Get HTTP requests and responses made using HttpWebRequest/HttpWebResponse to show in Fiddler

Question

Is there any way I can hook Fiddler up to capture requests and responses made using .NET HttpWebRequest and HttpWebResponse?

Answer 1

The Fiddler FAQ gives the answer to this.

You essentially route your HTTP traffic through Fiddler (i.e. Use Fiddler as a proxy).

Here's some links that will help:
Fiddler Web Debugging - Configuring Clients

Which in turn links to here:
Take the Burden Off Users with Automatic Configuration in .NET

You can achieve this via some configuration settings in the web.config file (for an ASP.NET application) like so:

<system.net>   <defaultProxy>     <proxy       proxyaddress="http://[your proxy address and port number]"       bypassonlocal="false"     />   </defaultProxy> </system.net> 

See here for complete details on the <defaultProxy> setting.

Alternatively, you can use a WebProxy object in your code using something like:

HttpWebRequest request = (HttpWebRequest)WebRequest.Create("[ultimate destination of your request]"); WebProxy myproxy = new WebProxy("[your proxy address]", false); request.Proxy = myproxy; request.Method = "GET"; HttpWebResponse response = (HttpWebResponse) request.GetResponse(); 

See here for complete details on the WebProxy class.

Also note the important "caveat" that is mentioned in the Fiddler FAQ:

Why don't I see traffic sent to http://localhost or http://127.0.0.1?
IE7 and the .NET Framework are hardcoded not to send requests for Localhost through any proxies, and as a proxy, Fiddler will not receive such traffic.

The workaround is to use your machine name as the hostname instead of Localhost or 127.0.0.1. So, for instance, rather than hitting http://localhost:8081/mytestpage.aspx, instead visit http://machinename:8081/mytestpage.aspx.

...Or, if you're using Fiddler v2.1.8 or later, just use http://ipv4.fiddler to hit localhost on the IPv4 adapter, or use http://ipv6.fiddler to hit localhost on the IPv6 adapter. This works especially well with the Visual Studio test webserver (codename: Cassini) because the test server only listens on the IPv4 loopback adapter.

Lastly, you could Customize your Rules file like so:

    static function OnBeforeRequest(oSession:Fiddler.Session)     {       if (oSession.HostnameIs("MYAPP"))       {         oSession.host = "127.0.0.1:8081";       }     }   

...and then just hit http://myapp, which will act as an alias for 127.0.0.1:8081.

Answer 2

If you can't, Wireshark is a similar tool that works at the network hardware level, so it can capture network traffic from any application.

Wireshark is a bit more complex than Fiddler, and more general, but it's a great tool to have in your toolbox, and worth investigating a bit of time into.