Navigation Options

BQL makes it easy to navigate websites and interact with them. Whether you're capturing screenshots, generating PDFs, or handling other automation tasks, you can use the following navigation options to change BQL's behavior.

note

The examples in this section will show you how to use the pdf and screenshot mutations.

On this collection we’ll look at:

• Basic Usage
• Setting HTML content
• Rejecting Undesired Requests
• Navigation Options
• Waiting for Things

Basic Usage

PDF

BQL Query

mutation PDF {
  goto(url: "https://example.com") {
    status
  }

  pdf(displayHeaderFooter: true, printBackground: false, format: a0) {
    base64
  }
}

cURL

curl --request POST \
  --url 'https://production-sfo.browserless.io/chromium/bql?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{"query":"mutation PDF {\n  goto(url: \"https://example.com\") {\n    status\n  }\n\n  pdf(displayHeaderFooter: true, printBackground: false, format: a0) {\n    base64\n  }\n}","variables":"","operationName":"PDF"}'

Javascript

const endpoint = "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/chromium/bql";
const token = "YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE";

const options = {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({"query":"mutation PDF {\n  goto(url: \"https://example.com\") {\n    status\n  }\n\n  pdf(displayHeaderFooter: true, printBackground: false, format: a0) {\n    base64\n  }\n}","variables":"","operationName":"PDF"})
};

const url = `${endpoint}?token=${token}`;
const response = await fetch(url, options);
const data = await response.json();

console.log(data);

Python

import requests

endpoint = "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/chromium/bql"
query_string = {
    "token": "YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE",
}
headers = {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
}
payload = {
    "query": "mutation PDF {\n  goto(url: \"https://example.com\") {\n    status\n  }\n\n  pdf(displayHeaderFooter: true, printBackground: false, format: a0) {\n    base64\n  }\n}",
    "variables": None,
    "operationName": "PDF",
}

response = requests.post(endpoint, params=query_string, headers=headers, json=payload)
print(response.json())

Java

String url = "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/chromium/bql";
String token = "YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE";
String endpoint = String.format("%s?token=%s%s%s", url, token);

HttpResponse<String> response = Unirest.post(endpoint)
    .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
    .body({"query":"mutation PDF {\n  goto(url: \"https://example.com\") {\n    status\n  }\n\n  pdf(displayHeaderFooter: true, printBackground: false, format: a0) {\n    base64\n  }\n}","variables":"","operationName":"PDF"})
    .asString();

C#

string url = "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/chromium/bql";
string token = "YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE";
string endpoint = $"{url}?token={token}";

var payload = new
{
    query = @"mutation PDF {
  goto(url: ""https://example.com"") {
    status
  }

  pdf(displayHeaderFooter: true, printBackground: false, format: a0) {
    base64
  }
}",
    variables = "",
    operationName = "PDF"
};

using (var client = new HttpClient())
{
    var jsonPayload = System.Text.Json.JsonSerializer.Serialize(payload);
    var content = new StringContent(jsonPayload, Encoding.UTF8, "application/json");

    var response = await client.PostAsync(endpoint, content);
    string responseBody = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
    
    Console.WriteLine(responseBody);
}

Screenshot

BQL Query

mutation Screenshot {
  goto(url: "https://example.com") {
    status
  }

  screenshot(omitBackground:true) {
    base64
  }
}

cURL

curl --request POST \
  --url 'https://production-sfo.browserless.io/chromium/bql?token=YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE' \
  --header 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  --data '{"query":"mutation Screenshot {\n  goto(url: \"https://example.com\") {\n    status\n  }\n\n  screenshot(omitBackground:true) {\n    base64\n  }\n}","variables":"","operationName":"Screenshot"}'

Javascript

const endpoint = "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/chromium/bql";
const token = "YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE";

const options = {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Content-Type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({"query":"mutation Screenshot {\n  goto(url: \"https://example.com\") {\n    status\n  }\n\n  screenshot(omitBackground:true) {\n    base64\n  }\n}","variables":"","operationName":"Screenshot"})
};

const url = `${endpoint}?token=${token}`;
const response = await fetch(url, options);
const data = await response.json();

console.log(data);

Python

import requests

endpoint = "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/chromium/bql"
query_string = {
    "token": "YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE",
}
headers = {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
}
payload = {
    "query": "mutation Screenshot {\n  goto(url: \"https://example.com\") {\n    status\n  }\n\n  screenshot(omitBackground:true) {\n    base64\n  }\n}",
    "variables": None,
    "operationName": "Screenshot",
}

response = requests.post(endpoint, params=query_string, headers=headers, json=payload)
print(response.json())

Java

String url = "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/chromium/bql";
String token = "YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE";
String endpoint = String.format("%s?token=%s%s%s", url, token);

HttpResponse<String> response = Unirest.post(endpoint)
    .header("Content-Type", "application/json")
    .body({"query":"mutation Screenshot {\n  goto(url: \"https://example.com\") {\n    status\n  }\n\n  screenshot(omitBackground:true) {\n    base64\n  }\n}","variables":"","operationName":"Screenshot"})
    .asString();

C#

string url = "https://production-sfo.browserless.io/chromium/bql";
string token = "YOUR_API_TOKEN_HERE";
string endpoint = $"{url}?token={token}";

var payload = new
{
    query = @"mutation Screenshot {
  goto(url: ""https://example.com"") {
    status
  }

  screenshot(omitBackground: true) {
    base64
  }
}",
    variables = "",
    operationName = "Screenshot"
};

using (HttpClient httpClient = new HttpClient())
{
    var jsonPayload = System.Text.Json.JsonSerializer.Serialize(payload);
    var content = new StringContent(jsonPayload, Encoding.UTF8, "application/json");
    
    var response = await httpClient.PostAsync(endpoint, content);
    string responseBody = await response.Content.ReadAsStringAsync();
    Console.WriteLine(responseBody);
}

BQL Schemas

For more details on BQL mutations, refer to the BrowserQL Schema reference pages.

Rest API

Generating PDFs and Taking Screenshots can also be done with Browserless Rest API.