Proto DevTools

Chrome Extension to decode protobuf binary in requests and responses

Features

Attempt to decode protobuf binary in requests and responses from your browser

If you provide a Buf Image then it can decode the messages in a much more readable manner

Install

• Go to your chrome://extensions/ in your browser
• Click Load Unpacked
• Point to the ./dist folder in the root directory of the project
• Go to a website that sends protobuf messages
• Open your Developer Tools
• Look for a tab called Protobuf Decoder
• (Optional) if you have a Buf Image, drag and drop it in the panel and it should begin to parse messages automatically

Screenshots

Example of a protobuf message attempting to be decoded

Example of a protobuf message being decoded with a Buf Image

Roadmap

• Test with ConnectRPC services
• Provide a better UI
• Support compressed messages
• Upload to chrome store
• Add proper testing
• Support errors returned - https://connectrpc.com/docs/go/errors#error-details
• Display timestamps in a readable format

ChangeLog

ChangeLog Format

Tips

Creating a Buf Image

Run buf build --exclude-source-info -o image.pbin in the directory with your buf

Creating a file descriptor with protoc

<TBD>