Why You Can't Record Only the Sessions That Break — and the Config That Gets You Closest

OpenObserve’s session replay SDK cannot continuously record browser activity while withholding uploads until an error occurs because replay events are compressed and sent to the backend in short segments, typically every five seconds or sooner on size limits, navigation, or page exit. Starting replay from an error handler therefore captures only the already-failed state and no preceding context. A closer alternative is to disable baseline replay sampling, use an error-processing hook to call forced recording on the first error, and explicitly set automatic replay startup to false for manual mode so forced sessions resume recording across subsequent page loads. This approach records the remainder of the current session but loses the forced state when sessions expire after 15 minutes of inactivity or four hours total. For more complete diagnosis, the article recommends recording all sessions with shorter retention where feasible, limiting recording to high-risk user flows, or storing an error flag locally so the user’s next visit is recorded from the start.

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