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kdzwinel/betwixt

★ 4,562JavaScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 2/5LicenseSetup · moderate

TLDR

Betwixt is a desktop app that lets you watch and analyze all network traffic on your computer using the same visual panel found in Chrome's developer tools, not just traffic from the browser.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((betwixt))
    What it does
      Network traffic viewer
      System-wide proxy
      DevTools interface
    Platforms
      macOS
      Windows
      Ubuntu
    Features
      HTTPS capture
      Single terminal mode
      Chrome DevTools UI
    Install
      Prebuilt release
      Build from source
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Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Inspect what network requests a desktop app or command-line tool is making behind the scenes

USE CASE 2

Debug API calls from any process on your computer using a familiar Chrome DevTools-style interface

USE CASE 3

Capture and analyze HTTPS traffic from any app by routing it through Betwixt's local proxy

Tech stack

JavaScriptElectron

Getting it running

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Capturing HTTPS traffic requires installing a certificate separately, system proxy must be pointed to Betwixt's local address.

Use freely for any purpose including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

In plain English

Betwixt is a desktop application that lets you watch and analyze web traffic on your computer using the same visual interface found in Chrome's developer tools. Developers typically use Chrome DevTools to inspect network requests inside the browser, but Betwixt brings that same panel to traffic outside the browser, covering any app or process on your machine. To use it, you install Betwixt and then tell your operating system to route traffic through it. On macOS, Windows, and Ubuntu, this involves pointing the system's proxy settings to a local address that Betwixt listens on. If you only want to watch traffic from a single terminal window rather than all system traffic, you can set a one-line environment variable instead. Capturing HTTPS traffic requires an extra step to install a certificate, which is covered in a separate doc file. The tool is built with Electron, which means it runs as a standalone desktop app across different operating systems rather than in the browser. You can download a prebuilt release or build it yourself from the source code. The README is brief and does not describe what analysis features the interface provides beyond what can be inferred from the Chrome DevTools network panel comparison. The project is open to contributions and is licensed under the MIT license.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
How do I set up Betwixt on macOS to capture all system network traffic by pointing the system proxy to Betwixt's local address?
Prompt 2
Show me how to capture HTTPS traffic in Betwixt by installing the required certificate on my machine
Prompt 3
How do I use Betwixt to monitor network requests from a single terminal window only, without routing all system traffic through it?
Prompt 4
How do I build Betwixt from source if I do not want to use a prebuilt release?
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