Cortex Code is Snowflake's AI coding assistant that helps you write code, query data, and build applications directly from the command line. Every session you run is automatically saved as a JSON transcript on your machine. But what if you want to share a session with a teammate, embed it in documentation, or present it in a talk?

cortex-replay is a CLI tool that converts those Cortex Code session JSON transcripts into self-contained, interactive HTML replays. Adapted from claude-replay by es617, cortex-replay builds on that foundation with Cortex Code-specific parsing, turn-based navigation, multi-theme support, and automatic secret redaction. The output is a single HTML file with no external dependencies that anyone can open in a browser. It features turn-by-turn navigation, animated playback, syntax-highlighted code blocks, keyboard shortcuts, theme support, and secret redaction.

A fully interactive, self-contained HTML replay of a Cortex Code session that you can open in any browser, share with colleagues, or embed in a webpage. See a live example.

Install cortex-replay globally so it is available as a command anywhere on your system:

Verify the installation by viewing the help:

If you prefer to install from source or want to contribute:

Cortex Code automatically saves every session as a JSON file in ~/.snowflake/cortex/conversations/. Each file is named with a unique session ID. A special .last-session file points to the most recently used session.

To see all available sessions with their IDs, dates, and turn counts:

This scans your conversations directory and displays a table of sessions. Use this to find the session ID you want to replay.

Each session file follows the naming pattern:

You can also point cortex-replay at any JSON file directly by passing the file path as the first argument (covered in the next section).

Generate a replay by passing a session ID (from --list-sessions) as the first argument. You don't need the full UUID — the first 4–6 characters are usually enough for cortex-replay to find a unique match:

Here 6868f is the first 5 characters of the full session ID 6868f059-3b8a-423d-8a51-ef0397c7f469. That's all cortex-replay needs to find a unique match.

By default, cortex-replay outputs to stdout. Use -o to write to a file.

Control where the HTML file is saved:

If your session JSON is not in the default Cortex Code directory, pass the file path directly as the first argument:

Override the default title shown in the replay header:

Open the generated HTML file in any browser. You can double-click the file in your file manager, open it from the terminal, or copy-paste the file path into your browser's address bar:

The replay is fully self-contained with all CSS, JavaScript, and session data inlined into a single file. No server or internet connection is needed — it works directly from your filesystem.

The generated HTML replay is a fully interactive player. Here is how to navigate it.

The player has a control bar at the bottom of the screen with these controls:

The player supports keyboard navigation:

Each turn in the replay has a unique color. As you navigate or scroll, the active turn is highlighted at full opacity with a colored left border and glow effect. Previous turns are shown at reduced opacity, and future turns are dimmed. The multi-colored progress bar at the bottom reflects these turn colors, so you can see the session structure at a glance.

You can also navigate by simply scrolling. The player automatically detects which turn you are viewing and updates the progress bar and highlighting to match. This works seamlessly with both tall turns that fill the viewport and short single-line turns.

cortex-replay includes six built-in themes and supports fully custom themes.

Apply a theme with the --theme flag:

Available built-in themes:

Create a JSON file with any combination of the 16 CSS variables:

You only need to include the variables you want to override. Apply it with:

Bookmarks let you mark key moments in a session so viewers can jump directly to them. This is useful for long sessions where you want to highlight important steps.

Pass bookmark labels keyed to turn numbers using the --mark flag:

The format is turn_number:label. Turn numbers are 1-based.

Bookmarks appear as a dropdown menu in the player controls. Click any bookmark to jump directly to that turn. This is especially valuable for sessions with dozens of turns where you want to guide viewers to the highlights.

For long sessions, you may want to include only a subset of turns in the replay.

Use the --turns flag to include a range of turns (1-based):

This includes turns 5 through 15 in the replay.

Filtering is useful when you want to:

cortex-replay automatically scans session content for sensitive information and redacts it before generating the HTML.

By default, the tool detects and replaces the following categories of secrets:

Each detected secret is replaced with [REDACTED] in the output.

If you are working in a controlled environment and want to skip the redaction step:

Use this with caution. Always review the output before sharing if you skip redaction.

Override the default playback speed multiplier:

The default is 1.0. Higher values mean faster auto-playback.

The replay header automatically shows the session ID. When combined with --title, both the custom title and session ID are displayed.

All options can be combined freely:

The generated HTML is a single self-contained file with no external dependencies, making it straightforward to embed in other contexts.

Use an iframe to embed the replay in any HTML page:

For documentation platforms that support HTML embedding (e.g., Notion, Confluence, GitHub Pages), upload the HTML file and reference it via iframe or direct link.

Since the output is a single HTML file with everything inlined (CSS, JavaScript, content), you can share it through any channel:

Here is the complete list of all cortex-replay CLI options:

Congratulations! You've successfully learned how to convert Cortex Code sessions into interactive HTML replays using cortex-replay. You can now generate shareable replays, navigate them with keyboard shortcuts and player controls, apply themes, add bookmarks, filter turns, and embed replays in your documentation and presentations.

Documentation:

Acknowledgments: