Mitmproxy is an interactive, programmable network proxy engine designed for traffic analysis and protocol manipulation. It functions as a gateway that intercepts, inspects, and modifies network traffic in real-time, supporting HTTP, HTTPS, WebSocket, DNS, and generic TCP or UDP streams. By acting as a trusted certificate authority, the proxy can dynamically generate and sign certificates to decrypt and analyze secure TLS-encrypted connections.
The project distinguishes itself through a highly extensible, event-driven architecture that allows users to automate traffic transformation using custom scripts. It provides a unified command-based interface for manual interaction, enabling users to define custom key bindings, content views, and command-line tools. The engine supports multiple operational modes, including explicit, transparent, reverse, and SOCKS proxying, as well as a userspace WireGuard VPN mode for capturing traffic without requiring client-side configuration changes.
Beyond basic interception, the platform includes comprehensive tools for recording and replaying network conversations to simulate complex interactions or automate repetitive tasks. It offers advanced capabilities such as request blocking, header and body modification, and local resource mapping. The system also provides robust support for debugging and performance analysis, including integration with external tools through secret logging and structured data representation.
The software is designed for rapid iteration, featuring live script reloading that updates custom logic without restarting the proxy process. It includes extensive documentation for managing certificates, configuring proxy modes, and implementing custom addons through a well-defined programmatic interface.
