Retrieve Wayback Machine Screenshots

Access existing screenshots stored by the Wayback Machine.

Usage

npx tsx scripts/screenshot.ts <url> [options]

Arguments

Options

Output

Screenshots for: https://example.com/

January 15, 2024 12:34 (3 days ago)
  https://web.archive.org/web/20240115123456im_/https://example.com/

December 1, 2023 08:00 (46 days ago)
  https://web.archive.org/web/20231201080000im_/https://example.com/

Total: 2 screenshot(s)

Script Execution (Preferred)

npx tsx scripts/screenshot.ts <url> [options]

Options:

• --timestamp=DATE - Get screenshot from specific capture (YYYYMMDDhhmmss)
• --list - List available screenshots for URL
• --download=PATH - Download screenshot to file
• --no-cache - Bypass cache and fetch fresh data from API

Run from the wayback plugin directory: ~/.claude/plugins/cache/wayback/

Screenshot URL Pattern

https://web.archive.org/screenshot/{URL}

Direct Access

Get the most recent screenshot:

https://web.archive.org/screenshot/https://example.com/

With Timestamp

Get screenshot from a specific capture:

https://web.archive.org/web/{timestamp}im_/https://example.com/

The im_ modifier returns the screenshot image for that timestamp.

List Available Screenshots

Use CDX API with wildcard to find all screenshots:

https://web.archive.org/cdx/search/cdx?url=web.archive.org/screenshot/https://example.com/*&output=json

Or browse visually:

https://web.archive.org/web/*/https://web.archive.org/screenshot/https://example.com/*

Via Wayback Toolbar

When viewing any archived page:

1. Look for the camera icon (📷) in the top-right of the Wayback toolbar
2. Click to view available screenshots for that capture

From SPN2 Response

When submitting with capture_screenshot=1, the response includes:

{
  "status": "success",
  "screenshot": "https://web.archive.org/web/20240115123456im_/https://example.com/"
}

## Caveats

- **Not all captures have screenshots** - depends on whether `capture_screenshot=1` was used during archiving
- **Undocumented feature** - may be unreliable or change without notice
- **Indexing delays** - newly captured screenshots may not appear immediately
- **Coverage varies** - older archives typically don't have screenshots

## Caching

Availability API responses are cached for 24 hours using the OS temporary directory (`os.tmpdir()`). Cache keys are generated from the URL using SHA-256 hashing. Cached responses expire automatically and are deleted on access.

Use `wayback-cache` to manage cached data:

npx tsx scripts/cache.ts clear # Clear all cache npx tsx scripts/cache.ts status # Show cache status

See `wayback-cache` skill for complete cache management documentation.

## Related

- Use `wayback-submit --capture-screenshot` to create a new screenshot
- Use `wayback-check` to verify if a URL is archived
- Use `wayback-list` to see all captures (not just those with screenshots)