for your site.
Cloud browser APIs aren't much better. Most require:
- Create an account
- Verify email
- Add payment method (or enter credit card for "free trial")
- Generate API key
- Read docs to figure out the request format
- Make your first call
We wanted something different: see value before any commitment.
How the Playground Works
The REST API Playground is a visual, browser-based testing environment. Here's the workflow:
- Select an endpoint - Choose from 9 APIs via dropdown (screenshot, PDF, scrape, etc.)
- Enter a URL - Paste the target website you want to test
- Configure options - The form dynamically adapts to show relevant settings for each endpoint
- Click Run - Execute the request against our production infrastructure
- See results - View the response instantly (images render inline, JSON is formatted)
Built-In Developer Tools
Automatic cURL Generation Every request you build generates a ready-to-copy cURL command. Test in the playground, copy the cURL, paste into your terminal or codebase. No manual request formatting needed.
Browser Selection Choose your browser engine: Chromium, Chrome, or Edge. Different browsers can render pages differently - test against the one your users actually use.
Global Regions Select from three regions for optimal latency:
- San Francisco (US West)
- London (Europe)
- Amsterdam (Europe)
Advanced Configuration Click the settings icon to customize headers, path parameters, and API tokens. The playground handles authentication automatically when you're logged in.
The 9 REST API Endpoints
The Playground gives you instant access to every Browserless REST endpoint. Here's what each one does:
/screenshot - Capture Any Page as an Image
Take pixel-perfect screenshots of any webpage, rendered in a real Chrome browser.
Use cases:
- Visual regression testing in CI/CD pipelines
- Generating OG images and social media previews
- Dashboard snapshots for reporting
- Monitoring visual changes on competitor sites
Key features:
- Full-page capture or viewport-only
- PNG, JPEG, or WebP output formats
- Custom viewport dimensions
- Transparent backgrounds
- Element-level targeting with CSS selectors
Result: A full-page screenshot, rendered with real Chrome, ready to download.
/pdf - Convert Pages to Professional PDFs
Turn any webpage into a print-ready PDF with fine-grained formatting control.
Use cases:
- Invoice generation (thousands daily)
- Report automation for stakeholders
- Documentation exports
- Receipt generation with custom branding
Key features:
- Custom page sizes (A0-A10, Letter, Legal, Tabloid)
- HTML headers and footers with templates
- Customizable margins and scale
- Background rendering options
- CSS/JavaScript injection for styling
Result: A clean PDF with headers, footers, and proper pagination.
/scrape - Extract Structured Data as JSON
Pull structured data from JavaScript-heavy sites that break traditional scrapers.
Use cases:
- Competitor price monitoring
- Job listing aggregation
- Real estate data collection
- Market research and intelligence
Key features:
- CSS selector-based extraction
- Handles dynamic/JavaScript-rendered content
- Returns clean JSON with specified properties
- Stealth mode for protected sites
- Session management to avoid re-detection
Result:
/content - Get Fully-Rendered HTML
Retrieve the complete HTML of a page after JavaScript execution - essential for SPAs and dynamic sites.
Use cases:
- Single Page Application (SPA) content extraction
- Dynamic website monitoring
- Content retrieval for AI/ML processing
- JavaScript-powered site analysis
Key features:
- Complete DOM after JS execution
- Wait conditions (element appears, network idle)
- Exactly what users see in their browser
- Handles async content loading
Result: Fully rendered HTML, exactly as it appears in a real browser.
/function - Run Custom Puppeteer/Playwright Scripts
Execute your own automation scripts on Browserless infrastructure without any local setup.
Use cases:
- Complex multi-step automation workflows
- Custom data extraction logic
- Form filling and submission sequences
- Multi-page navigation flows
Key features:
- Full Puppeteer/Playwright API access
- Custom business logic execution
- No local browser installation required
- Stealth integration built-in
- Access to all browser capabilities
/download - Retrieve Files Programmatically
Download files from web pages - perfect for automating document retrieval from portals.
Use cases:
- Invoice downloading from vendor portals
- Document batch retrieval
- Automated backup of web-based documents
- Report collection from dashboards
Key features:
- Programmatic file download handling
- Session state preservation for authenticated portals
- Cookie and session management
- Support for various file types
Result: Binary file download ready for processing.
/export - Bundle Complete Pages with Assets
Capture a complete page with all resources (CSS, images, scripts) bundled into a self-contained export.
Use cases:
- Website archiving for compliance
- Documentation export with full styling
- Offline page copies
- Knowledge base preservation
Key features:
- All assets bundled (CSS, images, fonts, scripts)
- Self-contained export format
- Offline viewing capability
- Complete page preservation
Result: Complete HTML bundle with all resources embedded.
/performance - Run Lighthouse Audits
Execute Lighthouse audits programmatically - perfect for CI/CD integration and continuous monitoring.
