Chrome Extension

The Tracepipe.AI Recorder is a Chrome Web Store extension that records user interaction sessions on any website and exports them as trace files for analysis. It works in Google Chrome as well as other Chromium-based browsers that support installing extensions from the Chrome Web Store.

Only your browser, never your desktop. The extension records activity across the tabs and websites you visit during a session, but it cannot see or capture anything happening outside your browser. Desktop applications or other programs are never recorded.

Warning: The recorder captures all text input during a session (except passwords, which are automatically redacted). Do not record sessions containing sensitive information you do not intend to save or share.

Prerequisites

• Google Chrome, or another Chromium-based browser that supports installing extensions from the Chrome Web Store
• A Tracepipe account (create one)

Installation

1. Go to the Chrome Web Store listing and click Add to Chrome.
2. Confirm the permissions prompt. The extension requests access to all websites so it can record whichever web app you're using.
3. The Tracepipe.AI Recorder icon will appear in your browser's toolbar.

Signing In

1. Open the extension: click the Tracepipe.AI Recorder icon in your browser's toolbar.
2. Click Sign in: a Microsoft sign-in window opens. This is the same account you use on the Tracepipe website; if you don't have one yet, create one.
3. Choose your account and sign in. The window closes on its own and the extension shows your account email.

Your session stays signed in across browser restarts, so this is normally a one-time step. Click Sign out next to your email to clear it. You'll be asked for your credentials the next time you sign in.

Recording, Stop and Save, and Reset all work whether or not you're signed in. Signing in is what lets you upload a recording straight to Tracepipe from the extension. Without it, a recording can only be saved to your computer and uploaded from the website afterwards.

Recording a Session

1. Open the web app you want to record: navigate to it in your browser.
2. Open the extension: click the Tracepipe.AI Recorder icon in your browser's toolbar.
3. Describe your recording: enter a short description in the text field. This is required to start.
4. Start recording: click Start Recording.
5. Interact with your browser: perform the actions you want to capture. You can switch between tabs and navigate to other websites during the recording; the extension keeps capturing across all of them as part of the same session. It records your clicks, typing, scrolling, and other interactions with each page, along with periodic screenshots as you go.
6. Stop and save. Click Stop and Save. The extension keeps the finished recording and shows how many events and screenshots it captured, along with Upload to Tracepipe and Download File.

Starting over? Click Reset instead of Stop and Save to discard the current recording. It clears everything captured so far, across all tabs, without keeping a recording.

Uploading a Recording

Uploading happens in two steps, so you always see what a recording will cost before you spend anything.

1. Click Upload to Tracepipe. The extension prices the recording and shows the estimate, such as "About 48,000 tokens". Nothing has been spent yet, and this check costs nothing.
2. Confirm. The button becomes Confirm, with Cancel next to it. Confirming uploads the recording and spends that estimate from your plan's token allowance.
3. Open it in Tracepipe. Once the upload finishes, the extension shows View this session to open it on the website.

Not signed in? Upload to Tracepipe stays disabled until you sign in. Download File works either way.

If an upload can't go ahead, the extension saves the recording to your Downloads folder instead, so nothing is lost. This happens when the recording is too large to upload, when your plan's token allowance is used up, or when Tracepipe can't be reached. You can upload the saved file from the website.

Next Steps

If you saved a recording to your computer rather than uploading it from the extension, upload it to Tracepipe from the website.