The Busymate DevTools Android app captures your phone's traffic system-wide and decrypts HTTPS for the domains you choose. Setup takes four steps: install, accept the consent screen, sign in (which pairs the phone), and install the certificate.
Install
- Google Play: install Busymate DevTools. It needs Android 7.0 or later and updates through Play.
- Sideload APK: open android.busymate.dev on the phone (or scan its QR code), tap Download APK, allow your browser to install unknown apps when Android asks, then open the file and tap Install.
The two builds are signed differently, so one cannot be installed over the other. Uninstall one before installing the other.
Accept the consent screen
On first launch the app shows Before you start. It explains what is captured (URLs, headers and bodies of this device's traffic), where it is stored (your Busymate workspace), and that you can stop capture at any time. Tap I understand — continue. Nothing is captured before you accept.
Sign in (this pairs the phone)
Sign in with Google, or with the email and password of your Busymate DevTools account. Signing in is pairing: the phone receives its own device credential and appears in the dashboard's Devices tab as Online. There is no pairing code.
Don't have an account yet? Create one by signing in at dash.busymate.dev.
Install the certificate
HTTPS can only be decrypted once the phone trusts the Busymate certificate authority (CA).
- On the home screen, tap the Setup incomplete card. The Set up capture sheet opens.
- Download the certificate.
- Install & trust the certificate: open Settings → Security → Encryption & credentials → Install a certificate → CA certificate, then pick the Busymate DevTools CA file. The menu names vary slightly between Android brands.
- Allow notifications, so the app can show capture status.
The card turns green (Ready — Certificate installed and trusted) when every step passes. On a rooted phone the sheet offers Trust system-wide instead, which installs the CA into the system store.
Your own app: since Android 7.0, apps ignore user-installed CAs unless they opt in. Browsers decrypt right away; to decrypt your own app, add the network security config in Inspect your own Android app.
Start capturing
- Turn on the capture toggle on the home screen.
- Android asks to allow a VPN connection for Busymate DevTools. Tap OK. The VPN stays on the phone; it is how the app sees traffic.
- Use any app or website. Requests appear in the dashboard feed in real time and in the app's Network view.
To stop, turn the toggle off. To unpair, open the account pill on the home screen and sign out, or remove the device from the dashboard.
Next
- Set up your devices: the other platforms.
- Devices: rename, control and remove paired devices.
- Get help from inside the app.