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How to generate a HAR file

Article Number: 000020177

Environment

  • Web Browser (Firefox or Chrome)
  • A browser that can reproduce the issue, we've covered Chrome and Firefox in this article.
  • The issue should be occurring or reproducible at the time of the collection to contain an example of the issue.

Situation

When troubleshooting an issue that is reproducible in a browser, it is sometimes necessary to have additional information about the requests and responses. You may be requested to generate a HAR file recording to capture this and attach this to a ticket for analysis.

Please note, the information collected in a HAR file can contain sensitive data like content, headers, and cookies. This is not always the case, and some information is transient only. However, please check and santise the information as necessary before uploading.

Resolution

Open your browser ready to reproduce the issue.

Shortcut
Using the F12 button you can quickly open the Developer Tools on FireFox and Chrome.

Chrome

  • From the menu, select View > Developer > Developer Tools
  • From the pane, click on the Network tab
  • Locate the Preserve log setting in the upper left and ensure it is checked
  • Locate the record button, it should be a red circle to indicate that it is currently recording, if it is grey, click it once to start recording
  • Follow any steps needed to reproduce the issue during the recording
  • Note: immediately before triggering the action that reproduces the issue, also reload the page (eg. via CTRL+R). For example, if the issue manifests when navigating to a page, then go to the the page containing the link leading to it, first reload the page, and then click to reproduce the issue.
  • Once the issue has occurred, click the "export HAR (sanitized)" button , top right, in the second row of icons. You can no choose a name and location for the file.

Firefox

  • From the menu, select Tools > Browser Tools > Web Developer Tools
  • In the top of the new panel that has opened at the bottom of the page click "Network"
  • The recording to start automatically with any further navigation in the browser
  • Follow any steps needed to reproduce the issue with the network pane open
  • Note: immediately before triggering the action that reproduces the issue, also reload the page (eg. via CTRL+R). For example, if the issue manifests when navigating to a page, then go to the the page containing the link leading to it, first reload the page, and then click to reproduce the issue.
  • Once the issue has occurred, right click in the pane and select Save all as HAR

Upload the HAR file

Generally, HAR files are small in size, however if the file are too large to upload directly to the ticket, please request or use the provided temporary upload location.