diff --git a/apps/api/src/lib/browser-service.ts b/apps/api/src/lib/browser-service.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..33e5fe47
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/api/src/lib/browser-service.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,133 @@
+import { existsSync } from "node:fs";
+import PQueue from "p-queue";
+import { type Browser, chromium } from "playwright";
+
+const MAX_PAGES = Math.max(1, parseInt(process.env.BROWSER_MAX_PAGES || "3", 10));
+const CRASH_WINDOW_MS = 60_000;
+const MAX_CONSECUTIVE_CRASHES = 5;
+const BASE_BACKOFF_MS = 1_000;
+const PAGE_LOAD_TIMEOUT = 30_000;
+const NETWORK_IDLE_GRACE = 5_000;
+const MAX_FULL_PAGE_HEIGHT = 16384;
+
+let browser: Browser | null = null;
+let browserFailed = false;
+let consecutiveCrashes = 0;
+let lastCrashTime = 0;
+let backoffUntil = 0;
+
+const queue = new PQueue({ concurrency: MAX_PAGES });
+
+export interface CaptureOptions {
+  format: "jpg" | "png" | "webp";
+  quality: number;
+  fullPage: boolean;
+  viewportWidth: number;
+  viewportHeight: number;
+  isMobile?: boolean;
+}
+
+export function isBrowserAvailable(): boolean {
+  if (browserFailed) return false;
+  try {
+    const execPath = chromium.executablePath();
+    return existsSync(execPath);
+  } catch {
+    return false;
+  }
+}
+
+function recordCrash(): void {
+  const now = Date.now();
+  if (now - lastCrashTime > CRASH_WINDOW_MS) {
+    consecutiveCrashes = 1;
+  } else {
+    consecutiveCrashes++;
+  }
+  lastCrashTime = now;
+  if (consecutiveCrashes >= MAX_CONSECUTIVE_CRASHES) {
+    browserFailed = true;
+    console.error(
+      `Browser service permanently disabled after ${MAX_CONSECUTIVE_CRASHES} crashes in ${CRASH_WINDOW_MS / 1000}s`,
+    );
+    return;
+  }
+  const delay = BASE_BACKOFF_MS * 2 ** (consecutiveCrashes - 1);
+  backoffUntil = now + delay;
+}
+
+async function getBrowser(): Promise<Browser> {
+  if (browserFailed) {
+    throw new Error("Browser service permanently disabled after repeated crashes");
+  }
+  if (Date.now() < backoffUntil) {
+    throw new Error("Browser service temporarily unavailable (backoff)");
+  }
+  if (browser?.isConnected()) {
+    return browser;
+  }
+  browser = await chromium.launch({
+    args: ["--no-sandbox", "--disable-gpu", "--disable-dev-shm-usage"],
+  });
+  browser.on("disconnected", () => {
+    browser = null;
+  });
+  return browser;
+}
+
+export async function capturePage(url: string, options: CaptureOptions): Promise<Buffer> {
+  return queue.add(async () => {
+    let b: Browser;
+    try {
+      b = await getBrowser();
+    } catch (err) {
+      recordCrash();
+      throw err;
+    }
+
+    const page = await b.newPage({
+      viewport: { width: options.viewportWidth, height: options.viewportHeight },
+      isMobile: options.isMobile,
+    });
+
+    try {
+      await page.goto(url, { waitUntil: "load", timeout: PAGE_LOAD_TIMEOUT });
+      await page.waitForLoadState("networkidle", { timeout: NETWORK_IDLE_GRACE }).catch(() => {});
+
+      if (options.fullPage) {
+        const scrollHeight = await page.evaluate(() => document.body.scrollHeight);
+        const targetHeight = Math.min(scrollHeight, MAX_FULL_PAGE_HEIGHT);
+        await page.setViewportSize({
+          width: options.viewportWidth,
+          height: targetHeight,
+        });
+      }
+
+      const type = options.format === "jpg" ? "jpeg" : options.format;
+      const screenshotOpts: Parameters<typeof page.screenshot>[0] = {
+        type: type as "jpeg" | "png",
+        fullPage: false,
+      };
+      if (options.format !== "png") {
+        screenshotOpts.quality = options.quality;
+      }
+
+      return (await page.screenshot(screenshotOpts)) as Buffer;
+    } catch (err) {
+      if (!b.isConnected()) {
+        recordCrash();
+        browser = null;
+      }
+      throw err;
+    } finally {
+      await page.close().catch(() => {});
+    }
+  }) as Promise<Buffer>;
+}
+
+export async function shutdownBrowser(): Promise<void> {
+  if (browser?.isConnected()) {
+    await browser.close().catch(() => {});
+    browser = null;
+  }
+}