How to record clear bug reports using Loom
Key takeaways
- A short Loom recording shows developers exactly what’s happening, with no lengthy written explanations needed and no room for misinterpretation.
- Walking through each step while narrating means anyone watching can follow along and understand the issue immediately.
- Calling out severity, impact, and expected behavior in your recording gives developers everything they need to prioritize and fix the issue.
- Browser, device, console logs, and network information are automatically captured by Loom, cutting down on the back-and-forth between reporters and dev teams.
- Drop your Loom link into Slack, email, or Jira and let your whole team review and comment on their own schedule, no meeting required.
Capture clear, actionable bug reports using Loom
If you’ve ever tried to write out a bug report, you know how much can get lost. Describing the steps, the error message, and what you were doing at the time rarely captures everything a developer needs to see.
So, what is a bug report in software development? A bug report is a document (written or recorded) that captures exactly what went wrong, how to reproduce it, and what the expected behavior should have been. The goal is to give developers enough information to understand, prioritize, and resolve the issue without going back and forth a dozen times.
Video bug reporting with Loom makes that process significantly faster. Instead of typing out a wall of text, you record your screen, walk through the issue, and share a link. This helps align teams quickly without confusion. Keep reading to learn how to capture bug reports that give your team everything they need to fix issues fast.
Step 1. Determine the bug you want to report
Before you hit record, spend a minute confirming that you can reliably reproduce the issue. A bug that only happened once and can’t be repeated is much harder for a dev team to investigate.
Think through what the expected behavior should be versus what’s actually happening. The contrast between what should work and what’s broken is the core of any useful bug report. Once you’re clear on that, navigate to the area of the product where the bug occurs so you’re ready to capture it in context.
Step 2. Start a Loom screen recording
Open Loom and choose whether to record just your screen or your screen with your camera. Screen-only works fine for most bugs. Adding your camera can help if you’re walking a non-technical stakeholder through something or want to add more personal context.
Select the specific window or tab where the bug appears. Keeping the recording scoped to the right area helps viewers follow along without getting distracted by other open windows or unrelated content.
Step 3. Reproduce and record the steps that trigger the bug
This is the most important part of the recording. Walk through each action that causes the issue, and narrate as you go. Say what you’re clicking, what you’re expecting to happen, and what you’re seeing instead.
Move deliberately. It can be tempting to rush through steps you know well, but whoever is watching may be seeing this for the first time. Slowing down means fewer people hitting replay just to follow along.
Step 4. Call out the bug and describe what’s wrong
When the bug appears on screen, pause and point it out clearly. Don’t assume it’s obvious. Say exactly what’s broken or incorrect and what should have happened instead.
This is the moment your recording becomes genuinely useful for software teams. Clear narration at the exact moment the issue occurs saves developers from having to interpret vague timestamps or second-guess what the reporter was referring to.
Step 5. Highlight the impact and severity during the recording
After showing the bug, take a moment to explain who it affects and how it disrupts their workflow or experience. A bug that blocks a user from completing checkout is very different from a minor display issue.
Mention how frequently it happens, whether it’s a complete blocker, and if there are any known workarounds. That information helps prioritize the fix.
Loom’s Comments & Reactions features are also useful here. You can drop a timestamped comment at the exact moment the bug appears, so anyone watching can jump straight to that point without scrubbing through the entire video.
Loom also automatically captures the technical context developers need to troubleshoot, including browser type, device, console logs, and network details. This eliminates the usual round of follow-up questions between the person who filed the report and the team resolving it.
Step 6. Review, trim, and polish the bug report with Loom AI
Before sharing, watch your recording back. Look for anything that’s unclear, and trim out unnecessary pauses or accidental dead time. A tighter video is easier to watch and easier to act on.
Loom’s AI makes this simple. Anyone can create a polished, professional recording without any video editing experience. AI-powered editing cleans things up automatically, which is especially helpful for team members who aren’t comfortable on camera but still need to communicate clearly.
Step 7. Share the recording with your team so they can review it on their own schedule
Copy your Loom link and drop it wherever your team works, whether that’s Slack, email, or directly into your bug-tracking tool.
If your team uses Jira, Loom makes that handoff even smoother. Through the Generate tab, there’s a “Create in Jira” button that lets you create a work item directly on your team’s Jira board without ever leaving Loom. The video, context, and details go straight to where the work gets done.
From there, teammates can watch, comment, and align through asynchronous communication with no scheduling required. Async work with Loom means distributed teams can review, discuss, and align on issues at a time that works for them, speeding up feedback cycles and cutting down on unnecessary meetings.