SessionSight: Replay

Updated

SessionSight: Replay

Overview

Use this page to search and replay recorded user sessions. A session is a recording of everything one visitor did on your application: the pages they visited, the elements they clicked, how far they scrolled, and any errors they hit. Session Replay is where you find the specific recordings that matter and watch them back to see exactly what the visitor experienced, instead of inferring it from aggregate numbers.

Sessions only exist here once SessionSight tracking is deployed on a container and that container's reporting datasource is reachable; without both, this page cannot list anything. The same recordings you browse and replay here also feed the other SessionSight views, so a session you flag or investigate on this page is the same underlying data shown in SessionSight's visitor- and journey-level reports.

On this page you can filter the session list by tenant, container, date range, segment, free-text search, visitor ID, event type, and behavioral signals such as rage clicks or JavaScript errors, then sort the results and page through them. From there you can mark a session as a favorite, filter to ones nobody has watched yet, export the filtered list, generate a summary, and open an individual session's full replay or live view.

Key concepts

  • session - A single visitor's recorded interactions with your application, captured by SessionSight and replayed back as a recording. (related: SessionSight: Visitors)
  • container - The monitored application whose sessions you're browsing; the datasource used to fetch sessions is derived from the container you select. (related: Configuration: SessionSight: SessionSight)
  • segment - A predefined grouping of visitors or sessions you can filter the list down to instead of searching across every visitor.
  • signal - A flag SessionSight attaches to a session when it detects a specific behavior pattern, such as repeated rapid clicking or a JavaScript error, so you can find problem sessions by symptom.
  • SessionSight datasource - The reporting data store configured per container that SessionSight reads session recordings from; this page cannot load sessions if the connection to it fails. (related: Configuration: Datasources)

When to use it

  • You need to investigate a specific user-reported issue by watching back what the visitor actually did.
  • You want to find sessions with friction signals, such as rage clicks or JS errors, before they're reported.
  • You're reviewing sessions your team flagged as unwatched or left notes on.
  • You're exporting or summarizing a batch of sessions for a release or incident review.
  • You want to confirm a specific visitor's journey matches what another SessionSight view, such as Funnels or Heatmaps, is showing in aggregate.

Before you begin

  • SessionSight tracking must be deployed on the container you want to inspect, configured on Configuration: SessionSight: SessionSight.
  • The SessionSight datasource connection for that container must be configured and reachable, under Configuration: Datasources; otherwise this page shows a 'Failed to load sessions' error instead of results.
  • Your account needs permission to view sessions for the tenant and container you're filtering on; without it you'll see a permission message instead of session data.
  • SessionSight must be licensed for your account or tenant; an unlicensed account won't load tenant, container, or session data on this page.

Common workflows

Find and replay a session affected by a specific issue

Persona: Load-test operator investigating a user-reported issue

  1. Select the Container you want to inspect from the Container dropdown.
    • Expect: The filter row updates, and the list (or error state) reloads scoped to that container's datasource.
  2. Set the From and To date fields to the window when the issue occurred.
    • Expect: The From/To values update; sessions outside that range are excluded from the next search.
  3. Select the relevant Signals chip, for example JS errors, to narrow results to that behavior.
    • Expect: The JS errors chip switches to its active state, scoping results to sessions where that signal was detected.
  4. Select Search to run the filtered query.
    • Expect: The sessions list reloads with only sessions matching the tenant, container, date range, and selected signal.
  5. Select Replay on the session you want to inspect.
    • Expect: The replay viewer opens for that session.

Verify: The replay viewer plays back a recorded session matching your filters; if nothing matches, the page shows an empty-results message instead of the datasource-connection error.

Recover from a failed session load

Persona: Operator encountering the 'Failed to load sessions' error

  1. Select Retry in the error banner.
    • Expect: SessionSight re-attempts to load sessions; the error banner clears if the datasource responds, or the same error reappears if it doesn't.
  2. Select the SessionSight datasource link in the error banner.
    • Expect: You're taken to the datasource configuration for this container so you can check the connection and InfluxDB organization name.
  3. Correct the connection or organization name on the datasource configuration page, then return and select Refresh.
    • Expect: The page reloads session results for the current filters.

