How does session replay work?
Analytics

How does session replay work?

How does session replay work?
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Justin Gage
Founder @ Technically
Last Edited:
Jul 28, 2025
Published:
Sep 17, 2024
<em>With the recent release of <a href="https://mixpanel.com/releases/session-replay">Mixpanel's Session Replay</a> solution, now is a good time to talk about how user session replay technology works.</em>
Access a filtered playlist of Replays that you care about, directly from a Funnel report

How session replay works conceptually

The DOM

A look at Google Drive's home page.

The car engine analogy

A diagram showing a car pedal being pushed, which engages an engine, which makes a car move forward.
A diagram showing how user input is processed to outcomes in products.

Reconstructing the view

Pro tip: You can combine session replay with heatmaps without leaving Mixpanel—so you can see the "what" and the "why" without switching tools!

Learn more about Mixpanel's Heatmaps here and uncover the “why” behind user behavior—faster.

Anatomy of a real session replay product

rrweb: Open source session replay

Everything else: Surrounding UI

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Justin Gage
Justin Gage
Justin is the founder of Technically, a knowledge base for learning about software concepts. 60K+ PMs, designers, marketers, bankers, and other -ers read Technically to understand software and work better with developers.