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ChatMock Screenshot Generator can create chat mockups in a browser, but a repeatable team fixture depends on more than exporting an image. Save the conversation’s exact inputs in a version-controlled specification, recreate them in ChatMock, review the preview, and commit the exported screenshot beside the specification. This is a manual, reviewable workflow—not a documented command-line or CI renderer.
Which ChatMock does this guide cover?
This guide is about ChatMock Screenshot Generator, a browser-based tool for making text-message mockups. It is not RayBytes/ChatMock, a separate project described as an API proxy. Features associated with that project should not be assumed to apply to the screenshot generator.
The screenshot generator’s product page identifies version 2.2.0 and describes the tool as free and client-side. It lists custom characters, a spreadsheet-style message editor, CSV import and export, image attachments, group conversations, a live phone preview, and PNG or JPG export. Projects can also be saved in browser storage or exported and imported as JSON. Product details and browser support can change, so check the live product page when choosing a workflow.
What makes a chat fixture reproducible?
A screenshot alone shows the result, not the inputs needed to recreate it. Keep a readable fixture specification with the exported image: the target platform, participants, ordered messages, wording, times, and intended output. Review changes to that specification in the same pull request as other test assets.
The specification is a team-process recommendation, not a native ChatMock import format. ChatMock documents project JSON import and export, but the cited documentation does not establish that it can import an arbitrary fixture-specification schema.
Build and review a fixture step by step
- Write down the fixture. Record a stable fixture ID, the phone platform or style, participant names and any relevant character details, message order and exact wording, timestamps, and desired export format. Add notes if they explain a deliberate choice, such as whose perspective the screenshot shows.
- Enter the conversation in ChatMock. Use the character and message editors, or import a CSV if it suits the fixture. ChatMock’s documented CSV columns are
Date,Time,From,To,Text,Image. Dates useYYYY-MM-DD, times use 24-hourHH:MM, and participant names must match. For spreadsheet data, check these details before importing. - Inspect the phone preview. Confirm the selected participant’s perspective, sender and recipient alignment, message order, timestamps, text wrapping, and platform styling. Check any image attachments and group participants too. A preview is an opportunity to catch specification or entry mistakes; it is not proof that another browser will render identical pixels.
- Export the screenshot. Choose PNG or JPG as appropriate. ChatMock says long conversations are split into phone-sized pages and multiple pages are bundled in a ZIP. Check the exported files rather than assuming a long conversation produced one image.
- Commit the specification and output together. Keep the readable inputs and exported asset side by side in the repository. Note when the screenshot was regenerated and why, especially if wording, order, or styling changed.
- Ask someone else to recreate it. Have a teammate follow the specification without relying on your memory or undocumented edits. If their conversation content or order differs, clarify the specification before treating the image as a stable baseline.
Choose an input format that teammates can review
A readable fixture specification
A small JSON or similarly structured text file can make the intended fixture explicit. For example, it can contain a fixture ID, platform, participants, an ordered list of messages with text and times, output format, resolution, and notes. Those fields are a suggested team schema; they are not evidence of a ChatMock-specific import format. The key benefit is that reviewers can see exactly what should be entered and spot changes to copy or sequence.
ChatMock’s CSV import
CSV can be convenient when messages already live in a spreadsheet. Match the documented column names and date/time formats, and make sure every sender and recipient name matches a participant in the project. The product page documents CSV import and export, but that does not make CSV a substitute for recording choices the CSV does not capture, such as the intended platform appearance or output notes.
ChatMock project JSON
ChatMock also documents exporting and importing projects as JSON. That may preserve a project for reopening in the tool; keep the human-readable fixture specification as well if teammates need a concise, reviewable statement of the expected conversation and output. The two files serve different purposes: one explains the fixture intent, while the exported project is a tool-specific saved project.
Quality checks before accepting a fixture
- Perspective and alignment: verify that sent and received messages appear on the intended sides for the selected participant.
- Sequence and times: check message order and ensure timestamps are consistent and increasing where the conversation requires it. ChatMock offers natural timestamps or per-message timestamps.
- Wrapping and clipping: inspect long messages in the preview and exported image. The workflow article suggests treating messages around 160 characters as a prompt to check wrapping; this is not a documented ChatMock limit.
- Platform chrome: compare the phone styling and header with an appropriate reference if platform fidelity matters. ChatMock lists automatic, iOS, and Android styling options.
- Independent reproduction: ask a second person to follow the saved specification and check whether the conversation structure and copy match.
- Output completeness: open the exported PNG or JPG and confirm the expected pages are present, especially when a long conversation creates multiple files.
What this workflow can—and cannot—automate
The documented process is manual editing, preview, and export in a browser. The cited sources do not document a ChatMock CLI, API, or automated CI renderer. A fixture specification and image in version control make review and re-creation easier, but they do not cause ChatMock to generate the image automatically or guarantee pixel-for-pixel results across runs and browsers.
A team that already uses screenshot-based visual regression testing could consider exported images as downstream visual assets. The workflow article mentions Percy, Chromatic, and BackstopJS as examples of such tools; that is not evidence of a ChatMock integration. Confirm the current capabilities of any visual-testing service separately.
Rank #4
Saving projects and handling conversation data
ChatMock’s product page says processing is client-side and that it has zero server communication. Those are the vendor’s claims, not an independent privacy audit. Use fictional fixture content where possible rather than entering real private conversations.
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →The same page says browser storage is typically limited to 5–10 MB and warns that image-heavy projects may not save successfully there. Export the project as JSON for a more durable backup, particularly when it includes images. The product page lists Chrome 90+, Firefox 88+, Safari 14+, and Edge 90+ as browser requirements; check the live page for current compatibility information.
Quick Recap
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