Report bugs by showing them
Why text-only bug reports go wrong
“The checkout button isn't working” is a real bug report, and it leaves almost everything out. Which page? Which button? What did you click before it? Did nothing happen, or did an error flash up? Does it happen every time?
Each missing detail is a question the developer has to ask, or a guess they have to make. When the guess is wrong, the bug comes back as “can't reproduce” — and the person who reported it is left wondering why nobody fixed it.
A recording answers most of those questions at once: the page, the steps, the timing, and what the screen actually did.
How to report a bug with Sayvio
- 1
Start from before the bug
Open the page where it goes wrong, in the state just before the problem — so the recording shows how you got there. - 2
Record the tab, with your voice
Click the Sayvio icon, choose the tab, turn your microphone on and start recording. - 3
Reproduce it and talk it through
Do the steps again, saying what you are doing: “I’m clicking Pay now. I expect the confirmation page.” Then say what happened instead. - 4
Point at the problem
Draw a box or an arrow around the error, the missing element or the wrong number, so there is no doubt what you mean. - 5
Stop and paste the link
The link is copied when the upload finishes. Paste it into the ticket, the chat or the email, with a one-line summary above it.
What a good bug recording shows
- Where it happens: the page, with its address visible if you can.
- The steps: everything you did from a clean start, not just the moment it breaks.
- Expected versus actual: say both out loud. The gap between them is the bug.
- Any error message: pause on it for a second so it can be read.
- How often: every time, sometimes, or once — say which.
The full checklist, with a copyable template, is in how to write a bug report developers can act on.
Before and after
The text-only report
“Checkout is broken, the button doesn't work.”
The recorded report
A 40-second recording: add a product, apply a discount code, click Pay now — the button greys out and nothing happens. Voice: “This only happens with a discount code applied.”
What Sayvio captures, and what it does not
Sayvio records a tab, a window or your whole screen, with your microphone, system audio and optionally your camera, and lets you draw on the page while you record. Viewers need no account.
It does not record console logs, network requests or device details, and it does not create tickets in your issue tracker. If those matter for a bug, keep the browser's developer tools open on screen while you record, and add the ticket yourself. Developer-focused bug tools that capture logs automatically are compared in our comparisons.
Bug reporting questions
How do I report a bug with a screen recording?
Open the page where the bug happens, start a Sayvio recording of that tab with your microphone on, reproduce the problem step by step while saying what you expected and what happened instead, then stop. The link is copied; paste it into the ticket or chat with a one-line summary.
Does the developer need Sayvio to watch the recording?
No. The link plays in any modern browser, with nothing to install and no account.
Can I attach a Sayvio recording to Jira, Linear or GitHub issues?
Yes, as a link: paste it into the issue like any other URL. Sayvio does not have built-in integrations with issue trackers, so it does not create tickets for you.
Does Sayvio capture console logs or network requests?
No. Sayvio records what is on your screen and what you say. If your developer needs console errors or network requests, open the browser's developer tools during the recording so they are visible on screen, or attach them to the ticket separately.
How long should a bug recording be?
As short as it can be while still showing the problem from a clean starting point — usually under two minutes. On the free plan, cloud recordings can be up to 5 minutes.
Related
Your next bug report, recorded
Add the Sayvio extension to Chrome, sign in once, and send your first recording in about a minute. Free to start.
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