Automate Bubble.io Application Screenshots with FreshShots: Keep No-Code Documentation Current

Jan 15, 2025

Bubble.io makes building web applications accessible to everyone, but documenting these rapidly evolving apps is challenging. Features change daily, but screenshots in tutorials and documentation become outdated within hours. FreshShots automatically captures and updates screenshots so your Bubble.io documentation stays perfectly aligned with your live application.

The Bubble.io Documentation Problem

Bubble’s visual development approach creates unique documentation challenges:

Rapid iteration: Apps change multiple times per day during development
Visual complexity: Rich interfaces require detailed screenshots
User onboarding: New users need current screenshots to follow tutorials
Version management: Different app versions need different documentation
Team collaboration: Multiple developers = inconsistent documentation styles

How FreshShots Revolutionizes Bubble.io Documentation

FreshShots seamlessly integrates with Bubble.io development workflows:

Live app capture: Screenshots from your actual running Bubble application
Element-specific: Target specific Bubble elements for precise documentation
Multi-version support: Different workflows for Development/Live versions
User flow documentation: Capture complete user journeys automatically
Responsive documentation: Screenshots for mobile, tablet, and desktop views

Complete Setup Guide: FreshShots + Bubble.io

Step 1: Prepare Your Bubble Application

Add HTML attributes to key elements in your Bubble app using the HTML element or by adding attributes to existing elements:

Method 1: Using HTML Element

<div data-freshshots-id="user-dashboard" class="dashboard-wrapper">
  <!-- This will wrap around your Bubble groups -->
</div>

Method 2: Adding to Existing Elements In the Bubble editor, select an element and add this to the “ID Attribute” field:

data-freshshots-id="signup-form"

Method 3: Using Conditional Display Create conditional HTML elements that only show during screenshot capture:

<!-- Add as an HTML element with conditional visibility -->
<div data-freshshots-id="payment-flow" 
     style="position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; pointer-events: none; z-index: -1;">
</div>

Step 2: Create Bubble-Specific Workflows

Basic App Documentation Workflow:

[
  {
    "action": "visit_page",
    "url": "https://yourapp.bubbleapps.io/version-test"
  },
  {
    "action": "take_screenshot",
    "selector": "user-dashboard",
    "save_screenshot_to": "bubble-dashboard.png",
    "viewport_size": { "width": 1280, "height": 720 }
  },
  {
    "action": "visit_page",
    "url": "https://yourapp.bubbleapps.io/version-test/signup"
  },
  {
    "action": "take_screenshot",
    "selector": "signup-form", 
    "save_screenshot_to": "bubble-signup.png"
  }
]

Interactive User Flow Documentation:

[
  {
    "action": "visit_page",
    "url": "https://yourapp.bubbleapps.io/version-test/login"
  },
  {
    "action": "type_input",
    "selector": "input[placeholder='Email']",
    "input_value": "[email protected]"
  },
  {
    "action": "type_input", 
    "selector": "input[placeholder='Password']",
    "input_value": "demopassword"
  },
  {
    "action": "take_screenshot",
    "selector": "login-form",
    "save_screenshot_to": "bubble-login-filled.png"
  },
  {
    "action": "click_element",
    "selector": "button:contains('Log in')"
  },
  {
    "action": "wait_for_element",
    "selector": "user-dashboard",
    "timeout": 5000
  },
  {
    "action": "take_screenshot",
    "selector": "user-dashboard",
    "save_screenshot_to": "bubble-post-login.png"
  }
]

Step 3: Handle Bubble-Specific Elements

Popup Documentation:

[
  {
    "action": "visit_page",
    "url": "https://yourapp.bubbleapps.io/version-test/dashboard"
  },
  {
    "action": "click_element",
    "selector": "button:contains('Settings')"
  },
  {
    "action": "wait_for_element",
    "selector": "popup-settings",
    "timeout": 3000
  },
  {
    "action": "take_screenshot",
    "selector": "popup-settings",
    "save_screenshot_to": "bubble-settings-popup.png"
  }
]

Repeating Group Documentation:

[
  {
    "action": "visit_page",
    "url": "https://yourapp.bubbleapps.io/version-test/products"
  },
  {
    "action": "wait_for_element",
    "selector": "repeating-group-products",
    "timeout": 5000
  },
  {
    "action": "take_screenshot",
    "selector": "repeating-group-products",
    "save_screenshot_to": "bubble-product-list.png"
  }
]

Responsive Design Documentation:

