> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.guideless.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Capture a workflow

> Install the extension and record a browser workflow as guide steps.

Capture is the first draft of your guide. Walk through the workflow once, and Guideless turns the important actions into editable steps.

<Card title="Download extension" icon="chrome" href="https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/guideless-ai-documentatio/ocgogifakflnbbkeejgepiancegepgem">
  Install it from the Chrome Web Store.
</Card>

The Chrome extension connects Guideless to the tab you select and sends captured steps back to the editor.

Before recording, open the page where the workflow begins. Close extra popovers, notifications, or private details you do not want in the guide.

## Start recording

Start from the workspace or folder where the guide should live.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Click Create" icon="circle-plus">
    Open the dashboard and click **Create**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose a tab" icon="panel-top">
    Pick the browser tab that contains the workflow.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Start recording" icon="play">
    Click **Start recording**. Guideless opens the tab and the capture side panel.
  </Step>
</Steps>

If you start from inside a folder, the new guide is saved there. Otherwise, it is saved to **Unsorted**.

## Record the flow

Move through the workflow the way a first-time viewer should see it. Include the clicks and decisions that matter, then finish on the screen that confirms the work is done.

Shorter captures are usually better. If a process has several branches, make separate guides for each path.

## Capture controls

The capture panel stays beside the page while you record. Outside Blur mode, normal page clicks continue directly to the page while Guideless observes the workflow.

| Control | What it does |
| - | - |
| Complete Capture | Finishes the capture and opens the editor. |
| Pause | Pauses or resumes step capture. |
| Blur | Turns blur selection mode on or off. |
| Restart | Starts the capture over. |
| Discard | Stops the capture without keeping the draft. |

## Hide sensitive information

Use **Blur** when the page contains names, emails, account IDs, customer data, or anything else that should not appear in the finished guide.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Click Blur" icon="scan-eye">
    The panel switches into blur selection mode.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select what to hide" icon="mouse-pointer-click">
    Click the page elements that should be blurred.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Resume recording" icon="play">
    Click **Blur** again to continue capturing the workflow.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Finish the capture

Click **Complete Capture** when the workflow is complete. Guideless opens the editor so you can remove mistakes, adjust wording, add narration, and polish the guide before sharing.

<Tip>
  If a capture gets messy, you can still keep going. The editor is where you delete, reorder, rename, and refine the steps.
</Tip>

## If capture is not available

* Use Chrome or another Chromium-based browser.
* Make sure the extension is installed in the same browser profile you use for Guideless.
* Reload the tab you want to capture if it was already open before installing the extension.
* Sign in to Guideless, then start the capture from the dashboard.
* If the Guideless extension isn’t working properly, open extensions in Chrome and update it manually. For visual guidance, watch [this guide](https://guideless.ai/share/how-to-manually-update-guideless-extension-490dSrVXlzwg).

## Up next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Edit the guide" icon="list-checks" href="/guides/edit-and-narration">
    Clean up the timeline and narration.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Customize the style" icon="palette" href="/guides/branding">
    Adjust backgrounds, cursor behavior, and zoom.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Browser access

These are the browser permissions Guideless uses for capture:

| Chrome access | Why Guideless needs it |
| - | - |
| Read and change data | Detects workflow actions, applies blur selections, and captures action metadata. |
| Tabs | Shows the browser tabs you can capture and switches to the tab you select. |
| Active tab | Captures the visible tab after you click **Start recording**. |
| Side panel | Shows the capture steps and controls beside the selected tab. |
| Storage | Keeps capture state in the browser, such as pause mode, blur mode, and step count. |

<Warning>
  The extension stays idle until you click **Start recording**. Guideless only collects capture data while a recording is in progress, and only the minimum needed to build the guide from the tab you selected.
</Warning>


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