Getting all HTTP headers and traffic programmatically in Chrome

Question

I need to get a frame's HTTP headers programmatically from Javascript. It doesn't need to be portable (I only need it for Chrome) and I don't mind having to add/write a specific extension.

Or, even better and more importantly, I need to have access to all network traffic from and to a specific site programmatically as it happens.

Is there a way to do this? Do I need to write my own extension to make it happen? And if so, can I write the extension in Javascript?

Writing an extension seems to be the only way to go. I could write one and use the chrome.* API like here: https://developer.chrome.com/extensions/devtools_network If writing an extension is the way to go, how would you go about it?

Answer 1

The chrome.network.devtools API can only be used in a devtools extension, which is only active when the devtools for a page has been opened.

With the chrome.webRequest extension API, you can access the following information:

• Request headers (read / modify)
• Request body (read-only, editing not (yet) implemented)
• Response headers (read / modify)
• Response body (reading / editing not implemented yet)

Requests can be filtered by URLs, request types and per tab/window.

These APIs are only available to extensions, so you have to develop a Chrome extension. Read the Getting started tutorial to get started.