Issues
Triage, categorize, and track problems found by Canary.
Issues are problems discovered by Cofactor during automated testing. Each issue represents a potential bug, broken functionality, or user experience problem found on your web application.
01How issues are created
You don't file issues by hand — Cofactor creates them automatically when a run detects a real defect. During a test run, each failure is analyzed to decide whether it's a genuine bug or test instability; genuine bugs become issues. Ad-hoc tests file issues for the problems they verify.
Failure diagnostics can also file a new issue or attach findings to an existing issue. Diagnostic findings carry the failure context into the issue, including a plain-language summary, expected behavior, reproduction steps, screenshots, videos, traces, and other supporting evidence.
Issues are deduplicated: the same problem seen across multiple runs updates one issue instead of creating duplicates. Each detection is recorded as an occurrence, so an issue tracks when it was first and last seen and how many times it has recurred — useful for telling a one-off from a persistent regression.
02Create an issue
Create or attach an issue from a failure diagnostic when the failure represents a problem that needs investigation. Use the diagnostic's issue action to choose whether to file a new issue or add the finding to an existing issue.
Before you submit the issue, review the diagnostic details and confirm that the summary describes the problem clearly. Include the expected behavior and reproduction steps so another teammate can understand what failed and how to verify it. Attach the available screenshots, videos, traces, and supporting evidence that help show the failure.
When you attach a diagnostic to an existing issue, Cofactor adds the finding to that issue instead of creating a duplicate. Open the issue drawer after filing to confirm the issue details and evidence are present.
03Issue Lifecycle
Issues follow a simple workflow:
- Open - Newly discovered issue awaiting review
- Fixed - The issue has been addressed in your application
- Verified - Cofactor has confirmed the fix works
- Closed - Marked as not-a-bug or won't fix
When you resolve an issue by moving it to Fixed, Verified, or Closed, Cofactor automatically removes any related follow-up task. This keeps follow-up work aligned with the issue status and prevents stale outstanding tasks from lingering after the issue is no longer active.
You can also archive issues to remove them from the default view without deleting them.
04Severity Levels
Issues are automatically assigned a severity based on their impact:
| Severity | Description |
|---|---|
| High | Major functionality broken, blocking user workflows, or a security/data risk |
| Medium | Partial functionality issues with a workaround available |
| Low | Minor or cosmetic issues and edge cases |
| Unknown | Severity not yet classified |
05Issue Categories (Labels)
Admins can create custom categories to organize issues by team, feature area, or type. Categories help route issues to the right people and track patterns.
To manage categories, go to Settings > Issue Labels.
06Issue evidence
Each issue includes evidence to help you understand and reproduce it. Diagnostic issues can include:
- Summary - A plain-language description of the failure
- Expected behavior - What the application should have done
- Steps to reproduce - The exact actions that triggered the issue
- Screenshots - Visual captures of the UI state at relevant points, including overlays such as modals and drawers
- Videos - Recordings that show the failure and the surrounding interaction
- Browser traces - Network requests, console logs, and timing data
- Supporting evidence - Additional diagnostic findings and files relevant to the investigation
- Environment details - Browser, viewport, and test configuration
Review the evidence first. Check the screenshots and videos to confirm the exact screen state and interaction Cofactor captured, including any open modal, drawer, or other overlay that may have affected the user's path when the issue was reported. Use traces and supporting evidence to add context when the visible result alone does not explain the failure.
Then use the linked follow-up task to capture ownership, track investigation, and document what happens next. This helps you keep reproduction details and investigation work connected in the same workflow.
07Review issues from diagnostics
Open the diagnostic report to review failures that have been filed as issues or attached to existing issues. Select the issue link from the report to open the existing issue drawer and review the issue summary, expected behavior, reproduction steps, and attached evidence without losing the diagnostic context.
Use the issue drawer to compare findings from different diagnostic runs, review screenshots, videos, traces, and supporting evidence, and decide whether the issue is new, recurring, or ready for follow-up. If the diagnostic is attached to an existing issue, review the new occurrence alongside the issue's previous evidence before changing its status.
08Reviewing issue details
Open an issue to review its evidence, reproduction steps, and linked pages in one place. Use the captured URL as a starting point, then compare it with the screenshots, video, and steps to understand the exact app state Cofactor recorded.
If the captured issue URL is relative, open the linked page directly from the issue detail view. Cofactor resolves relative links correctly, so the page still opens in the right place without requiring you to rebuild the full URL yourself.
When you navigate from the issue to the linked page, use the issue evidence to confirm you are back in the same flow. Check the screenshots, visible overlays, videos, and reproduction steps before you continue investigating.
09Comments
Use comments to capture investigation details, ask questions, and coordinate next steps directly on the issue.
Write comments in the richer editor so you can draft longer updates more comfortably and format your notes before posting.
Type @ in a comment to mention a teammate. Cofactor suggests matching members as you type, highlights mentions clearly in the thread, and sends an email notification to each mentioned teammate.
Use mentions when you need input from a specific teammate, want to pull an owner into triage, or need to flag a follow-up directly from the issue discussion.
10Filtering Issues
Use the filters at the top of the issues page to narrow down:
- Severity - Filter by high, medium, low, or unknown
- Status - Show open, fixed, verified, or all issues
- Property - Filter by which property (website) the issue was found on
- Category - Filter by custom labels
- Credential - Filter by which login context was used
- Date range - Filter by when the issue was last seen
- Search - Full-text search across issue titles and descriptions
11Navigating from issues
Use links in the issues list or issue detail view to open the affected page quickly. Open the linked page when you want to verify the current app state, compare it with the recorded evidence, or continue investigation from the exact location Cofactor captured.
If the issue shows a relative URL, use the link as-is. Cofactor resolves relative links correctly from both the issues list and the issue detail view, so the destination page can still open correctly even when the captured URL is not a full absolute address.
After the linked page opens, use your browser back button or return to the issue to keep triage moving. This helps reduce confusion when you move between the source page and the issue evidence during investigation.
12Bulk Actions
Select multiple issues to perform bulk actions:
- Archive - Remove from default view
- Export - Download as CSV for reporting
13Jira Integration
If you've connected Jira, you can create tickets directly from issues. The Jira ticket will be linked to the Cofactor issue and kept in sync.
See Jira Integration for setup instructions.
14Collaboration and triage
Use issue comments and follow-up tasks together to keep triage decisions visible in one place. Review the evidence, leave context in the thread, and mention the teammates who need to weigh in before you move work forward.
15Best Practices
- Triage regularly - Review new issues daily to catch problems early while context is fresh
- Use follow-up tasks for investigation - Move from the issue into the linked task to assign work, track investigation, and keep next steps visible
- Use categories - Organize issues by team or feature for better routing
- Verify fixes - Run tests after deploying fixes to confirm resolution
- Archive, don't delete - Keep a record of past issues for trend analysis