# Local recording and connected projects

Canonical: https://fairleadhq.com/docs/recorder/local-and-connected/

Updated: 2026-10-07
Publication state: published
Product version: Source verified — 52de40a

Agent summary: Choose account-free recording for local review and downloads, or a connected project for team capture rules and configured destinations. Sign in before starting a project recording.

## Prerequisites

- Recorder installed

## Inputs

- A browser test
- An assigned project for connected recording

## Outputs

- A recording workflow suited to your capture and sharing needs

## Limitations

- Signing in does not convert an existing local recording into a project session
- The retained timeline is bounded

## Permissions

- Website access and browser debugging for capture

## Privacy

- Review captured content before sharing


Choose where you record and how evidence reaches your team.

Use Fairlead Recorder without an account to record, review, and download evidence on your computer. Sign in before recording when you need your team's capture rules or configured sharing destinations.

## Choose your workflow

| What you need | Local recording | Connected project |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Account and project | No account required | Sign-in and an assigned project |
| Capture settings | Built-in local rules | Rules managed by your team in Control Plane |
| Evidence handoff | Download files, then share them yourself | Use the project's configured issue and report destinations |
| Backend correlation headers | Not sent | Available when configured for the project |

Both workflows use the same [retained-timeline and session limits](https://fairleadhq.com/docs/recorder/developers/capture-support/#recording-retention).

## Record locally

Select **Continue without an account** on the sign-in screen. You can start and stop a recording, inspect it in the viewer, add screenshots and notes, and download artifacts to your computer.

Capture follows the hostname family of the page where you start; a leading `www.` does not create a separate scope. Local recording uses built-in capture and redaction rules, not your team's project settings.

Follow [Record your first test](https://fairleadhq.com/docs/recorder/quick-start/) to create local evidence. [Review it before sharing](https://fairleadhq.com/docs/recorder/review-redaction/), then [download the available artifacts](https://fairleadhq.com/docs/recorder/bundle-contents/). Downloading saves files to your computer; it does not submit an issue or upload a report to a project.

## Use a connected project

You need a Fairlead account and a project assigned by your administrator. [Sign in and select that project](https://fairleadhq.com/docs/recorder/projects/) before starting the recording.

The project's configuration controls capture domains, redaction rules, issue destinations, and report storage. Your administrator manages these settings in Control Plane; you do not enter issue-tracker API tokens in Recorder.

To save connected evidence on your computer, open **Investigate** and use the viewer’s **Download**. The connected side panel does not provide **Download report**. Review the evidence first; download begins without an additional acknowledgement.

Issue creation and updates go through the project's Bridge service to the configured tracker. Report uploads and enhancement use its Data Plane service. These operations have separate outcomes: a successful issue submission does not confirm that the report was stored.

Disabling report storage does not disable issue submission or screenshot attachments. Check [Storage and data destinations](https://fairleadhq.com/docs/recorder/privacy/) before sharing.

## Switch from local to project recording

A recording keeps the local or connected context it had when it started. Signing in after starting a local recording does not turn that recording into a project session.

1. Review and download the local evidence you want to keep.
2. Select **New recording** to clear the current session.
3. Sign in and select your project.
4. Start a new recording and perform the check again.

The new session uses the selected project's configuration. It does not include evidence from the previous local recording.

## When project setup is unavailable

If no profile is assigned, ask your Fairlead administrator to assign one. If a destination is missing, use [connection troubleshooting](https://fairleadhq.com/docs/recorder/troubleshooting-connections/). Local recording can still be used independently when that workflow meets your needs; it does not inherit the missing project's configuration.