HAR File Generation for Troubleshooting

When troubleshooting issues seen in web browsers such as Aunsight or AUGR platform UI issues, or connectivity issues with embedded dashboards, or similar behavior, a HAR file showing the data flowing into and out of the browser can be extremely useful to determine the cause of the issues.

Since this type of file can contain sensitive data such as bearer tokens, usernames, cookies and other authentication data, it is important that these files are handled securely. There are a few options to remove or obfuscate this data, but the one we recommend is from Cloudflare: HAR Sanitizer tool by Cloudflare

How to Generate a HAR File

To generate the HAR file, please use the steps below:

  1. Open the Browser developer console

    1. Chrome: press F12 or right-click on the page and select Inspect.

    2. Firefox: press Ctrl+Shift+I or F12.

    3. Edge: press F12 or right-click on the page and select Inspect.

    4. Safari: press Command+Option+I.

  2. Navigate to the Network Tab
    Network Tab

  3. Reload the page and replicate the steps you took to see the issue

  4. Right click on one of the entries in the list of data that should have generated

  5. Select 'save all as HAR' or a similar presented option.

  6. Name the file with you name, date the file was generated (YYYY-MM-DD), and if applicable, the ticket number for the ticket where the issue was reported (Jira or Autotask ticket number is fine).

Sanitizing the HAR File

Once the HAR is generated, it needs to be sanitized before being provided to the Support Team. To sanitize it, please navigate to HAR Sanitizer tool by Cloudflare, and upload the file. From there it will detect the data types available in the file, and allow you to select the ones that need to be removed.

Since there are potentially dozens of data types that should be removed, the list below is not exhaustive, but please exercise your best judgement. If there is important data missing from the file, our support staff may ask that the file be re-sanitized leaving in specific data or data types.

Please remove the following data types as a baseline:

  • All Cookies
  • All “access-control” options
  • Any “tokens”
  • Any “access-control” options
  • Any “keys”
  • Any “authorization” options

You can use the search option built into your browser to (ctrl+f, cmd+f) to locate options indicated in the above list, check-mark them, and then press the Download Sanitized Har button to download the sanitized file.

Provide the sanitized file to support by attaching it to the ticket. The tool linked above will append “redacted” to the beginning of the file name, so you can tell which file is the cleaned version.