HttpWatch integrates with Chrome, Edge and Internet Explorer browsers to show you the HTTP and HTTPS traffic that is generated when you access a web page. Select a request in HttpWatch and everything you need to know is display in a tabbed window. Cookies, Headers, Query Strings and POST data can be quickly viewed, searched and exported to other formats. You don't have to be an HTTP expert or have to read the HTTP RFC to understand headers. Simply hold the mouse pointer over a header and a data tip explains how it is used. HttpWatch groups together requests within a heading for each page making it much easier to understand multi-page steps, e.g. log in, search and update pages.

Page level time charts are displayed and updated in real-time as you record requests in HttpWatch. This gives a direct, visual indication of how a site is performing - allowing common problems to be diagnosed at a glance. The time chart displayed for each request is broken down into a number of colored sections to show network level timings such as DNS lookup, TCP connect and SSL Handshake. HttpWatch is able to show browser event timings alongside the network level HTTP waterfall chart. Timings such as the Render Start and Page Load events are useful metrics for determining when content starts to be displayed and when the page appears to be complete. Performance warnings are displayed when the speed of an HTTP request or resource download could be improved. The warning includes information about how the web server should be configured to avoid the issue.

Setting up HttpWatch just takes a few minutes. After running the install program simply open Chrome, Edge or IE and then confirm that you want to enable the HttpWatch add-on. HttpWatch can then be opened to view the network traffic for any web page. Local admin rights are required to run the setup program but after installation HttpWatch can be used from non-admin accounts. HttpWatch is able to display HTTPS traffic without having to decrypt it first because it is integrated within the browser. This means you don't need to have access to private keys or modify trusted SSL root certificates. Depending on how you have setup Windows, IE 11 may be running in 64-bit mode and have Enhanced Protected Mode (EPM) enabled. HttpWatch supports these different configurations without any additional changes or reinstallation.

The SSL tab displays information about the type of certificates and encryption used to setup an HTTPS connection. Potential issues are highlighted as being of 'medium' or 'weak' strength'. Warnings are displayed when a potential security issue is detected on an HTTPS page. HttpWatch shows you all the data that a secure web server delivers to the browser allowing you to check that sensitive field values and internal configuration details are not accidentally exposed through the web interface.

The free Basic Edition of HttpWatch for Windows allows anyone to send you a detailed HttpWatch log file (HWL) without having to make a purchase. This feature is often used by software companies to diagnose issues that their customers have reported in their web based systems. A common problem with collecting HTTP trace files from customers or users is that the file may contain the password that was entered during login. HttpWatch is configured by default to mask out suspected password fields in submitted web forms. The output from the Edge and Chrome console is recorded in HWL files making it easier to remotely debug issues in PWAs (Progress Web Applications) and code executing in WebAssembly. Log files recorded in HttpWatch Basic contain the same level of detail as HttpWatch Professional but only a limited amount of information is displayed by default. This information is available when you open the file in HttpWatch Professional.

HttpWatch has an extensive automation API allowing it to be controlled from most popular programming languages - C#, Ruby, Python, JavaScript, etc. HttpWatch can be integrated with automated test frameworks for IE, such as Watir and Selenium so that you can detect HTTP level errors and performance issues during testing. Log files can be collected without any programming by enabling the automatic recording and saving feature. This can be useful if you have users running manual tests and you need to keep a record of performance metrics and errors.