import { Image } from "astro:assets";
import StoreCta from "../../components/StoreCta.astro";
import signedIn from "../../assets/screenshots/article-login-signed-in.png";
import expired from "../../assets/screenshots/article-login-expired.png";

To screenshot a page behind a login, sign in normally in Chrome, open the page you need, and select that tab in [Tab Automation](/). **Take a Screenshot** captures the page in that browser session. You do not need to copy cookies or put your password into the automation.

Start with one page. Once its PNG looks right, use **For Each Link** to visit a short list of private URLs in the same tab and capture each one. This works for pages your current session can open; it does not sign in for you or renew an expired session.

## Test one signed-in page first

Use desktop Chrome with Tab Automation installed. Custom automations are free. [Explorer access](/blog/launch-license) unlocks the full Dashboard used in this guide; the basic saved-results list also provides downloads and exports.

1. Sign in to the website yourself, including any multi-factor prompt. Open the exact report, dashboard, or staging page you want to keep.
2. Wait for the relevant charts, tables, and images to finish loading. Choose the filters or date range you want recorded.
3. Open the Tab Automation side panel and choose **New Automation**. Under **Tab & Startup**, turn off **Always start this automation in a new tab** and select the signed-in tab.
4. Choose **Add Step → Take a Screenshot**. Leave **Full page** off for the current visible area, or turn it on to include content farther down the document.
5. Choose **Test screenshot**. This saves a separate **Test** result using the current screenshot settings.
6. Open **Dashboard → Saved results**, find the Test PNG, and open its preview. Check that it shows the expected account, page, filters, and content. Choose **Download** to keep a copy outside the extension.

For one capture, that is enough. The test has already saved the image; you do not have to start a repeating automation. The output is PNG, and saving it in Results does not automatically download it.

Both screenshot modes use Chrome's [debugger interface](https://developer.chrome.com/docs/extensions/reference/api/debugger), so Chrome displays a debugging notice while capture is attached. The screenshot step does not activate another tab to take its picture.

## What a signed-in capture looks like

We used an unpacked test build of Tab Automation 1.0.0 with an internal demo workspace. Submitting the demo sign-in form set a session cookie; requests for **Overview** and **Reports** redirected to the sign-in page without that cookie. The screenshot step used the signed-in tab without receiving credentials or cookie values in its configuration.

<figure style="margin: 1.5rem 0;">
  <a href={signedIn.src}>
    <Image
      src={signedIn}
      alt="Exported viewport PNG of the signed-in Fieldwork demo workspace showing its Overview page."
      loading="lazy"
      style="display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; border-radius: 12px;"
    />
  </a>
  <figcaption style="margin-top: 0.65rem; color: var(--secondary); font-size: 0.875rem; line-height: 1.5;">
    The actual exported Test screenshot. Fieldwork and its workspace figures are controlled demo
    data.
  </figcaption>
</figure>

We then ran a two-URL list with a one-second **Wait / Delay** followed by **Take a Screenshot** inside Each Link. **Full page** was on and **Repeat** was off. The run saved two PNGs, one for each private page. [Download the actual two-page ZIP](/samples/guides/authenticated-screenshots.zip).

The archive's local URLs identify internal test pages, not a public service. This demonstrates the session and export behavior in the fixture; it does not establish compatibility with every login system or private dashboard.

<StoreCta fallback="/#how-it-works" showNote={false} placement="guide-demo" />

## Capture a short list of private URLs

Use a fresh automation for the batch, keeping the same signed-in tab selected under **Tab & Startup**.

1. Add [For Each Link](/steps/for-each-link), choose **Paste list**, and enter two or three complete `https://` or `http://` page URLs, one per line.
2. Inside **Each Link**, add **Wait / Delay → Fixed** before the screenshot. Start with five seconds for a page with late-loading content, then adjust after checking a sample. A fixed delay gives the page time; it does not verify that a chart is complete.
3. Add **Take a Screenshot** inside Each Link. Choose **Full page** if you need the whole document. A screenshot outside the loop will not capture every listed URL.
4. Open **Go To This Link** and choose **Open** beside each sample URL. Confirm that it reaches the expected private page. Navigation can reset filters that are not preserved in the URL or by the website.
5. Leave **Repeat** off in the End block, then choose **Save & Run**. Keep Chrome open and leave the assigned tab to the automation.
6. When the run finishes, open **Dashboard → Saved results**. Check the source URLs and image previews, then select the batch and choose **Export… → ZIP**. Keep the earlier Test image separate.

Export is unavailable while the run is running. Finish the pass, or pause it to export the files already saved. The [multiple-URL screenshot guide](/blog/screenshot-multiple-urls-chrome) covers list filtering, filenames, and capture recovery in more detail.

For private pages, a pasted list is the straightforward starting point. The sitemap source accepts public sitemaps; it does not authenticate to a protected sitemap using your tab's session.

## A completed screenshot can show the login page

**A saved PNG proves that a page was captured, not that you were still signed in.** If the website redirects an expired session to its login page, that page can become the screenshot.

In the same fixture, we cleared the demo session cookie and revisited Reports. The website redirected to sign-in. **Test screenshot** still saved a PNG successfully, and its source URL was the login URL.

<figure style="margin: 1.5rem 0;">
  <a href={expired.src}>
    <Image
      src={expired}
      alt="Successful screenshot export showing Sign in to continue after the demo session cookie was cleared."
      loading="lazy"
      style="display: block; max-width: 100%; height: auto; border-radius: 12px;"
    />
  </a>
  <figcaption style="margin-top: 0.65rem; color: var(--secondary); font-size: 0.875rem; line-height: 1.5;">
    The capture succeeded, but the workspace content was no longer available. Inspect the image as
    well as the run status.
  </figcaption>
</figure>

If this happens, pause an active run, sign in again yourself, and open an affected URL to confirm access. Make a fresh short batch containing just the pages you need to recapture. If you reuse the original automation, review **Skip visited**: its default **Timed** policy remembers visits for 24 hours. Select **Never** to allow revisiting remembered URLs deliberately. Leave Repeat off for one pass.

We also signed in again and verified that a new Test screenshot recorded Reports at its private URL. The automation did not perform that sign-in. Some websites display their login form without changing the address, so a source-URL check alone is insufficient.

## Check the framing before sharing

Full-page capture scrolls the document to load more content, then restores its scroll position. It does not click **Load more**, scroll every nested dashboard panel, or reconstruct rows a virtualized table never rendered. For a scrollable chart or table panel, position the content you need and try a viewport Test screenshot.

Very long or changing pages can produce a `-partial.png` with a warning. Full-page output is bounded by 32 megapixels, 32,767 pixels per side, and separate 30-second loading and capture budgets. Inspect partial files individually. [Take a Screenshot](/steps/take-a-screenshot) documents these controls and limits.

Keep Chrome open and its window unminimized while you establish that the recipe works. Some minimized windows stop producing frames and capture can time out. Review private information in the PNG before sharing it; downloading or sending a file creates a copy outside local Results.

If these captures are part of a rebuild, use the [website redesign content inventory guide](/blog/website-redesign-content-inventory) to keep the page's HTML and metadata alongside its screenshot.