Guides

Microlink Guides are practical, step-by-step walkthroughs that show you how to accomplish real tasks using the Microlink API. While the API reference documents every parameter individually, these guides focus on workflows — combining parameters to solve specific problems from start to finish.

Every guide includes live, runnable examples you can modify and test directly.

Before you start

The Microlink API works without an API key — you get 50 free requests per day, no signup required. No API key is required to implement your code or to run the examples directly in your browser.

Some features are marked with and require a paid plan. Everything else works on the free tier. See rate limit and authentication for details.

What is Microlink?

New to the API? Start with What is Microlink — it explains the core idea, walks through every workflow with live examples, and helps you decide which guide to read next.

Which guide do I need?

I want to…	Start here
Get an image of a website	Screenshot
Scrape structured data from a page	Data extraction
Convert a page to Markdown	Markdown
Run custom JavaScript in a headless browser	Function
Turn a page into a PDF	PDF
Get link preview data (title, image, description)	Metadata
Detect what tech a site uses or run a Lighthouse audit	Insights
Bypass IP blocking, CAPTCHAs, or regional restrictions	Proxy

Caching, private-page access, and general troubleshooting are shared across all workflows. See common patterns.

Screenshot

Capture high-quality screenshots of any website with a single API call. This guide now covers the full workflow, from your first screenshot to advanced output control, embedding, private-page capture, and troubleshooting.

Quickstart — your first screenshot in under a minute.
Customizing output — full-page, element targeting, format, overlays, and code themes.
Browser settings — viewport, device emulation, dark mode, and animations.
Page interaction — click, scroll, wait, inject CSS/JS, block ads and cookie banners.
Delivery and embedding — choose between JSON + CDN URLs and direct image responses.
Caching and performance — cache control, stale-while-revalidate, and optimization tips.
Private pages — handle login, sessions, and header-based personalization safely.
Troubleshooting — debug timing issues, blocked sites, wrong captures, and plan errors.

Data extraction

Extract exactly the fields you need from any page with Microlink API, shape the response for your application, and handle dynamic or private targets reliably.

Quickstart — your first custom data extractor in under a minute.
Defining rules — model single fields, collections, nested objects, fallbacks, and computed values.
Page preparation — choose fetch mode, wait for dynamic content, and mutate the DOM before extraction.
Delivery and response shaping — choose between full JSON, filtered payloads, and direct field responses.
Caching and performance — cache control, stale-while-revalidate, and extraction speed tips.
Private pages — extract data from authenticated or session-based pages safely.
Troubleshooting — fix empty fields, wrong selectors, timeouts, and blocked sites.

Markdown

Convert full pages or scoped sections to Markdown. This guide is intentionally smaller than Data extraction: it covers the attr: 'markdown' workflow, then sends you to the deeper Data extraction pages whenever the topic becomes shared.

Quickstart — your first Markdown extraction, plus the mental model that connects it to Data extraction.
Choosing scope — choose the right wrapper, prepare the page state, and fix noisy or incomplete Markdown.
Delivery and response shaping — choose between JSON and direct Markdown responses, then apply the right performance and auth patterns.

Function

Run arbitrary JavaScript inside a headless browser with full Puppeteer access. Use it when none of the built-in parameters cover your workflow.

Quickstart — your first custom function in under a minute.

PDF

Generate production-ready PDFs of any website with full control over paper size, layout, delivery, caching, and private-page access.

Quickstart — your first PDF in under a minute.
Page size and layout — paper format, custom dimensions, margins, orientation, scale, and page ranges.
Page preparation — print vs screen CSS, waits, clicks, and CSS cleanup before printing.
Delivery and embedding — choose between JSON + CDN URLs and direct PDF responses.
Caching and performance — cache control, stale-while-revalidate, and optimization tips.
Private pages — generate PDFs from authenticated or session-based pages safely.
Troubleshooting — debug missing content, wrong layout, blocked sites, and plan errors.

Metadata

Extract normalized metadata from any URL, narrow the field set to what you actually need, enrich the result when necessary, and handle dynamic or private targets reliably.

Quickstart — your first metadata extraction in under a minute.
Choosing fields — request only the normalized metadata fields you actually need.
Extending results — add custom fields, oEmbed HTML, color palettes, or site analysis.
Delivery and response shaping — choose between full JSON, filtered payloads, and direct field responses.
Page preparation — handle SPAs, waits, and browser-rendered metadata.
Caching and performance — cache control, stale-while-revalidate, and metadata performance tips.
Private pages — extract metadata from authenticated or session-based pages safely.
Troubleshooting — fix missing fields, wrong variants, timeouts, and blocked sites.

Insights

Analyze any site with Microlink Insights, choose between technology detection and Lighthouse audits, and troubleshoot slow or blocked runs.

Quickstart — your first Insights analysis in under a minute.
Technology detection — identify frameworks, CDNs, analytics tools, and other technologies behind a site.
Lighthouse reports — generate JSON, HTML, or CSV audit reports and tune report settings.
Caching and performance — cache expensive runs, skip unnecessary work, and verify response behavior.
Troubleshooting — fix missing results, timeouts, wrong variants, and blocked sites.

Common patterns

Caching, private-page access, and troubleshooting patterns that apply to every workflow above.

Caching patterns — control TTL, stale-while-revalidate, cache bypass, and verify behavior.
Private pages — headers, secrets, endpoint selection, proxy, and credential safety.
Proxy — bypass IP blocking, CAPTCHAs, antibot protection, and regional restrictions with automatic or custom proxy rotation.
Troubleshooting — timeouts, blocked sites, auth/plan errors, and debug headers.
Production patterns — rate limits, endpoint selection, credential safety, retries, and monitoring.