Efficiently Generate Synthetic Monitors with the Synthetics Recorder Chrome Extension

Creating robust Synthetic Step Monitors is a powerful way to ensure your application's uptime and functionality. However, building Step monitors from scratch can be time-consuming and error-prone. You need to inspect elements, find the right selectors, and assert elements all correctly.

Enter the New Relic Synthetics Recorder, a community-built Chrome extension designed to streamline this process. It acts as a bridge between your manual browser interactions and a production-ready New Relic Synthetic Monitor. By simply navigating your site, you can generate the exact steps needed to monitor critical user journeys.

Key Capabilities

The Synthetics Recorder isn't just a "record and forget" tool; it's a full-featured authoring environment that lives right in your browser.

Accelerate Your Workflow

1. Zero-Code Script Generation

Instead of hunting for XPaths or CSS selectors in your browser's DevTools, simply use your application. The recorder watches your actions and translates them into a Step Monitor. This drastically reduces the barrier to entry for team members who may not be familiar with Selenium-based concepts or how to efficiently find selectors to input into Step Builder within the New Relic UI.

2. Validate with Assertions

A script that just "clicks through" isn't enough; you need to know if the page actually worked. With Assertion Mode, you can pause recording to select elements on the page that must be present for the test to pass.

3. Edit and Replay Locally

Before shipping your monitor, you can review the generated steps in the side panel. Need to remove an accidental click? Delete it. Want to change a text validation? Edit it. You can even replay the steps directly in your browser to verify everything works as expected.

How to Get Started

Follow the steps below to install the extension:

1. Download the Release: Visit our GitHub Releases page and download the latest newrelic-synthetics-recorder-vx.x.x.zip.
2. Unzip: Extract the contents to a folder on your machine.
3. Load in Chrome:
   • Navigate to chrome://extensions.
   • Enable Developer mode on the top right.
   • Click Load unpacked.
   • Select the folder you just extracted.

Usage Guide

Recording a User Journey

1. Open the panel by clicking the extension icon.
2. Enter your starting URL and hit Start Recording.
3. Perform the critical actions you want to monitor (e.g., "Login", "Search for Item", "Checkout").
4. Use Add Assertion to verify success messages or specific page elements.
5. Click Stop Recording when finished.

Exporting to New Relic

Once you are happy with your recorded steps:

1. Go to the Settings tab and input your User Key and Account ID.
2. Switch to the Export tab.
3. Name your monitor, select locations, and choose a frequency.
4. Click Save to New Relic.

If successful, a direct link to the newly created monitor will appear at the top of the Export panel.

Importing and Editing

Need to update an existing monitor?

1. Go to the Import tab to see a list of your existing Step Monitors.
2. Click Edit on any monitor to load its steps into the recorder.
3. Add new steps or assertions, then update the monitor directly from the extension.

Conclusion

The New Relic Synthetics Recorder transforms the way you create and maintain synthetic monitors. by capturing real user interactions and automating the monitor generation, you can focus on what to test, rather than how to create it.

Ready to improve your synthetics workflow?

• Download the Extension: GitHub Releases
• Contribute or File Issues: GitHub Repository