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Description
Inspect network requests with x-amzn-trace-id and fetch AWS X-Ray traces The AWS Network Debugger is a Chrome DevTools extension designed for developers who build and debug applications running on AWS infrastructure. What it does: When you visit a web application that runs on AWS (for example behind API Gateway, Lambda, or other AWS services), this extension sits inside Chrome DevTools as a new tab called AWS X-Ray. While you browse your application, it silently monitors every network request and automatically captures any response that contains the AWS Traces header. When you click on a captured request, it immediately calls the AWS X-Ray API using your saved credentials and fetches the full distributed trace. It then displays a visual tree of every AWS service that request passed through, showing you the timing, duration, errors, throttles, and metadata for each segment. If your request hit a Lambda function, you can also click a Logs button directly on that segment to fetch and view the CloudWatch logs for that exact Lambda invocation without ever leaving the browser. Why users should install it: First, it eliminates context switching. Without this extension, a developer would need to notice the trace header in the browser network tab, copy it, open the AWS Console, navigate to X-Ray, paste the trace ID, and then separately go to CloudWatch to find the logs. This extension collapses all of those steps into a single click inside DevTools. Second, it provides real-time visibility. As you interact with your application, traced requests appear instantly in the panel. You do not need to set up any additional logging or instrumentation beyond what AWS already provides by default. Third, it helps with debugging production issues. When a request fails or is slow, you can immediately see which backend service caused the problem, whether it was a timeout in a downstream API call, a Lambda cold start, a DynamoDB throttle, or an error in your application code. The timeline bars give you a visual breakdown of where time was spent. Fourth, the Lambda log integration is particularly valuable. Instead of searching through CloudWatch log groups and streams manually, the extension automatically finds the right log group, filters by the exact request ID, and displays the logs inline with syntax highlighting for errors, warnings, and metadata lines. This turns what is normally a multi-minute investigation into a few seconds. Fifth, it requires minimal setup. You just provide your AWS access key and secret key, pick your region, and you are ready to go. There is no server-side component, no agent to install, and no code changes to your application. It works with any application that already has AWS X-Ray tracing enabled, which is the default for many AWS services like API Gateway and Lambda.