Verify: The 'Failed to load sessions' banner no longer appears, and the page lists recorded sessions, or a 'No Sessions Found' message if the date range genuinely has none, instead of the connection error.

Review unwatched sessions as a team and export them

Persona: Team lead triaging recordings

  1. Select Unwatched to filter to sessions nobody on the team has opened yet.
    • Expect: The list reloads showing only unwatched sessions, and the Unwatched chip switches to its active state.
  2. Select Export CSV.
    • Expect: The button label changes to Exporting… while the export runs, then a CSV file download starts containing the filtered session list.

Verify: A CSV file matching the Unwatched filter downloads and lists the session records you expected to see.

Steps

Step 1

Open Replay from the SessionSight section.

Expected result: The Session Replay page loads with Tenant, Container, date range, and the other filters set to their current values, but a 'Failed to load sessions' banner appears instead of a session list because SessionSight cannot reach its reporting datasource.

This is the starting point for browsing and replaying recorded sessions, and the datasource connection has to succeed before any results can appear.

  • The 'Failed to load sessions' banner includes a SessionSight datasource link and a Retry action.
  • The Segments dropdown shows the All segments placeholder, meaning no segment is selected yet. SessionSight: Replay - step 1

Step 2

Select Refresh.

Expected result: SessionSight re-attempts to load sessions; the page still shows the Failed to load sessions banner with the same filters, confirming the datasource is still unreachable rather than the filters being the problem.

  • Refresh reloads the current filters without changing them.
  • Configure is available alongside Refresh if you need to open SessionSight configuration instead of retrying. SessionSight: Replay - step 2

Field reference

Field Purpose Format / Validation Required Default
Tenant Scopes the whole page to one organizational tenant; switching tenants changes which containers, segments, and sessions are available to filter. dropdown, single-select No LoadGen B.V.
Container Selects the monitored application whose recordings you want to browse; the datasource used to fetch sessions is derived from this container, so an incorrect container selection is a common cause of empty or failed results. dropdown, single-select No Production Web App
From Sets the start of the date range used to filter sessions; a narrower range (together with To) also reduces how long a search or export takes, which matters if you hit a search-timeout error. date, dd/mm/yyyy No 30/09/2026
To Sets the end of the date range; combined with From it bounds how many sessions a search or export has to scan. date, dd/mm/yyyy No 07/10/2026
Segments Restricts the list to sessions belonging to one predefined visitor segment instead of all visitors; leave it unset to search across every segment. dropdown, single-select No -
Search Runs a free-text search across session content; use it to find sessions referencing a specific page, action, or keyword rather than browsing the full list. text No -
Visitor ID Filters to sessions recorded for one specific visitor; use it to pull up every session for a visitor you're already investigating. text No -
Event Type Filters sessions by the type of recorded event; leave it on All Events to not filter by event type. dropdown, single-select No All Events
Sort By Controls the order sessions are listed in; Last Seen (newest) surfaces the most recently finished sessions first, which is usually what you want when investigating something that just happened. dropdown, single-select No Last Seen (newest)

Controls reference

Runs a new session query using the current filter values.

When to use: After changing any combination of Tenant, Container, date range, Segments, Search text, Visitor ID, Event Type, or Sort By.

Side effects: Read-only: reloads the results list (or the error state) and does not change any underlying session data.

Refresh

Reloads the session list using the filters already set, without changing them.

When to use: When you suspect new sessions have landed, or to retry after a transient datasource failure.

Side effects: Read-only: reloads data only.

Configure

Opens SessionSight configuration.

When to use: To review or change tracker or datasource settings for this container.

Side effects: Navigation only; no change to this page's results.

All / Favorites / Unwatched / Has notes

Switches which subset of recorded sessions is listed: All sessions, only sessions you've marked as a favorite, sessions nobody has opened yet, or sessions that have notes attached.

