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HAR file for troubleshooting
HAR file for troubleshooting
Andy Kostenko avatar
Written by Andy Kostenko
Updated over a week ago

When an error happens, it is necessary for us to figure out additional information about the network requests in your browser while an issue. Short.io service team may request you to record a HAR file, or a log of network requests, while that issue is occurring and then send it to the Short.io team for discovering the error.

Note: HAR files contain sensitive data, including content of the pages you downloaded while recording and your cookies. This allows anyone with the HAR file to impersonate your account and all the information that you submitted while recording (personal details, passwords, credit card numbers, etc.).

Below are some instructions about how you can easily generate a HAR file using different browsers.

Generating the HAR file for Chrome

  1. Open Google Chrome and go to the page where the issue is occurring.

  2. From the Chrome menu bar select More Tools > Developer Tools.

  3. From the panel opened, select the Network tab.

  4. Look for a round Record button ( ) in the upper left corner of the tab, and make sure it is red. If it is grey, click it once to start recording.

  5. Check the box Preserve log.

  6. Click the Clear button to clear out any existing logs from the Network tab.

  7. Reproduce the issue that you were experiencing before, while the network requests are being recorded.

  8. Once you have reproduced the issue, right-click anywhere on the grid of network requests, select Save as HAR with Content, and save the file to your computer.

  9. Upload your HAR file to your ticket or attach it to your email so that our Support team can analyze it.

Here is a brief guide:

Generating the HAR file for Firefox

  1. Open Firefox and go to the page where you are experiencing trouble.

  2. Select the Firefox menu (three horizontal parallel lines) at the top-right of your browser window, then select Web Developer.

  3. The Developer Network Tools opens as a docked panel at the side or bottom of Firefox. Click the Network tab.

  4. The recording autostarts when you start performing actions in the browser.

  5. Once you have reproduced the issue and you see that all of the actions have been generated in the Developer Network Panel (should just take a few seconds), right-click anywhere under the File column and click on Save all as Har.

  6. Save the HAR file somewhere convenient.

  7. Upload your HAR file to your ticket or attach it to your email so that we may analyze it.

Here is a brief guide:

Generating the HAR file for Safari

Make sure you can see the Develop menu in Safari. If it not, follow the instructions Use the developer tools in the Develop menu in Safari on Mac.

  1. Open the Develop menu > Show Web Inspector.

  2. Click the Network tab and complete the activity that is causing issues.

  3. Click the Export icon and save the HAR file.

  4. Send the file to support.

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