Move the public-page slice from ScreenshotMachine.

Start with the delivery contract

Move only the server-side image request.

ScreenshotMachine exposes an HTTP GET image URL that can be fetched by a backend or embedded directly in public HTML with an optional hash. It can also cache the result and modify page state before capture. Latchshot has a smaller contract: a trusted server sends one Bearer-authenticated JSON request and receives PNG, JPEG, or PDF bytes synchronously.

Move the key out of the image URL.

ScreenshotMachine accepts parameters in an HTTP GET URL and returns image bytes. Latchshot accepts JSON over POST, returns image bytes, and requires the key in an Authorization header. The target URL must include its scheme.

Before: ScreenshotMachine binary response

curl -sSL -G \
  'https://api.screenshotmachine.com/' \
  -d "key=$SCREENSHOTMACHINE_KEY" \
  --data-urlencode 'url=https://example.com' \
  -d 'dimension=1440x900' \
  -d 'format=png' \
  -d 'cacheLimit=0' \
  -d 'delay=200' \
  -o before.png

After: Latchshot binary response

curl -fSL \
  'https://latchshot.fly.dev/v1/render' \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $LATCHSHOT_API_KEY" \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{
    "url": "https://example.com",
    "kind": "screenshot",
    "format": "png",
    "width": 1440,
    "height": 900,
    "delay": 200
  }' \
  -o after.png

Translate dimensions and behavior explicitly.

The direct image response overlaps, but defaults, viewport limits, device behavior, caching, and failure shapes differ. Compare representative pages instead of assuming the same dimensions produce identical pixels.

On a narrow screen, scroll the option table horizontally.

Stop if ScreenshotMachine supplies more than bytes.

Latchshot has no equivalent for these ScreenshotMachine capabilities. Removing one can change the response, page, delivery contract, quota behavior, or security model.

• Direct embedding: an API image URL placed in <img src>, the MD5 URL hash/secret-phrase model, or any workflow that sends credentials through a URL.
• Provider cache: cacheLimit, cached-image age, provider refresh behavior, and economics that depend on cache reuse.
• Browser identity: phone/tablet device presets, custom user agents, languages, and cookies.
• Page changes: selector clicks, hidden elements, cookie handling beyond best-effort common-overlay hiding, or any required interaction before capture.
• Selection and output: DOM-element capture, crop rectangles, GIF, arbitrary zoom, tiny thumbnails, or fixed viewports taller than 1440px.
• Error and PDF contracts: consumers that expect an error image/header or depend on ScreenshotMachine's separate website-to-PDF API without a fresh PDF-specific comparison.

Keep ScreenshotMachine for any job that needs those features. A split-provider design is safer than weakening an existing workflow to force a migration.

Cut over one eligible job at a time.

1. Inventory the exact ScreenshotMachine URL, including hash, cache, device, page-state, selection, output, and error handling.
2. Reject every job that depends on the stop list. Do not treat a public <img src> URL as a trusted server call.
3. Render a representative public-page set through both providers with explicit dimensions, formats, scale, waits, and freshness.
4. Compare dimensions, visible content, responsive layout, fonts, navigation completion, latency, failure behavior, and downstream storage.
5. Route a bounded share of eligible jobs to Latchshot and keep the ScreenshotMachine path until rollback has been exercised.

Retry only 429, 502, 503, and 504, with a strict attempt cap. Treat authentication, validation, and target-policy failures as permanent until the request changes.

Price the complete workflow.

Latchshot counts successful direct renders. Failed direct renders do not consume monthly quota, and automatic overages are disabled during the beta. The current plans are Free at 100 successful renders each UTC month, Launch at $19 for 2,500, Build at $49 for 12,000, and Scale at $149 for 50,000.

That is not proof that migration is cheaper. ScreenshotMachine can reuse provider-cached images according to cacheLimit. Include cache hit rate, downstream resizing or conversion, storage, transfer, engineering work, retries, and every ScreenshotMachine-only job that remains.

Create one Free-plan key, save it when it is returned, and use the 100 monthly successful renders on a representative eligible set.