How to see what the browser sends

Question

I need to see exactly what the browser sends to a form, for debugging purposes. I have the "tamper data" addon for Mozilla, but it doesn't show me what I am looking for. What I need is a text file with all that the browser sends, it should look like this:

Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=AaB03x

   --AaB03x
   Content-Disposition: form-data; name="submit-name"

   Larry
   --AaB03x
   Content-Disposition: form-data; name="files"
   Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary=BbC04y

   --BbC04y
   Content-Disposition: file; filename="file1.txt"
   Content-Type: text/plain

Answer 1

For more detailed information you could use WireShark. This program allows you monitor just about all traffic. It has a rather steep learning curve, when you get it, it is an awesome help.

Mostly I use Firebug. Setting the Console to 'persist' allows you to check GET/POST when submitting your form.

Answer 2

The Firebug addon for Firefox can capture the data that you want. You will need to manually compile the data captured into the format that you want though.

Answer 3

The best tool that I've used for the job is Fiddler. It lets you see the content of all the HTTP requests to and from your machine. One gotcha on Firefox though - make sure you restart once Fiddler is installed, and then go to the "Fiddler: Disabled" button in your status bar and select an option so that your Firefox traffic is watched as well.