Download a stopped recording from this browser as a folder of files. This works for account-free and connected recordings; it is not available for a stored session opened from Control Plane. You can share selected files through your team’s normal issue or test-management workflow.

Download the local recording

1. Stop recording and select Investigate to review the evidence.
2. Edit the title field in the viewer header to name the evidence by case or checkpoint. Press Enter or leave the field to save.
3. Select Download in the viewer header.
4. Check Chrome’s downloads to confirm the files finished saving.

For an account-free recording, you can also reopen the side panel from the toolbar and select Download report. Both download controls start saving immediately, without an additional privacy acknowledgement. Review the evidence first. Connected recordings use the viewer download.

If you add or change attachments after opening the viewer, reload the viewer before downloading so it has the latest attachment snapshot.

Files are saved under a folder based on the session title and identifier. The local download writes individual files, not a ZIP archive, and does not submit an issue or upload the recording.

Choose the files to share

File	Purpose
session.md	Title, written description, session context, numbered actions, evidence counts, and artifact links
notes.md	Saved notes and pins grouped by source; omitted when there are none
network.har	Captured HTTP requests and available response content in HAR format
console.log	Captured console messages and stack traces
steps.json	Actions in Chrome DevTools Recorder format
playwright.spec.ts	Generated Playwright starter test
puppeteer.js	Generated Puppeteer starter script
screenshots/*.png	Available screenshot and image attachments

Files depend on available evidence. Images are present only when added. Downloads include attachments marked Exclude from report or Outside recorded period. Review the screenshot folder itself and share only the intended images. WebSocket frames and every viewer diagnostic panel are not included in these standard artifacts.

Generated scripts need safe test data, stable locators, setup, and assertions. See Turn a recording into a reliable automated test.

Session summary and notes

Open session.md first. It contains the resolved title, your description, start time, elapsed duration, browser, starting page, numbered recorded actions, evidence counts, and links to the prepared artifacts. Write the expected result, actual result, build, and test conditions in Description before downloading; Recorder does not infer these from captured activity. notes.md contains source-linked annotations. Older stored reports can contain a separate legacy reproduction-notes value that is not part of the current local Description editor.

notes.md contains saved source-linked annotations, including pins without comments. Entries are grouped by their source and include available field paths, context excerpts, importance markers, and your text. A pin without text reads “Marked without a comment.” With no saved notes or pins, the file is omitted. Notes and descriptions remain authored content that needs privacy review.

In the real sample, session.md records a 42-second attempt with 21 numbered action rows and three screenshots. notes.md has four observations: the move into Blocked, the request moving to In progress, the following board response, and the cropped screenshot. Read them alongside network.har; a note’s explanation is the tester’s interpretation, not an automatic diagnosis.

The sample summary links to console.log, but the ZIP contains no such file. Check the files actually present before sending the folder. A zero console-error count does not establish that there were no messages or that the test passed.

Downloads generate text artifacts afresh from the session and its saved review decisions. If you change the description, notes, or supported privacy decisions, download again and inspect the replacement files. A retry uses the same folder and overwrites matching filenames; it does not recall copies already shared.

Recover a partial download

If Recorder reports that some files failed to download, keep the session and retry the same download control. A partial failure does not clear the recording. Check the resulting files; starting a download does not guarantee that Chrome finished writing it.

Do not select New recording until you have the evidence you need.

Review before sharing

Console text, screenshots, and manually written observations can contain secrets or personal data. Automatic redaction is not universal. Follow Review data before sharing.

Explore a real reproduction in the website’s sample bundle. Its local artifacts have been packaged as a ZIP for download from the website.