Session Recorder is a free, open-source Chrome extension for recording browser bugs. It needs no account to record or export, and the standalone extension sends no telemetry. Sessions are written to IndexedDB in your Chrome profile.
What “local-first” means here
- No account. Install it and press Record. There is no sign-up, workspace or seat.
- No server needed. In standalone mode, the extension makes no requests to Proofline.
- No telemetry. The extension sends no analytics, crash reports or usage counts.
- Storage is your browser. Deleting a session deletes the local data.
- Export is a file. A ZIP in your Downloads folder, shared however you choose.
- No remote code. Everything the extension runs ships in the package.
Optional integrations, on your accounts
Four features send data out, and only after you configure them with your own credentials. Each sends directly from the extension to that service:
- Transcription sends recorded audio to Deepgram, OpenAI or ElevenLabs.
- AI summaries and session names send up to 60,000 characters of text evidence, never media, to OpenAI, Anthropic, Google or your compatible endpoint.
- Publishing uploads the report and its media to your Cloudflare Pages project, behind your Cloudflare Access policy.
- GitHub issues send the title, summary and report link to the repository you choose.
Spoken annotation comments use the same transcription provider. With an AI model configured, selecting an annotation also sends a bounded excerpt of visible page labels (never input values or hidden content) to the model to build a short vocabulary list for Deepgram or ElevenLabs; neither is saved. Provider pricing, limits and retention policies apply to all of these. The privacy policy lists them in full.
Or through Proofline
The optional Proofline connection (preview) runs the same features through a Proofline account instead: AI with credits, private hosted reports and issues through the Proofline GitHub App. Those features then send their data to Proofline. Recording and export stay local either way.
Secrets are masked before they are written
Redaction runs at capture time. Authorization headers, cookies, token-like JSON and form fields, sensitive URL parameters and password inputs are masked on the way into storage, so the unmasked value is never saved. You can add rules or turn redaction off per session.
It has limits. Redaction is pattern-based and does not inspect screenshots, video or audio, or recognise personal data in ordinary fields. Review evidence before sharing it. Details and limits.
Who this design suits
- Internal and regulated apps, where recordings of production screens should not land in a third-party workspace.
- Pre-release work, where a recording of an unannounced feature should stay with the team.
- Teams already on GitHub and Cloudflare, who would rather use those accounts than add another vendor.
- Agent workflows with Claude Code, Cursor or Codex against a local checkout.
The trade-offs
| You give up | What to do instead |
|---|---|
| A shared vendor workspace | Publish protected reports to your Cloudflare account or Proofline, and discuss them in GitHub issues. |
| Integrations beyond GitHub | Use Publish report only for a link, or attach the ZIP to any tracker. |
| Cross-device history | Sessions live in one Chrome profile. Export or publish what others need. |
| Reports from customers | Use a widget-based tool. See the comparisons. |
Record your next bug instead of describing it
Session Recorder is free and open source under the AGPL-3.0. Recording and ZIP export need no account. AI, transcription and publishing are optional: use your own providers, whose charges apply, or use credits with the optional Proofline connection preview when it reaches your installed version.