What is a HAR file?+
A HAR (HTTP Archive) file is a JSON-formatted record of all network requests made by a browser session. It includes URLs, methods, status codes, timing data, request/response headers, and body payloads. Useful for debugging performance and API issues.
How do I export a HAR file from Chrome?+
Open DevTools (F12), go to the Network tab, record your page load or action, then right-click the request list and choose 'Save all as HAR with content'. The downloaded .har file contains the full network log.
What can I learn from a HAR file?+
Total page load time, slowest requests, render-blocking resources, failed requests, redirect chains, cookie sizes, response payload sizes, time to first byte (TTFB), and API error responses with their payloads.
Are HAR files safe to share?+
HAR files contain sensitive data: session cookies, auth tokens, API keys in headers and URLs, and response bodies with user data. Always sanitise HAR files before sharing by removing Set-Cookie headers and Authorization values.