Use cases:
- Performance monitoring in deployment pipelines
- SEO audit automation
- Accessibility compliance checking
- Core Web Vitals tracking
Key features:
- Full Lighthouse metrics (Performance, SEO, Accessibility, Best Practices)
- CI/CD pipeline integration (GitHub Actions, CircleCI, Jenkins)
- Automated quality gates
- Historical performance tracking
Result:
/unblock - Bypass Bot Detection
Access protected sites by bypassing bot detection systems like Cloudflare, DataDome, and solving CAPTCHAs automatically.
Use cases:
- Accessing Cloudflare-protected sites
- Protected competitor price monitoring
- CAPTCHA-protected form automation
- Anti-bot bypass for legitimate scraping
Key features:
- Cloudflare bypass (free, no unit charge)
- CAPTCHA solving (reCAPTCHA, hCaptcha, Turnstile)
- Fingerprint masking
- Residential proxy support
- Human-like behavior simulation
Result: Page content from behind the protection layer.
Top 5 Use Cases
1. Visual Regression Testing
Problem: UI bugs slip into production because manual testing can't catch everything.
Solution: The /screenshot endpoint captures pixel-perfect screenshots for automated visual comparison.
How the Playground helps: Test different viewport sizes, full-page capture settings, and image formats instantly - before writing any pipeline code.
2. Automated Report Generation
Problem: Your team generates hundreds of PDF reports manually from web dashboards.
Solution: The /pdf endpoint converts any webpage to a professional PDF with custom headers, footers, and formatting.
How the Playground helps: Preview exactly how your PDFs will look with different page sizes and margin settings.
3. Competitive Price Monitoring
Problem: Competitor pricing changes constantly, and their sites block traditional scrapers.
Solution: Combine /scrape for data extraction with /unblock for protected sites.
How the Playground helps: Validate your CSS selectors return the correct data structure before building your monitoring system.
4. Performance Monitoring in CI/CD
Problem: Deployments sometimes regress performance, and you don't catch it until users complain.
Solution: The /performance endpoint runs Lighthouse audits that can gate your deployments.
How the Playground helps: See exactly which metrics you'll receive and calibrate your performance thresholds.
5. AI Agent Infrastructure
Problem: Your AI agents need to browse the web, fill forms, and extract information like humans do.
Solution: The /function endpoint lets agents execute custom browser logic, while /content provides page understanding.
How the Playground helps: Test complex multi-step workflows before integrating with your agent framework.
Built for Developers Who Value Their Time
The playground isn't a toy. It's the same API that powers:
- AI agents extracting real-time web data
- QA pipelines running visual regression tests
- Data teams collecting competitor pricing
- Report systems generating thousands of PDFs daily
Every request in the playground uses the same infrastructure as our production API. Same speed. Same reliability. Same stealth capabilities.
The only difference? You can try it without friction.
From Playground to Production in Minutes
Found something that works? Moving to production is one line of code.
Playground request:
Production code (Node.js):
Same request. Same parameters. Just add your API key.
Production code (Python):
Free to Try. No Credit Card Required.
You might be wondering: what's the catch?
There isn't one. Here's our logic:
- Developers hate friction. We removed the biggest barrier - no credit card required.
- Seeing is believing. A working demo beats a thousand words of documentation.
- We're confident in the product. If you try it, you'll get it.
Sign up takes 30 seconds, and you get immediate access to test every endpoint. The playground is rate-limited to prevent abuse, but generous enough for real testing. When you're ready to scale, upgrade to a paid tier for higher limits.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the REST API Playground?
The REST API Playground is an interactive testing environment where developers can try all 9 Browserless REST endpoints (screenshot, PDF, scrape, content, function, download, export, performance, unblock) with a free account (no credit card required). Enter a URL, select an endpoint, click Run, and see real results in seconds.
Do I need a credit card to use the Playground?
No. Sign up is free and requires no credit card. Create an account in 30 seconds and start testing immediately.
Are the responses real or mocked?
Real. Every request runs against our production infrastructure with actual Chrome browser rendering. The results you see in the Playground are exactly what you'll get in production.
How do I move from Playground to production?
The request structure is identical. Copy your working request, add your API token to the Authorization header (Bearer YOUR_TOKEN), and point to the production endpoint. That's it - typically a one-line change.
What's the difference between /scrape and /content?
/scrape returns structured JSON data extracted using CSS selectors - ideal when you need specific data points. /content returns the complete rendered HTML of the page - useful when you need the full page structure or want to process the HTML yourself.
Can I test bot detection bypass in the Playground?
Yes. The /unblock endpoint handles Cloudflare, DataDome, and other bot detection systems. You can also test CAPTCHA solving capabilities. Cloudflare bypass is free (no unit charge).
What endpoints are best for AI agent development?
For AI agents: /function for complex multi-step workflows with full browser control, /content for page understanding and context, /screenshot for visual context and verification, and /scrape for structured data extraction.
Is there a rate limit in the Playground?
The Playground has generous rate limits for legitimate testing. Production use requires an API key with tier-based limits (starting at 1,000 units/month on the free tier, scaling up to enterprise levels).
Try It Now
Stop reading. Start testing.
Pick an API, paste a URL, and see what happens.
Free signup. No credit card required. No sales calls. Just browser automation that works.