Record API messages

Executing UI tests generates traffic between the system under test and the backend. The Message Recorder feature enables you to visualize and analyze this traffic as API messages.

The Message Recorder feature is part of the API & OSV Early Access components.

The API & OSV Early Access components are in the Early Adopter phase. Tricentis does not guarantee full functionality or usability in current or future Tricentis Tosca versions.

Open the Message Recorder

To open the Message Recorder, follow the steps below:

  1. Launch Tosca API Scan.

  2. Click on the Record icon in the Home menu.

Record in the API Scan Home menu

The Message Recorder window opens.

Message Recorder window

Navigate the Message Recorder window

The Message Recorder window consists of the following elements:

Message Recorder window with messages

Record messages

Once you have opened the Message Recorder, you can record HTTP(S) messages. To do so, follow the steps below:

  1. Click the Start button.

    Optionally, click the  Configuration icon in the ribbon menu to configure the recorder settings first. For detailed information, see chapter "Configure Message Recorder".

  2. Execute your UI tests. The Message Recorder window displays the generated live HTTP and HTTPS traffic, i.e. the messages it records.

  3. To stop message recording, click the Stop button.

View recorded messages

The left side of the Message Recorder window contains your recorded messages. It provides the following information:

Column

Description

Timestamp

Exact time of the message transmission

Result

HTTP status code

Host

Host address, e.g. webservice.toscacloud.com

URL

URL path, e.g. /Calculator.svc

Content-Type

Content type of the HTTP response.

Process

Application that transmits the message, e.g. firefox

View message details

The right side of the Message Recorder window displays detailed information about your recorded messages.

To view the details of a specific message, click on the respective message in the list.

The upper section displays the request part of the message. The lower section displays the response.

Filter messages

In the Message Recorder, you can filter the content of the recorded messages to customize the grid view. Which filter options are available in the Message Recorder window, depends on which column tab you are using.

The filtering options are the following:

Option

Description

Sort Ascending/ Sort Descending

 

Click the column header to sort table rows alphabetically in ascending or descending order, starting from the selected column.
Free text search

Open the filter and enter text to search.

Check box

.

Clear Filter

Reset sorted and filtered column to the original state.

Best Fit

Adapt the column width of the current column to its content.

To filter the content of the Message Recorder window, follow the steps below:

  1. Select one of the messages in the Message Recorder window.

  2. Hover over the mouse cursor of the header .

  3. Click the appeared Filter icon.

    For the Timestamp column filtering is not available.

  4.  

Filter messages

Export messages

You can export recorded messages from the Message Recorder to Tosca API Scan. This allows you to further investigate the recorded messages, i.e. the traffic generated during your UI tests.

You can select one or multiple messages for export. The export contains the request and response part of each message including the message headers, endpoint, and payload.

To export messages, follow the steps below:

  1. Select a message in the Message Recorder window. To select multiple messages, hold the CTRL key.

  2. Click on the  Export icon in the ribbon menu.

Export message

The system exports the messages into a new folder named Trace_Import in API Scan. The default message name is Trace Message. You can rename the folder and messages as desired.

For information on how to work with messages in API Scan, see chapter "Tricentis Tosca API Scan".

Clear messages

If you want to reset the content of the Message Recorder, you can delete all recorded messages at once. This allows you to remove all the traffic generated during the UI tests and start a new recording.

To clear all messages, follow the steps below:

  1. Select one of the messages in the Message Recorder window.

  2. Click the  Clear icon in the ribbon menu.

Clear messages

The system deletes all the messages. You can start a new recording.

Configure Message Recorder

You can configure the proxy settings of the Message Recorder, if you want to use an external proxy, e.g. your company's proxy.

By default, you can record HTTP traffic only, but you can enable the HTTPS traffic recording by installing a certificate.

To add a new value to the settings follow the steps below:

  1. Click on the  Configuration icon in the ribbon menu.

    2. Configure proxy

  2. You can enter the IP address of the proxy you want to use in the subsequent proxy configuration dialog.

  3. Enable the checkbox next to Decrypt HTTPS traffic.

    Click OK to to enable HTTPS traffic decryption.

    4. Enter proxy and enable HTTPS traffic recording

  4. To decrypt and record HTTPS messages, you have to install the Tricentis Tosca Api Tracing Root Certificate, a locally generated certificate. To do so, click Yes in the subsequent dialog.

    5. Install certificate for decrypting HTTPS messages

If you don't want to install the certificate and trace HTTPS messages, click No.

The dialog appears each time you start the Message Recorder if certificate was not installed and HTTPS traffic is enabled.