Manual Test Session Capture

In brief: Manual test capture logs what testers do in-product— preserving steps and artifacts for test runs, scenario updates, and SmartTest authoring follow-ups.

Use the extension to record a manual test session in the browser with step-by-step evidence and a clear pass/fail outcome.

This is for executing and documenting work in the browser. To turn a captured session into a Playwright SmartTest, use Copy test generate prompt after capture (creating SmartTests from the browser).

When to use manual capture

• A tester is running a planned scenario and you need an auditable record in TestChimp
• You are doing exploratory or ad-hoc testing and want a session titled by objective (no scenario link)
• You want screenshots, notes, or bugs attached to specific steps
• You need to mark the run passed or failed with environment and release context

Capture modes

When you create a manual test record, choose how the session is labeled:

Mode	Setup	Traceability
Test a scenario (default)	Select a test-planning scenario (required)	Session links to that scenario for coverage and history
Open-ended	Enter an objective (required); scenario dropdown is hidden	Session is stored with the objective as the execution title; no scenario coverage link

In both modes you can optionally select a git branch if your project has a connected repo.

You can also optionally link the session to an active Test Run so the capture counts toward that run's progress (see Linking executions to a test run). For release sign-off workflows—auditable evidence that rolls up to release intelligence—see Manual sessions to test runs.

How to record a session

1. Install and sign in with the Chrome extension
2. Set environment and release in the extension header
3. Click Create Manual Test Record
4. Choose Test a scenario or Open-ended
   • Scenario mode: search and select the scenario you are executing
   • Open-ended mode: enter the session objective (e.g. "Checkout flow with expired card")
5. Git branch: select branch context if applicable
6. Test run (optional): link the session to an active test run — see Test Runs
7. Click Start Capture—the sidebar collapses so you can interact with your app
8. Perform the test; each interaction is captured as a step
9. Optionally annotate the latest step (see below)
10. When finished, click End capture and choose Mark as passed or Mark as failed
11. The extension uploads screenshots and creates the manual test record; open View execution to see it in TestChimp

Annotating steps: notes and bugs

While capture is active, use the tabbed pane on the latest step:

Add note

• Enter note text
• Optionally Attach Element or Attach Area to highlight UI on the screenshot
• Click Add Note

Notes are stored on the step and uploaded with the session.

Add bug

• Select screen and state (Atlas vocabulary for your project). Type a new name to create it automatically, or pick an existing value from the list.
• Fill in title, description, severity, category, and optional assignee
• Optionally attach an element or area on the page (same as notes)
• Click Add Bug

Bugs are deferred to the end of capture (like notes): they are saved on the step in the extension, then created as Bug records in TestChimp when you finish the session. Each bug is tagged with the selected screen/state, linked to the manual execution, and includes step screenshot context when available.

The captured-steps list shows note and bug counts per step (e.g. (2 notes, 1 bug)).

Ending the session

When you click End capture:

• Screenshots for steps with notes or bugs are prioritized for upload (up to the session limit)
• The manual execution record is created with all steps, notes, and bug payloads
• The server creates Bug entities for each step bug and enriches the execution with bug hashes for the viewer

Choose Mark as passed or Mark as failed to set the execution result.

Viewing results in TestChimp

Open View execution (or the link from Past manual recordings) to see the session in the execution viewer:

• Steps with screenshots, notes (chat bubble markers), and bugs (bug icon markers on manual executions only)
• Click a bug marker to see title, description, and View bug (opens the bugs list with that bug highlighted)
• Scenario-linked sessions show the scenario title; open-ended sessions show the objective as the execution name

Open-ended sessions do not appear in scenario coverage rollups (there is no scenario id to link).

Past recordings

The extension lists Past manual recordings for quick access to recent sessions. Labels use the scenario title or open-ended objective.

Related workflows

• Release management: manual sessions to test runs — Pick a test run at capture time for release rollup
• Plan scenarios in Test Planning before scenario-mode capture
• Create SmartTests from captured sessions — Copy test generate prompt → agent
• Author at scale with the TestChimp skill in Claude/Cursor (recommended for bulk test creation)
• Triage bugs filed during capture in the product Bugs view