Side effects: Read-only: reloads the list; it's a view filter and does not itself favorite or unfavorite anything.

Signals (Rage clicks, Dead clicks, Quick backs, Excessive scroll, JS errors)

Toggles one or more behavioral-signal filters so only sessions where that signal was detected are listed: Rage clicks (repeated rapid clicking), Dead clicks (clicks on non-interactive elements), Quick backs (fast backward navigation), Excessive scroll, and JS errors.

When to use: Hunting for problem sessions by symptom instead of browsing all recordings; you can combine multiple signals.

Side effects: Read-only: reloads the filtered list.

SessionSight datasource

Opens the datasource configuration backing this container, linked from the error banner.

When to use: When the page shows 'Failed to load sessions' and you need to check the connection or InfluxDB organization name.

Side effects: Navigation only.

Retry

Re-attempts to load sessions from the datasource without leaving the page.

When to use: After you believe the underlying connectivity issue is resolved.

Side effects: Read-only: reloads data if the datasource responds; otherwise the same error reappears.

Clear filters

Resets Tenant, Container, date range, Segments, Search, Visitor ID, Event Type, and Sort By back to their defaults.

When to use: Start a new search from a clean slate after stacking several filters.

Side effects: Read-only: resets inputs and reloads the list.

Export CSV

Exports the currently filtered session list to a CSV file.

When to use: To share session-level data outside the platform or analyze it in a spreadsheet.

Side effects: Read-only: produces a downloadable file; the label switches to Exporting… while running, and a long date range can cause the export to time out.

Summarize

Generates a summary of the sessions matching the current filters.

When to use: To get a quick read on a batch of recordings before watching them individually.

Side effects: Triggers a summarization pass; does not alter the underlying session recordings.

Favorite toggle

Marks or unmarks an individual session as a favorite.

When to use: Flag a session you want to find quickly later using the Favorites filter.

Side effects: Mutating: persists the favorite flag on that session.

Watch live

Opens a live view of a session that is still in progress.

When to use: To observe a visitor's actions as they happen rather than after the fact.

Side effects: Navigation only.

Replay

Opens the recorded playback for a completed session.

When to use: This is the main action of the page: use it to watch back a specific session you've located.

Side effects: Navigation only.

Previous / Next

Moves between pages of the session results list.

When to use: When more sessions match your filters than fit on one page.

Side effects: Read-only: loads the adjacent page of results.

Verify the result

When your search succeeds, the 'Failed to load sessions' banner is replaced by a list of recorded sessions matching the active Tenant, Container, date range, and any Signals or status chips you selected. Selecting Replay on an entry opens the recorded playback for that session. If your filters genuinely match nothing, the page shows a 'No Sessions Found' message instead of a list, which is a legitimate empty result distinct from a connection failure. If you still see 'Failed to load sessions' after selecting Retry, the problem is the datasource connection itself, not your filter choices.

Troubleshooting

  • Symptom: The page shows 'Failed to load sessions: SessionSight cannot reach its reporting datasource.' Fix: Select the SessionSight datasource link in the error banner, confirm the InfluxDB organization name is spelled and cased exactly as configured, then select Retry.
  • Symptom: You see 'You do not have permission to view sessions. Contact your administrator.' Fix: Ask an administrator to grant you access to SessionSight for this tenant and container under Operations: Permissions.
  • Symptom: Searching never returns, or shows 'This search took too long.' Fix: Narrow the From/To date range and add more filters, such as Container, Event Type, or Signals, before retrying.
  • Symptom: 'Your session has expired. Please log in again.' appears instead of results. Fix: Log back in and reopen Replay; your filter selections are not preserved across the expired session.
  • Symptom: Export CSV fails or shows 'The export could not be completed.' Fix: Narrow the date range or add filters to reduce the result set, then select Export CSV again.
  • Symptom: Segments only ever shows 'All segments' and never a specific value. Fix: Confirm segments have been defined for this tenant and container; if none exist, the dropdown has nothing else to offer.
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