HTTP Toolkit : Intercept and Debug HTTP Requests

When you open a website in your web browser, the web browser sends HTTP requests to fetch data from the web servers. All this HTTP conversation with the server takes place in the background and the users don’t get to see any of it except perhaps in very simple status text in the browser.

If you are a developer and want to analyze how an application communicates with a web server then you can make use of the open-source HTTP Toolkit. It is a set of tools designed to help you intercept, debug and test the HTTP requests sent from a client software (such as your web browser) to a web server (such as trishtech.com).

HTTP Toolkit

HTTP Toolkit supports a number of client applications to be monitored such as Google Chrome browser, Mozilla Firefox browser, Terminal (cmd.exe) or any client configured to use proxy. In the future, it plans to support many more software and devices such as Apple Safari browser, Microsoft Edge browser, Android devices, iOS devices, a networked device, or VirtualBox machines.

HTTP Toolkit

You have to simply click on any of the supported client shortcuts in HTTP Toolkit window to launch them with the proper configuration so that their connections can be monitored by HTTP Toolkit. If you want to monitor HTTPS communications as well then you will have to allow local SSL certificate from HTTP Toolkit.

HTTP Toolkit

You will see the list of monitored applications in the “Intercept” tab while the actual HTTP requests are shown in the “View” tab. If you want to test or mock the HTTP communication, then you have to switch to the “Mock” tab. You can simulate the HTTP errors to test how your web client software behaves. You can create rules to rewrite HTTP requests and responses.

You can download HTTP Toolkit from https://httptoolkit.tech/.