TiloBox
Back to directory
OpenReplay project preview

OpenReplay

Open-source session replay and frontend observability stack alternative to FullStory and LogRocket.

LicenseELv2
GitHub stars12.6k
Last commit1 weeks ago
Tags6 topics
Session ReplayDebuggingUx AnalyticsObservabilitySelf HostedFrontend
Overview

Why consider OpenReplay?

OpenReplay is a self-hosted session replay and developer monitoring suite. It records user interactions, network requests, Redux/Vuex state, and console errors.

Guided learning

Learn OpenReplay by building

Practical setup notes, real use cases, and copy-ready examples in one focused guide.

3 min read 11 sections
In this guide11 sections

What is OpenReplay?

OpenReplay is an open-source session replay and frontend observability suite designed to help developers and product teams reproduce bugs and understand user experience issues. It operates as a privacy-friendly, self-hosted alternative to commercial session recording platforms like FullStory, LogRocket, and Hotjar.

OpenReplay acts like a flight data recorder for web applications: it records user DOM interactions, mouse clicks, scrolling behavior, network fetch/XHR requests, Redux/Vuex application state mutations, and JavaScript console exceptions, letting engineers watch pixel-perfect session replays alongside integrated developer DevTools.

Who Is It For?

  • Frontend & Full-Stack Developers: Reproducing elusive, client-side production bugs without asking users for screenshots or manual reproduction steps.
  • Product Managers & UX Researchers: Analyzing customer user drop-offs, identifying rage-clicks, and optimizing web conversion funnels.
  • Security & Compliance Teams: Storing session recordings strictly on on-premises private servers with automatic masking of sensitive PII data.

Key Features

  • Pixel-perfect session replay: Watch exact user interactions with synchronous console logs and network activity.
  • Integrated Web DevTools: Inspect network request payloads, response codes, stack traces, and component state changes.
  • Omnichannel privacy sanitization: Automated client-side masking of passwords, credit cards, and PII input fields.
  • Performance & UX analytics: Track Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID, CLS), page load timings, and rage-click events.
  • Easy SDK integration for React, Vue, Angular, Svelte, and vanilla JavaScript applications.

Deploying OpenReplay on Linux

OpenReplay provides an automated single-node installation script:

bash
1# Run the installation script on an Ubuntu 22.04 LTS server (minimum 4 CPU, 16 GB RAM)
2wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/openreplay/openreplay/main/scripts/helmcharts/openreplay-cli.sh
3bash openreplay-cli.sh -i

Access the OpenReplay web interface at your domain (e.g. https://openreplay.example.com) and generate your project tracking snippet.

Integrating OpenReplay SDK in React

bash
1npm install @openreplay/tracker

Initialize the tracker in your application root:

typescript
1import Tracker from '@openreplay/tracker';
2
3const tracker = new Tracker({
4 projectKey: "YOUR_PROJECT_KEY",
5 ingestPoint: "https://openreplay.example.com/ingest",
6 respectDoNotTrack: true,
7 maskAllInputs: true // Automatically masks all form input fields for privacy
8});
9
10tracker.start();
11
12// Identify logged-in users
13tracker.setUserID("user_12345");

Practical Use Cases

1. Instant Bug Reproduction

A customer reports that a checkout button failed; an engineer opens OpenReplay, watches the customer's exact actions, and spots a 400 Bad Request error in the integrated network tab.

2. Rage Click Detection & UX Optimization

A UX designer filters sessions containing "Rage Clicks" on the pricing page, discovering an unclickable image that users mistook for a button.

3. Redux State Time Travel Debugging

A developer inspects state mutations step-by-step leading up to a frontend exception, fixing edge-case component lifecycle bugs in minutes.

Troubleshooting and Limitations

  • Hardware Sizing: Session capture and video rendering require adequate compute and memory; allocate at least 16 GB of RAM on the OpenReplay server for high-traffic sites.
  • Canvas / WebGL Content: OpenReplay records standard DOM elements; for canvas-heavy WebGL games, enable the canvas recording plugin explicitly.

Official Resources

Related tools

More options with a similar category or technology profile.

OpenReplay FAQs

OpenReplay is listed as a Developer Tools tool on TiloBox. Review the overview, features, and official documentation on this page to decide whether it solves your specific workflow.

Start with the project's GitHub repository and official website for supported installation and deployment instructions. Test the setup with representative data or a small project before rolling it out more widely.

OpenReplay is listed under the ELv2 license. Read the complete license text and the project's notices before using, modifying, or distributing the software.

Production readiness depends on your requirements. Review maintenance activity, security practices, documentation, backup and upgrade procedures, and compatibility with your stack; then validate it in a non-production environment.

OpenReplay is listed as an alternative to FullStory. Compare the core workflow, deployment model, integrations, and licensing against your must-have requirements before switching.