Storage · DOM Snapshot — QA Note Docs

Capture localStorage, sessionStorage, cookies, and the DOM outerHTML at the moment of the issue. Hard-to-reproduce, state-dependent bugs — expired tokens, feature-flag branches, stale client caches — leave a clear trail. The trade-off is exposure risk, so the feature is off by default and turned on per project.

Why Opt-in

localStorage and cookies typically hold auth tokens, user IDs, and feature flags. The DOM can leak passwords being typed, payment card numbers, or another user's PII. Sweeping that data up indiscriminately turns one issue report into a security incident.

QA Note's rules:

Off by default — New projects ship with Storage / DOM capture disabled.
Per-project, not per-org — Activation is at the project level.
Client-side masking first — Masking runs in the Extension before data leaves the browser. Passwords and tokens never reach the server.
Explicit scope — The user is told "this issue includes storage / DOM" right before capture.

How to Enable

Find it in the dashboard.

Project Settings → Capture Options → toggle Storage / DOM on
Path: /settings/projects/[projectId]/capture

The toggle is forward-only. Existing issues are not touched. Toggling off stops capture on the next issue; existing captured data persists until deleted via the API or dashboard (see Disable / Delete).

What Gets Captured

Item	Shape	Size cap	Masking
`localStorage`	`Record<string, string>`	2KB per key · 50KB total	✅
`sessionStorage`	`Record<string, string>`	2KB per key · 50KB total	✅
`cookies`	`Array<{ name, value, domain }>`	30KB total	✅
DOM `outerHTML`	`string` (gzip)	500KB after gzip	✅

Values past the cap get truncated with a ... [truncated] marker. The DOM cap is measured on the gzipped size.

Masking SSoT — 14 + 13 + 14

The masking rules live in a single module — one source of truth.

Real filter definitions:
- apps/extension/src/lib/masking/patterns.ts (extension)
- apps/web/src/lib/capture/masking.ts (server-side reinforcement, planned)

Three filter sets:

Set	Count	Examples
URL / query params	14	`password`, `token`, `access_token`, `refresh_token`, `secret`, `api_key`, `apikey`, `auth`, `authorization`, `session`, `sessionid`, `csrf`, `state`, `code`
HTTP headers	13	`Authorization`, `Cookie`, `Set-Cookie`, `X-Api-Key`, `X-Auth-Token`, `X-Csrf-Token`, `X-Session-Id`, `Proxy-Authorization`, `Www-Authenticate`, `X-Access-Token`, `X-Refresh-Token`, `X-Forwarded-For`, `X-Real-IP`
Request / response body fields	14	`password`, `password_confirmation`, `currentPassword`, `newPassword`, `token`, `accessToken`, `refreshToken`, `secret`, `apiKey`, `creditCard`, `cardNumber`, `cvv`, `ssn`, `pin`

Each set runs case-insensitive exact match plus substring match (e.g., *token*).

Matched values are replaced with ***; only the original length is preserved (Authorization: Bearer eyJ... → Authorization: ***).

DOM Masking Rules

The DOM outerHTML is sanitized before storage.

Rule	Action
`<script>` tags	Removed entirely (avoid XSS / inlined token leaks)
`<input type="password">`	`value` attribute removed
`<input type="email">`, `type="tel"`	Preserved by default; project option to remove
`data-password`, `data-token`, `data-secret`, `data-sensitive`	Attribute removed
File-upload inputs	`value` removed (no filename leakage)

Iframe contents are captured only when same-origin. Cross-origin iframes are reduced to a placeholder, no inner DOM.

Querying via MCP

Two tools.

get_storage         → localStorage · sessionStorage · cookies (post-mask)
get_dom_snapshot    → DOM outerHTML (decompressed)

Sample get_storage response:

json

{
  "localStorage": {
    "user_id": "usr_123",
    "auth_token": "***",
    "feature_flags": "{\"new_billing\":true}"
  },
  "sessionStorage": {
    "draft_issue": "..."
  },
  "cookies": [
    { "name": "session", "value": "***", "domain": ".qanote.app" }
  ]
}

Only post-mask data is returned, so it is safe to drop directly into an LLM context.

Storage Format · Size

Compression: The DOM outerHTML is gzipped before upload to R2 (typical 80%+ ratio).
Loading: The issue page receives the compressed payload and decompresses on the client.
Retention: Same retention window as the issue itself (per plan setting).
Total size: Storage + DOM combined typically stays under 600KB per issue.

Disable · Delete

Forward-only off: Toggle off in project settings → next issue stops capturing. Existing captured data is not touched.
Delete existing data: Run the API or use the dashboard action.

bash

# Bulk-delete storage + DOM captures from every issue in a project
DELETE /api/projects/[projectId]/captured-data?types=storage,dom

# Delete from a single issue
DELETE /api/issues/[issueId]/captured-data?types=storage,dom

In the dashboard the same operation lives under Project Settings → "Bulk delete captured data".