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2 more ways to get Charles
Package managers
- Chocolatey
choco install charles - Homebrew
brew install --cask charles
About Charles
Charles is a desktop HTTP proxy, HTTP monitor and reverse proxy for developers. It records the HTTP and SSL/HTTPS requests and responses passing between your machine and the internet, including headers that carry cookies and caching information, so you can see exactly what an app or website is sending.
It runs on Windows, macOS and Linux. Charles 5 was released in 2025, and version 5.1 in April 2026 brought performance and interface improvements. It is commercial software sold through the official site.
Strengths
- Shows full HTTP and HTTPS requests, responses and headers
- Works as a reverse proxy as well as a monitor
- Runs on Windows, macOS and Linux
- Regular releases, with version 5.1 in 2026
Limitations
- Paid licence required
- HTTPS inspection needs certificate setup on the client
Details
- Pricing
- PaidCommercial software with licences sold on the official site.
- License
- Proprietary
- Developer
- Karl von Randow
- Platforms
- Windows, macOS, Linux
- How it runs
- Downloadable app
- Best suited for
- Web and mobile developers debugging the traffic their apps send
- Categories
- Network tools, API clients
- Last verified
- Added
- Provenance
- Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.
Alternatives to Charles
Compare allSoftware that can replace Charles for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.
Fiddler Everywhere
A cross-platform web debugging proxy for capturing, inspecting, modifying and replaying HTTP(S) traffic.
Fiddler Everywhere runs on Windows, macOS and Linux and adds gRPC support plus replay and mocking, but also needs a paid licence after the trial.
Proxyman
Desktop HTTP and HTTPS debugging proxy for capturing, inspecting and mocking network requests.
Proxyman is freemium with a native macOS interface, breakpoints, Map Local and scripting, and supports WebSocket, HTTP/2 and GraphQL, though it is not open source.
HTTP Toolkit
An open-source desktop tool for intercepting, inspecting and rewriting HTTP and HTTPS traffic.
HTTP Toolkit is free and open source with one-click interception for many tools, removing the paid licence, but it runs only on desktop.
Reqable
An HTTP debugging proxy and REST API client for desktop and mobile in one application.
Reqable combines a debugging proxy with a REST API client and adds Android and iOS apps, but it is closed source and advanced use requires a paid licence.
Similar software
Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.
Wireshark
The network protocol analyser: capture traffic and read it packet by packet, with dissectors for hundreds of protocols.
websocat
A command-line WebSocket client and server, like netcat or curl for ws:// with socat-style features.
oha
Measure web application performance with a terminal load generator.
tcpdump
The classic command-line packet capture and analysis tool.
