HAR File Parser
Parse HTTP Archive files to inspect network requests, responses, and timings.
What Is a HAR File?
A HAR (HTTP Archive) file is a JSON-formatted log of all network requests made by a web browser during a session. You can export one from Chrome DevTools by opening the Network tab, right-clicking any request, and choosing "Save all as HAR with content". Firefox and Safari have equivalent export options. HAR files are invaluable for debugging API calls, measuring page load performance, diagnosing authentication failures, and sharing network traces with teammates without needing to reproduce issues live. This parser lets you inspect all requests, filter by URL, method, and status code, and expand any entry to see full request/response headers and body content. Everything runs in your browser — HAR files often contain authentication tokens and sensitive data, so nothing is uploaded to any server.
Built and maintained by Meet Shah · Last updated
What this tool is used for
- Inspecting a HAR export from DevTools without loading it back into a browser.
- Finding the slowest request in a captured session.
- Reading a response body from a capture someone sent you.
- Checking which requests carried a particular header.
- Reproducing a request from a capture as a curl command.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I get a HAR file?
- In Chrome DevTools, open the Network tab, right-click any request and choose "Save all as HAR with content". Firefox and Safari have equivalents. The "with content" part matters — without it you get timings and headers but no response bodies.
- What is in a HAR that a screenshot of the Network tab is not?
- Everything machine-readable: every request and response header, the full timing breakdown per request, response bodies, cookies, and the exact ordering. It is a complete record, which is why it is what support teams ask for when a bug will not reproduce on their machine.
- What do the timing phases mean?
- `send` is writing the request, `wait` is the server thinking — time to first byte — and `receive` is streaming the response down. A large `wait` with a small `receive` is a slow backend; the reverse is a large payload or a slow connection. They separate two problems that look identical from outside.
- Is it safe to share a HAR file?
- Usually not without editing. A HAR captures Authorization headers, session cookies, tokens in query strings and any personal data in request or response bodies — everything needed to impersonate you. Strip credentials before sending one to anybody, and treat one you receive as sensitive.
- Does the file get uploaded to be parsed?
- No. It is read and parsed entirely in your browser, which matters more here than for most tools precisely because of what a HAR contains. Nothing leaves the machine, so a trace with live session cookies in it stays where it is.
Common errors and gotchas
- Sharing a HAR file without redacting it, since captures routinely contain cookies and tokens.
- Assuming timings are comparable across captures taken under different conditions.
- Overlooking that a HAR may omit response bodies depending on how it was exported.
- Reading HTTP/2 pseudo-headers as ordinary headers, which they are not.
- Treating a HAR as a complete record, when extensions and caching change what appears.