Create Your First Capture
Crosscheck offers three ways to capture a bug, each suited to a different situation. This guide walks you through creating your first capture with each mode so you can choose the right one when it counts.
Capture types at a glance
| Type | Best for | Output |
|---|---|---|
| Screenshot | Static UI bugs, layout issues, visual regressions | Annotatable PNG image |
| Screen Recording | Multi-step bugs, interaction flows, animations | Trimmed video (WebM/MP4) |
| Instant Replay | Unexpected bugs you did not plan to record | Lightweight DOM session replay |
Taking a screenshot
Screenshots are the quickest capture type. You can capture the visible area, the full page, or a selected area of the screen. An optional capture delay (0, 3, or 5 seconds) lets you set up the exact state before the screenshot is taken. The annotation editor then opens where you can highlight the issue with arrows, text, shapes, and blur tools before saving.
Navigate to the page with the bug
Open the web page you are testing in Chrome. Make sure the issue is visible on screen.
Open Crosscheck and select Screenshot
Click the Crosscheck icon in your toolbar. In the extension popup, click the Screenshot button. The visible area of the current tab is captured immediately.
Crosscheck extension popup with Screenshot option highlighted
Annotate the capture
An annotation editor opens directly on the page. Use the toolbar to:
- Draw freehand, add arrows, rectangles, or circles to highlight the bug.
- Add text labels to explain what is wrong.
- Blur or pixelate sensitive information before sharing.
Screenshot annotation editor with drawing tools
Save and upload
Click Save when you are done annotating. The screenshot and its developer context are saved to your workspace. Once complete, the capture appears in your Crosscheck dashboard under the selected project.
Creating a screen recording
Screen recordings capture video of your tab or entire desktop. They are ideal for bugs that involve multiple steps, hover states, animations, or timing-dependent behavior. You can enable microphone audio and a camera overlay to narrate and personalize your recordings. After capture, trim the recording to keep only the relevant portion.
Open Crosscheck and select Screen Recording
Click the Crosscheck icon and choose Screen Recording. A short countdown begins before recording starts.
Crosscheck extension popup with Screen Recording option
Choose what to record
Chrome will ask you to select a recording source:
- Current tab — Records only the active browser tab. Best for web app bugs.
- Entire screen — Records your full desktop. Useful when the bug spans multiple windows.
Reproduce the bug
Interact with the page normally. The recording indicator shows that capture is active. You can pause and resume the recording if needed.
Stop and trim
Click the Crosscheck icon or the recording indicator to stop. A trim interface appears where you can drag the start and end handles to keep only the portion of the video that shows the bug. This keeps uploads small and focused.
Screen recording trim interface
Save and upload
Click Save to upload the trimmed video along with the synchronized developer context. Console logs and network requests are automatically remapped to match the trimmed timeline.
Using Instant Replay
Instant Replay is designed for the bugs you do not expect. Crosscheck continuously records page activity in the background using lightweight session recording technology. When something goes wrong, you can grab the last 1 to 5 minutes as a replay — even though you never pressed "record."
Make sure Instant Replay is enabled
Instant Replay runs automatically in the background on pages you visit. You can verify it is active by opening the Crosscheck extension popup — the Instant Replay option will show the current buffer duration.
Encounter a bug
Continue testing normally. When you see an issue you want to report, open the Crosscheck extension.
Capture the replay
Click Instant Replay in the extension popup. Crosscheck exports the buffered DOM recording as a session replay, along with the matching developer context.
Instant Replay capture in the Crosscheck extension
Review in the dashboard
The replay opens in the Crosscheck dashboard using an interactive session player. Viewers can scrub through the timeline and see exactly what the user saw, including scroll positions, clicks, and DOM changes — without the file size of a video.