[
  {
    "action": "visit_page", 
    "url": "https://yourapp.bubbleapps.io/version-test"
  },
  {
    "action": "take_screenshot",
    "selector": "main-content",
    "save_screenshot_to": "bubble-desktop.png",
    "viewport_size": { "width": 1280, "height": 720 }
  },
  {
    "action": "take_screenshot",
    "selector": "main-content", 
    "save_screenshot_to": "bubble-tablet.png",
    "viewport_size": { "width": 768, "height": 1024 }
  },
  {
    "action": "take_screenshot",
    "selector": "main-content",
    "save_screenshot_to": "bubble-mobile.png", 
    "viewport_size": { "width": 375, "height": 667 }
  }
]

Advanced Bubble.io Documentation Techniques

Multi-Version Documentation

Document both Development and Live versions:

Development Version:

{
  "action": "visit_page",
  "url": "https://yourapp.bubbleapps.io/version-test",
  "note": "Development version for testing new features"
}

Live Version:

{
  "action": "visit_page", 
  "url": "https://yourapp.bubbleapps.io",
  "note": "Production version for end users"
}

Database-Driven Content

Document apps with dynamic content:

[
  {
    "action": "visit_page",
    "url": "https://yourapp.bubbleapps.io/version-test/admin"
  },
  {
    "action": "click_element",
    "selector": "button:contains('Add Sample Data')"
  },
  {
    "action": "wait_for_element",
    "selector": "data-loaded-indicator",
    "timeout": 10000
  },
  {
    "action": "take_screenshot",
    "selector": "data-table",
    "save_screenshot_to": "bubble-with-data.png"
  }
]

Workflow State Documentation

Capture different states of Bubble workflows:

[
  {
    "action": "visit_page",
    "url": "https://yourapp.bubbleapps.io/version-test/checkout"
  },
  {
    "action": "take_screenshot", 
    "selector": "checkout-form",
    "save_screenshot_to": "checkout-empty.png"
  },
  {
    "action": "type_input",
    "selector": "input[placeholder='Card Number']",
    "input_value": "4242 4242 4242 4242"
  },
  {
    "action": "type_input",
    "selector": "input[placeholder='Expiry']", 
    "input_value": "12/25"
  },
  {
    "action": "take_screenshot",
    "selector": "checkout-form",
    "save_screenshot_to": "checkout-filled.png"
  },
  {
    "action": "click_element",
    "selector": "button:contains('Submit Payment')"
  },
  {
    "action": "wait_for_element",
    "selector": "success-message",
    "timeout": 5000
  },
  {
    "action": "take_screenshot",
    "selector": "payment-confirmation",
    "save_screenshot_to": "checkout-success.png"
  }
]

Integration with Bubble.io Development Workflow

Version Control Integration

Trigger screenshots when deploying to live:

# Example GitHub Actions workflow
name: Update Bubble App Documentation
on:
  workflow_dispatch:
    inputs:
      bubble_version:
        description: 'Bubble app version to document'
        required: true
        default: 'live'

jobs:
  update-screenshots:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Update Documentation Screenshots
        run: |
          curl -X POST https://api.freshshots.io/v1/run/123 \
            -H "x-api-key: ${{ secrets.FRESHSHOTS_API_KEY }}" \
            -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
            -d '{"bubble_version": "${{ github.event.inputs.bubble_version }}"}'

Bubble Webhook Integration

Use Bubble’s API workflows to trigger documentation updates:

In Bubble Backend Workflow:

// API Workflow: Update Documentation
// Triggered when app is deployed to live

// Step 1: Call FreshShots API
fetch('https://api.freshshots.io/v1/run/123', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'x-api-key': 'your-freshshots-api-key',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    trigger: 'bubble-deployment',
    version: 'live',
    timestamp: new Date().toISOString()
  })
});

Conditional Documentation

Show different content based on user roles:

[
  {
    "action": "visit_page",
    "url": "https://yourapp.bubbleapps.io/version-test/login"
  },
  {
    "action": "type_input",
    "selector": "input[placeholder='Email']",
    "input_value": "[email protected]"
  },
  {
    "action": "type_input",
    "selector": "input[placeholder='Password']", 
    "input_value": "admin_password"
  },
  {
    "action": "click_element",
    "selector": "button:contains('Log in')"
  },
  {
    "action": "wait_for_element",
    "selector": "admin-panel",
    "timeout": 5000
  },
  {
    "action": "take_screenshot",
    "selector": "admin-panel",
    "save_screenshot_to": "bubble-admin-view.png"
  }
]

Documentation Organization Strategies

Feature-Based Documentation

# Bubble App Feature Guide

## User Registration
![Registration Form](https://cdn.freshshots.io/1/bubble-signup.png)

Step-by-step user registration process.

## Dashboard Overview
![User Dashboard](https://cdn.freshshots.io/1/bubble-dashboard.png)

Main user interface after login.

