Importing HAR Files

Madhyamas can import traffic from HAR (HTTP Archive) files. HAR is a JSON-based standard produced by browser DevTools (Chrome, Firefox, Edge), Charles Proxy, Fiddler, and many other tools. Importing a HAR file creates a new session containing all the entries, so your live capture is never disturbed.

Why Import HAR?

• Replay traffic captured elsewhere — load a HAR exported from Chrome DevTools or another proxy and inspect it with Madhyamas' filtering, search, and detail views.
• Share bug reports — a teammate can send you a HAR file and you can load it directly into Madhyamas for analysis.
• Offline analysis — import a HAR recorded on a mobile device or in CI and examine the requests without needing a live proxy.

From the Web UI

1. Open the Traffic view
2. Click the Import button (upload icon) in the traffic sub-toolbar, next to the Export button
3. Select a .har file from your filesystem
4. The file is parsed and a new session named "Imported HAR" is created and automatically switched to
5. A confirmation alert shows how many entries were imported and how many were skipped

From the CLI

# Import a HAR file into a new session
madhyamas traffic import-har /path/to/traffic.har

# Name the new session and switch to it
madhyamas traffic import-har /path/to/traffic.har --name "Chrome capture" --switch

# Output the full result as JSON
madhyamas traffic import-har /path/to/traffic.har --json

The CLI reads the HAR file from disk, parses it, and sends it to the running Madhyamas server.

Supported HAR Versions

Both HAR 1.1 and HAR 1.2 are supported. The importer reads the log.entries[] array and converts each entry's request and response objects into Madhyamas traffic entries.

Field Mapping

HAR field	Madhyamas field
entry.request.method	request.method
entry.request.url	request.url, host, path
entry.request.headers[]	request.headers
entry.request.postData.text	request.body
entry.response.status	response.status_code
entry.response.headers[]	response.headers
entry.response.content.text	response.body
entry.response.content.mimeType	response.content_type
entry.startedDateTime	timestamp
entry.time	response.duration_ms

Base64-Encoded Bodies

HAR allows binary bodies to be base64-encoded. When content.encoding (response) or postData.encoding (request) is "base64", Madhyamas decodes the body before storing it.

Error Handling

Import is best-effort: a single invalid entry does not abort the entire import. Invalid entries are skipped and their error messages are collected in the result. The imported_count and skipped_count fields tell you how many entries succeeded and failed.

Limitations

• No WebSocket traffic — HAR does not capture WebSocket frames, so imported sessions won't contain WebSocket data.
• No granular timing — only the total entry.time (in milliseconds) is recorded as duration_ms; HAR's detailed timings block is not preserved.
• No SSL certificate details — HAR's serverCertificate fields are not imported.
• Headers are flattened — HAR headers with the same name are merged into a single comma-separated value (matching HTTP semantics).

Common Use Cases

Analyzing a Browser Capture

Export a HAR from Chrome DevTools while reproducing a bug, then import it into Madhyamas to use the richer filtering, search, and detail views — or to replay specific requests.

Sharing Debugging Context

A teammate sends you a HAR file from their machine. Import it into a named session to investigate without needing to reproduce the issue yourself.

Cross-Tool Migration

Bring traffic captured in Charles Proxy or Fiddler into Madhyamas by exporting it as HAR first, then importing it here.

See also

• Sessions — imported HAR files become sessions
• Traffic Inspection — viewing and filtering imported traffic
• Migrating from Charles Proxy — full Charles-to-Madhyamas workflow
• REST API reference — POST /api/traffic/import/har