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Record a task with your assistant

Mac Alpha, starting with 0.3.32-alpha.1. A connected assistant can ask Cropped to record a browser task, feature test or guided demo. The assistant uses its own browser or desktop controls to perform actions; Cropped records one approved window and saves a local session with timed steps. This feature is not available on Windows or Linux yet.

Start a recording

  1. Connect your assistant under Preferences → App → AI tools. The Mac Alpha includes Add to Codex, plus Claude Desktop and Cursor connections.
  2. Give it a concrete task, such as “Record a test of the search filter in this browser window, note which checks pass, then open it in Studio.” The chat needs browser or desktop control tools to perform the task.
  3. If the assistant needs to list windows, enable Let AI apps capture without asking and approve that app once. macOS also needs Screen Recording permission for Cropped Alpha.
  4. Cropped asks before each recording. Check the named window, sound setting and time limit, then click Start Recording. Cancel starts no recording.
  5. The assistant waits until Cropped has written a real frame, then performs the task and adds timed steps.

Only the selected window is recorded, even if it moves or another app covers it. The recording keeps its initial output size. Keep the target open and visible; closing or minimizing it can stop updates or end the take. Check the result before sharing.

Pause and stop

The floating recording bar stays on screen. Pause, Resume, Stop and Discard also work while an assistant is recording. Preferences → App → AI tools → Agent recordings offers Pause/Resume and Stop and save.

Paused time is omitted from the video. The session has a wall-clock limit of up to 15 minutes, including pauses, and stops after two minutes without an assistant check-in. Looking at session history in Preferences does not keep an abandoned recording running. Your normal recording settings are not changed by an agent session.

Sound is off by default. If requested and approved, application audio includes sound from the recorded app, which may include its other tabs or windows. Agent sessions do not record the microphone or camera in this Alpha.

Review a finished take

For browser tasks, the assistant can request webpage only to omit browser controls. You can also add an optional browser frame to the finished recording in Studio.

After Stop, Cropped finishes writing the video and adds it to capture history. Under Agent recordings, Open in Studio adds the original take to your media queue. You can trim it, adjust zooms from marked click positions, and make captions when the take has audio. Editing or exporting makes a separate result.

Expand recorded steps to read the assistant's labels and observed results. Show session file reveals the local JSON journal with step times, the saved path and the original video's SHA-256. The results are reported by the assistant; a “passed” label is not independent verification. If Cropped closes before finishing, the session is marked interrupted rather than claiming a saved video.

Nothing is uploaded automatically. Cropped stores and processes the recording locally. Images or frames returned to your assistant follow that assistant's data settings. Review for private information before sharing.

Try these requests

The MCP prompt menu also includes Record a browser task, Record a feature test, and Record a guided demo. Cropped supplies the capture tools; an assistant without browser or desktop controls cannot perform the app actions on its own.

Still stuck? Click the ? button at the bottom left of the Cropped Studio to ask, send us a message, or request a feature.