## Payment Processing
![Checkout Flow](https://cdn.freshshots.io/1/checkout-filled.png)

Secure payment processing with Stripe integration.

Responsive Documentation

# Mobile-First Design

## Desktop View (1280px+)
![Desktop Dashboard](https://cdn.freshshots.io/1/bubble-desktop.png)

## Tablet View (768px - 1279px)  
![Tablet Dashboard](https://cdn.freshshots.io/1/bubble-tablet.png)

## Mobile View (< 768px)
![Mobile Dashboard](https://cdn.freshshots.io/1/bubble-mobile.png)

User Journey Documentation

# Complete User Journey

## Step 1: Landing Page
![Landing Page](https://cdn.freshshots.io/1/bubble-landing.png)

## Step 2: Sign Up
![Sign Up Form](https://cdn.freshshots.io/1/bubble-signup.png)

## Step 3: Onboarding
![Onboarding Flow](https://cdn.freshshots.io/1/bubble-onboarding.png)

## Step 4: Dashboard
![User Dashboard](https://cdn.freshshots.io/1/bubble-post-login.png)

Bubble.io-Specific Best Practices

Element Identification

Use Bubble’s element hierarchy for precise targeting:

<!-- Group elements -->
<div data-freshshots-id="header-group" class="bubble-element Group">

<!-- Input elements -->
<input data-freshshots-id="email-input" class="bubble-element Input">

<!-- Button elements -->
<button data-freshshots-id="submit-button" class="bubble-element Button">

<!-- Repeating groups -->
<div data-freshshots-id="product-repeater" class="bubble-element RepeatingGroup">

Performance Optimization

Handle Bubble’s dynamic loading:

{
  "action": "wait_for_element",
  "selector": "repeating-group-loaded",
  "timeout": 10000,
  "note": "Wait for Bubble's repeating group to finish loading"
}

Custom States Documentation

Document Bubble’s custom states:

[
  {
    "action": "click_element",
    "selector": "toggle-button"
  },
  {
    "action": "wait_for_element",
    "selector": "[data-state='expanded']",
    "timeout": 3000
  },
  {
    "action": "take_screenshot",
    "selector": "expandable-section",
    "save_screenshot_to": "bubble-expanded-state.png"
  }
]

Plugin Documentation

Document third-party Bubble plugins:

{
  "action": "take_screenshot", 
  "selector": "stripe-payment-element",
  "save_screenshot_to": "bubble-stripe-plugin.png",
  "note": "Stripe payment plugin integration"
}

Measuring Documentation Success

Before FreshShots (Bubble.io)

Documentation time: 6-8 hours per feature release
Accuracy: 50% of screenshots outdated within a week
User confusion: High support volume due to UI mismatches
Development overhead: 15% time spent on documentation

After FreshShots (Bubble.io)

Documentation time: 30 minutes setup, then automated
Accuracy: 100% current screenshots always
User satisfaction: Dramatically reduced support tickets
Development focus: 95% time on building features

Troubleshooting Bubble.io + FreshShots

Elements not found:

Bubble generates dynamic classes; use stable data attributes
Wait for elements to load using wait_for_element
Check element visibility conditions

Slow loading:

Increase timeout values for database-heavy pages
Add wait conditions for repeating groups
Handle Bubble’s loading states

Authentication issues:

Use Bubble’s standard login flow
Handle session persistence properly
Consider API-based authentication for automation

Responsive design challenges:

Test multiple viewport sizes
Account for Bubble’s responsive breakpoints
Document mobile-specific elements separately

Getting Started with Bubble.io + FreshShots

Quick Start Checklist

Sign up for FreshShots (free plan available)
Add data attributes to 5-10 key Bubble elements
Create test workflow for main user flow
Test screenshot capture on development version
Update documentation with CDN URLs
Set up automation for live deployments
Create responsive variants for mobile/tablet
Monitor and optimize screenshot quality

Bubble-Specific Setup Tips

Use HTML elements for precise targeting
Test on both versions (development and live)
Handle loading states with appropriate waits
Document responsive behavior across devices
Include error states and edge cases
Optimize for Bubble’s element structure

Integration Examples

Tutorial Documentation: Perfect for step-by-step Bubble app tutorials

Feature Announcements: Automatically update screenshots when releasing new features

User Onboarding: Keep onboarding screenshots current with app changes

Support Documentation: Ensure help articles match current app interface

Ready to automate your Bubble.io documentation? Start your free FreshShots account and eliminate manual screenshot management from your no-code development workflow.

Need custom integration help for your Bubble.io app? Contact our team for personalized setup assistance and advanced automation strategies.