Quickstart

Pick a capture client and see your first decrypted request in the dashboard in a few minutes.

This guide gets you from nothing to your first decrypted request in the dashboard. Pick the capture client that matches what you're debugging — the steps all end in the same place.

1. Sign in to the dashboard

Open dash.busymate.net and sign in with Apple or email. This is where every captured request will appear, no matter which client you use. Keep the tab open in a second window — you'll watch traffic land here live.

See Sign in for details.

2. Choose a capture client

iOS appphone / iPad trafficProxy serverAndroid · browser · backendbmc CLIa Chrome instance

Option A — capture a Chrome instance (fastest, no certificate)

If you just want to see traffic from a website or a web app, the bmc CLI is the quickest path — no proxy, no certificate to trust.

bash
# install
curl -fsSL https://cdp.busymate.net/install.sh | sh
 
# sign in (opens your browser)
bmc login
 
# in any folder, launch a captured Chrome
bmc start

A Chrome window opens. Browse to any site — its requests stream straight to the dashboard. Full guide: Capture a Chrome.

Option B — capture an iOS device

To debug an iPhone or iPad system-wide:

  1. Install BusymateHelper from TestFlight at ios.busymate.net.
  2. Sign in — this pairs the device to your account automatically.
  3. Install and fully trust the certificate so HTTPS can be decrypted.
  4. Add the apps/domains you care about to the SSL-proxy list and turn on capture.

Step-by-step: Install & pair → Trust the certificate.

Prefer PAC mode — a Wi-Fi proxy instead of a full VPN tunnel? Follow Set up Wi-Fi PAC for the full walkthrough, including a screen recording of the whole flow.

Option C — capture Android, a browser, or a backend

Run the proxy server, point your client at it, and trust its certificate. Everything that client sends now flows through the dashboard.

3. Watch it land

Switch back to the dashboard. New requests appear at the top of the feed the moment they happen. Click one to open the inspector and read the full headers and decrypted body.

Tip: Use the search box to filter by host or path, and the device sidebar to focus on a single client.

4. Go further

IntroductionCore concepts