Inspect Node.JS HTTPS traffic

Question

To inspect HTTP traffic between a Node.JS server and a client I simply use WireShark. For HTTPS traffic, WireShark is less useful for inspection because the payloads are encrypted.

Is there a Node.JS utility to inspect the (unencrypted) HTTPS traffic it generates?

I assume you don't have the possibility to host the Node.JS application on your own machine and/or edit the source code? (To insert a traffic dumping routine?) — Christian, Dec 28 '13 at 14:41
Possible duplicate of [Can a proxy (like fiddler) be used with Node.js's ClientRequest](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/8697344/can-a-proxy-like-fiddler-be-used-with-node-jss-clientrequest) — KyleMit, Jan 15 '19 at 16:44

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 28 '13 at 20:19

There is generally three ways to inspect ssl connection:

view at the client
view at the server
execute MitM

Pick any one you want.

Here's traffic dumping monkeypatch for server-side node v0.11.x:

  var tmp = require('_http_server')._connectionListener
  require('_http_server')._connectionListener = function(socket) {
     socket.on('data', function(data) {
        console.log(data.toString('utf8'))
     })
     var w = socket.write
     socket.write = function(data) {
        console.log(data.toString('utf8'))
        w.apply(socket, arguments)
     }
     tmp.apply(this, arguments)
  }

Inspect Node.JS HTTPS traffic

1 Answers1