Chrome Recorder: A UX Designer's Tool for Documenting User Workflows
Chrome Recorder isn't just for QA testing. I use it to create precise workflow documentation that AI can follow—transforming vague instructions into exact maps of user journeys for heuristic analysis, accessibility checks, and code reviews.
Chrome's DevTools includes a feature that many designers overlook: the Recorder. While Google built it primarily for automated testing, I've found it invaluable for a completely different purpose—creating precise workflow documentation that AI can follow.
Accessing Chrome Recorder
Open Chrome DevTools (F12 or right-click > Inspect), then:
- Click the "More tools" menu (⋮)
- Select "Recorder"
Or use the Command Menu: Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P, then type "Recorder"
For complete documentation, see Google's Chrome Recorder guide.
Why Record Workflows?
Chrome Recorder captures every interaction—clicks, form inputs, navigation—as structured data. This creates three useful outputs:
Testing workflows: The intended use case. Record once, replay repeatedly to catch regressions. Chrome Recorder can export recordings to popular automated testing formats including Puppeteer, Playwright, and Cypress, making it easy to hand workflows to QA teams. Useful when testing specific user flows, though I haven't found this essential in my daily work.
Automating repetitive tasks: The recorder can replay manual workflows. In practice, I rarely encounter tasks repetitive enough to justify this approach.
AI workflow analysis: This is where Chrome Recorder becomes genuinely valuable. By recording a workflow, you create a precise map of an application's user journey. You can then ask AI to follow that workflow and perform analysis—heuristic evaluations, accessibility checks, content audits, or code reviews—with exact context about where to look and what sequence to follow. Here's a Netflix workflow I recorded as an example. The Netflix video isn't playing because Netflix knows I'm "recording" the screen.
Rather than describing a workflow ("click the settings icon, then go to preferences"), you hand the AI an exact recording. The AI understands the complete interaction model.
The Real Value
I'll share specific AI workflows in future posts, but the core insight is this: Chrome Recorder transforms vague instructions into precise, repeatable documentation. When you need AI to understand exactly how users move through your application, a recording is worth a thousand words.
