# Autocapture & data attributes

> What OakData captures automatically, and the HTML attributes and classes that opt elements in or out of capture and replay.

Source: https://oakdata.co/docs/sdk/autocapture

---

With `autocapture: true` (the default), OakData records interactions without per-element instrumentation. It listens for clicks, form submits, input changes, and copies at the document level, resolves the meaningful target (walking up to the nearest link, button, or element with a `role`), and attaches a structured descriptor of that element to the event.

## What gets captured

| Name | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `$click` | auto | Every click. Includes the element, its ancestor chain, coordinates, and modifier keys. |
| `$rage_click` | auto | Emitted alongside $click when three or more clicks land in the same spot within a second. |
| `$dead_click` | auto | A click that caused no DOM mutation and no navigation within 300ms - a sign of a broken control. |
| `$outbound_click` | auto | A click on an anchor pointing to a different host. |
| `$form_submit` | auto | A form submission, with a summary of each field. Password fields are always excluded. |
| `$input_change` | auto | A change on an input, select, or textarea. The value is masked unless input capture is enabled. |
| `$copy` | auto | Text copied to the clipboard, with the selection length and a short preview. |
| `$fingerprint` | auto | Emitted once per device, when the tiered hardware fingerprint first resolves (or drifts after a driver update). The value is also cached, so later visits carry it from their very first event. |

> **Environment signals, no permissions** Alongside device context, events carry a small set of permissionless environment signals: OS appearance and reduced-motion preferences, the full language list, storage quota (rounded to GB), and media device counts. None of them trigger a browser prompt; they feed the [profile matching confidence score](https://oakdata.co/docs/concepts/identity) to help distinguish different people on identical hardware.

> **Input values are not captured** Autocapture records element *structure* (tag, id, classes, text, selector), not what users type. Input and form values are masked unless you explicitly enable input capture, and `<input type="password">` is never recorded.

## Opting elements out: data-oak-ignore

Add `data-oak-ignore` to any element to exclude it - and everything inside it - from autocapture. Clicks, changes, submits, and copies within the subtree are dropped.

**ignore.html**

```html
<!-- Nothing in this region is autocaptured -->
<section data-oak-ignore>
  <button>Internal debug action</button>
</section>
```

## Declarative events: data-oak-event

To turn a click into a named custom event without writing JavaScript, put `data-oak-event` on (or above) the clickable element. Add `data-oak-prop-*` attributes to attach properties - the suffix becomes the property name.

**declarative.html**

```html
<button
  data-oak-event="pricing_cta_clicked"
  data-oak-prop-plan="pro"
  data-oak-prop-position="hero"
>
  Get started free
</button>
```

This fires `pricing_cta_clicked` with `{ plan: "pro", position: "hero" }`, in addition to the normal `$click`. Property values are always strings - they come from HTML attributes.

## Session replay privacy classes

When [session replay](https://oakdata.co/docs/concepts/replay-privacy) is enabled, three CSS class names control what the recorder captures. Add them as ordinary classes on the elements you want to protect.

| Name | Type | Description |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `oak-mask` | class | Masks the element's text in the recording (replaced with blocks), while keeping its shape and position. |
| `oak-ignore-input` | class | Drops the typed value of an input from the recording. The field is visible; what was entered is not. |
| `oak-no-capture` | class | Blocks the element and its entire subtree from the recording - rendered as an empty placeholder. |

**replay-privacy.html**

```html
<!-- Text shown as blocks in replay -->
<p class="oak-mask">Order total: $4,210.00</p>

<!-- Value never recorded -->
<input class="oak-ignore-input" name="ssn" />

<!-- Whole widget blocked from the recording -->
<div class="oak-no-capture">
  <CreditCardForm />
</div>
```

> **Inputs are masked by default in replay** Replay masks all input values by default, and passwords stay masked even if input masking is turned off. The classes above are for finer-grained control. See [replay privacy & masking](https://oakdata.co/docs/concepts/replay-privacy).