> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.craftflow.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Auto-Start Recordings

> Trigger recordings automatically from your app using deep links — so field professionals never have to think about hitting record.

## Overview

Recording calls is only valuable if it actually happens consistently. The best way to ensure that is to remove the manual step entirely.

Craft accepts deep links that let your existing software — a field management app, a CRM, a dispatch system — automatically start and stop recordings at the right moment. The field professional opens their job, and recording starts. They complete the job, and recording stops. No extra taps required.

<Note>
  Auto-start deep links are currently supported on **iOS only**.
</Note>

***

## How It Works

Your app opens a `craftflow://` deep link at the right moment. Craft handles the recording action and then redirects the field professional back to your app — all in under a second.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Field professional opens a job in your app">
    Your app constructs a Craft deep link for the `start` action and opens it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Craft starts recording">
    The Craft app comes to the foreground briefly, starts the recording, then immediately redirects back to your app via the `redirectUrl`.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Field professional completes the job">
    They do their work normally. Recording is running in the background.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Your app triggers stop">
    When the job is marked complete (or at any appropriate moment), your app opens a `stop` deep link. Craft saves the recording and redirects back.
  </Step>
</Steps>

***

## URL Format

```
craftflow://record?action={action}&appointmentId={appointmentId}&redirectUrl={redirectUrl}
```

***

## Parameters

<ParamField query="action" type="string" required>
  The recording action to perform. Must be one of: `start`, `stop`, or `pause`.

  * **`start`** — Starts a new recording. If a recording is already in progress, does nothing. If a recording is paused, resumes it.
  * **`pause`** — Pauses the current recording. If no recording is in progress or it's already paused, does nothing.
  * **`stop`** — Stops and saves the current recording. Skips any post-recording screens. If no recording is in progress, does nothing.

  All actions are **idempotent** — it's safe to call them multiple times.
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="appointmentId" type="string">
  The ID of the job or appointment this recording should be associated with. This links the recording to the correct job in Craft and is used for reporting and tracking.

  Use your field management system's native job or appointment ID.
</ParamField>

<ParamField query="redirectUrl" type="string">
  A URL-encoded URL that Craft will open after the action is performed. Use this to bring the field professional back to your app immediately after recording starts or stops.

  Must be URL-encoded (e.g. `/` becomes `%2F`, `:` becomes `%3A`).
</ParamField>

***

## Examples

### Start a recording and redirect back to your app

```
craftflow://record?action=start&appointmentId=JOB-1234&redirectUrl=yourapp%3A%2F%2Fjobs%2FJOB-1234
```

### Pause a recording mid-job

```
craftflow://record?action=pause&appointmentId=JOB-1234
```

### Stop and save when the job is complete

```
craftflow://record?action=stop&appointmentId=JOB-1234&redirectUrl=yourapp%3A%2F%2Fjobs%2FJOB-1234%2Fcomplete
```

***

## Integration Tips

<Tip>
  **Don't ask field professionals to tap a button.** The whole point of auto-start is that recording happens automatically as part of their existing workflow. Trigger `start` when they open a job and `stop` when they mark it complete.
</Tip>

* **Use Universal Links on iOS** for your `redirectUrl` (e.g. `https://yourapp.com/jobs/123`).
* **URL-encode everything** in `redirectUrl` — encode the entire URL including the protocol.
* **Test idempotency** — if your app could accidentally fire `start` twice (e.g. due to a navigation re-render), that's fine. Craft handles it gracefully.

***

## Behavior Reference

| Current state | `start`           | `pause`          | `stop`        |
| ------------- | ----------------- | ---------------- | ------------- |
| Not recording | Starts recording  | No-op            | No-op         |
| Recording     | No-op             | Pauses recording | Stops & saves |
| Paused        | Resumes recording | No-op            | Stops & saves |